Investor Presentaiton
four. Kaganovich's removal from his roles and status within the Party occurred in mid to late
1957 after Kaganovich, along with Malenkov and Molotov, were accused by Khrushchev of
leading an Anti-Party group because of their reluctance to denounce Stalin in favor of the new
Party path. Kaganovich was demonized even more so than the rest because of his lifelong
commitment to Stalin and his outspoken refusal to denounce him even after Khrushchev's secret
speech.7
Eventually, Kaganovich, Molotov, and Malenkov relented to Khrushchev on June 28,
1957. They denounced their actions, Stalin, and performed self-criticism before the Central
Committee. They also submitted letters admitting to past errors and confessed to crimes and
conspiring against Khrushchev. The following day, the Central Committee officially denounced
and expelled the three men from the Communist Party. That same year, Kaganovich lost his role
as minister for the construction materials industry and moved out of his Kremlin apartment to
one on Lenin Hills with his wife. Kaganovich, demonized and denounced, now worked as
manager of the Urals Potash Works in Solikamsk - a position that was a dramatic step down
from his previous role as Stalin's preeminent follower and aid.
Then, in 1961 Kaganovich's wife Maria Markovna passed away. She was a close Party
ally, best friend, and wife of 50 years. Her passing left Kaganovich to face one of his hardest
periods in life alone. In 1961, Kaganovich was also removed from his role with the Urals Potash
Works. Now living as a pensioner in his forced retirement, Kaganovich turned to individual
6 L. M. Kaganovich, Pamiatnye zapiski rabochego, kommunista-bol'shevika, profsoiuznogo, partiĭnogo i
sovetsko-gosudarstvennogo rabotnika, (Moskva: Vagrius, 1996.), 13.
7 E. A. Rees, Iron lazar, 257-8.
8 Kaganovich, however, remained loyal to Stalin.
9 Kaganovich, Pamiatnye zapiski, 13.
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