Letter from Beria to Malenkov discussing the events which took place in East Germany in the spring of 1953. Beria also discusses his actions after Stalin's death, asking for the forgiveness of the CPSU CC Politburo.

Letter from Beria to Malenkov, 1 July 1953, taking blame for his inappropriate actions.

This protocol concerns the meeting of the CPSU Presidium & Soviet Council of Ministers as Stalin was about to die.

Khrushchev reads the decision of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU that states that Georgy Malenkov does not have the knowledge or experience to fulfill the post of Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers. The decision lists political mistakes that Malenkov has made, including his close relationship to Lavrenti Beria. Khrushchev upholds this decision, citing examples of Malenkov's political and ideological weakness: his support for abandoning socialism in East Germany in favor of a unified, neutral Germany and his emphasis of light industry over heavy industry, among others. Malenkov speaks, accepting responsibility for his mistakes and agreeing with the CC Plenum decision. Khrushchev then nominates N. A. Bulganin to replace Malenkov as Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers and G. K. Zhukov to replace Bulganin as Minister of Defense; both nominations are accepted. Malenkov is given the posts of Minister of Electric Power Stations and Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers.