Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov (Russian: Вячесла́в Миха́йлович Мо́лотов; March 9 [O.S. February 25] 1890 in Kukarka – November 8, 1986 in Moscow) was a Soviet politician and diplomat. He was a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he came to power. He was a protégé of Joseph Stalin until the 1950s, when Nikita Khrushchev dismissed him from office.
Molotov was the main Soviet signatory of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. The pact was signed between Germany and the Soviet Union, and both countries promised not to attack each other. The pact lasted about two years until Germany started the invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941.
The Molotov Cocktail, which was invented by Finns fighting in the Winter War against the Soviet invasion of Finland, is named after him. He worked for Joseph Stalin from 1924-1953 and Georgy Malenkov from March-September 1953 and later Nikita Khrushchev from 1953-1956 after Stalin ‘s death .
| Preceded by Alexey Rykov |
Prime Minister of the Soviet Union 1930–1941 |
Succeeded by Joseph Stalin |