After Stalin's death, Malenkov became the chairman of the Council of Ministers in the Soviet Union. He worked to reduce arms appropriations, increase production of consumer goods, and provide incentives for industriousness. For these reasons, he was often criticized. In February 1955, he was forced to resign the Prime Ministership.

The rise and fall of Georgi Maksimilianovich Malenkov:

• 1920: Malenkov is born.
• 1930s-40s: Malenkov rises to promise through the Party secretariat.
• 1946: Malenkov becomes a full member of the Politburo and a deputy premier. He becomes a trusted aid to Josef Stalin.
• March, 1953: After the sudden death of Stalin, Malenkov becomes premier of the Soviet Union and first secretary of the Russian Communist Party. Shortly afterward, he is succeeded as first secretary by Nikita Khrushchev.
• 1953-1955: Malenkov's tenure is marked by a conciliatory foreign policy and cutbacks in the power of the secret police.
• February, 1955: Malenkov is forced to accept blame for failure of agricultural policy and resign in favor of Khrushchev's favored candidate, Nikolai Bulganin.
• 1957: Malenkov's role in the "antiparty faction" is cited as he is removed from all important governmental posts.
• 1961: Malenkov is expelled from the Party
• 1988: Malenkov dies.