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March 5, 1890 - Vyacheslav Molotov

As Foreign Minister and Premier under Stalin, Molotov occupied two of the most consequential positions in Soviet history simultaneously, lending his name and signature to arrangements that reshaped Europe's borders and condemned millions — through collectivization, famine, purge, and partition. His longevity in power, outlasting nearly every contemporary in the Soviet leadership, reflected both his utility to Stalin and his willingness to execute policy without visible hesitation. The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact remains among the most consequential diplomatic acts of the twentieth century, enabling the dismemberment of Poland and the absorption of the Baltic states before the war's full catastrophe unfolded.

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Vyacheslav Molotov

Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov (né Skryabin; 9 March [O.S. 25 February] 1890 – 8 November 1986) was a Soviet politician, diplomat, and revolutionary. He was one of Joseph Stalin's closest allies and one of the most prominent figures in the Soviet government during his rule. In addition to serving as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars from 1930 to 1941, he held office as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1939 to 1949 and again from 1953 to 1956.

An Old Bolshevik, Molotov joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1906 and was arrested and internally exiled twice before the October Revolution of 1917. He briefly headed the party's Secretariat before supporting Stalin's rise to power in the 1920s, becoming one of his closest associates. Molotov was made a full member of the Politburo in 1926 and became premier in 1930, overseeing Stalin's agricultural collectivisation (and resulting famine) and his Great Purge. Following his appointment as Foreign Minister in 1939, he signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact which led to the Soviet Union's joint occupation of Poland alongside Nazi Germany and its ensuing annexation of the Baltic states. During World War II, he became deputy chairman of the State Defence Committee as well as Stalin's main negotiator with the Allies.

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