Molotov, a Rare Exception

Not many old Bolsheviks were lucky enough to die quietly in bed. Josef Stalin--with his jealousies, suspicions and fears--made sure of that. A rare exception was Vyacheslav M. Molotov, who not only survived Stalin’s intrigues and purges but even managed to outlive the despot by 33 years. Molotov’s longevity was presumably due to fortunate genetic inheritance. His survival was the product of a complete subordination of self to Stalin’s will and fancies. On the party line, Molotov was always the faithful echo of his master’s voice. Because of that he was allowed to keep his head while all around him were so bloodily losing theirs.

Western diplomats who came to know Molotov in the 1930s and ‘40s, when he served as Soviet prime minister and later foreign minister, found him passionless, persistent and immovable. The coldness and iron control were not reserved for foreigners alone. In 1947 Stalin led a vote in the Politburo to have Molotov’s wife, a minor official, sent to an internment camp. Molotov limited any objection that he may have had to abstaining on the vote. He is said to have been surprised years later when, in the post-Stalin release of many prisoners, he found that his wife was still alive.

Molotov’s name will forever be associated with the treaty that he negotiated in 1939 with Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler’s foreign minister. That pact, which soon led to the launching of the world’s costliest war, allowed Germany and the Soviet Union to pursue their separate aggressions. When Germany turned on Russia two years later, Molotov was given the job of forging alliances with the Western democracies. As always, he was the faithful servant, and continued to be until Stalin’s death in 1953. Deposed but later pardoned by Stalin’s successors, Molotov lived quietly on a generous pension. When he died the other day at age 96 he had enjoyed nearly three decades of leisure. It is to be wondered whether, in that time, he ever felt remorse for having dedicated his life to furthering the cause of cruelty and oppression.