Vyacheslav Molotov

Soviet politician, statesman and diplomat (1890-1986) · Russia · Politicians · Died at 96

Vyacheslav Molotov is read about 3,351 times a day, in 80 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 20 October 2026

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Stalin's longest-serving right hand, the diplomat who carved up Poland with the Nazis and gave his name to the firebomb.

Politicians Politician Politics 20th Century

A life in dates

1986Died8 November 19861976“We've done so much that even if we are smashed, everything will have been worth it. If not today, then tomorrow.”In their wordsJune 9, 1976 Interview, quoted in Molotov Remembers: Inside Kremlin Politics (1993) by Felix Chuev. ISBN: 978-1-5663-715-2.Read the whole statement

1950Order of LeninAward1945Order of LeninAward1943"Hammer and Sickle" gold medalAwardOrder of LeninAward1941“Only a fool would attack us.”In their wordsJune 1941Statement of June 1941, as quoted in Hitler and Stalin : Parallel Lives (1993) by Alan Bullock, p. 715Read the whole statement

“This is not the first time that our people have had to deal with an attack of an arrogant foe.”In their words22 June 1941Radio broadcast in response to the German invasion (22 June 1941)Read the whole statement

1940Order of LeninAward1939“Events arising out of the Polish-German War have revealed the internal insolvency and obvious impotence of the Polish state. Polish ruling circles have suffered bankruptcy....”In their words17 September 1939Extracts from Molotov’s broadcast speech on the Soviet invasion of Poland (17 September 1939) Mirovoe Khoziaistvo, 1939, 9, p. 13. InRead the whole statement

1930“Life has improved, and now as never before the doors to a happy and cultured life for all the peoples of our Union stand wide open.”In their words10 January 1930Speech (10 January 1930) as quoted in The Communist International (1936) Vol. 13Read the whole statement

1905“We also had a defeat in 1905 but we triumphed in 1917. We wouldn't have won in 1917 if it hadn't been for 1905. This should be taken into consideration. This should be understood.”In their wordsAs quoted in Molotov Remembers: Inside Kremlin Politics (1993) by Felix Chuev. ISBN: 978-1-5663-715-2.Read the whole statement

1890Born9 March 1890

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

V.M. Molotov TASS Portrait Trim Edit

19240000-molotov dzershinsky moskow kremlin

19311017-production reserve komitee molotow kuibyshew yagoda

Инспекция авиационного полка под Москвой. Кадр 1

Bitte Quotenerhöhung NKWD-Befehl 00447 aus Gebiet Irkutsk

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-26786-0003, Berlin, 5. Jahrestag Gründung der DDR

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-33241-0001, Moskau, Gala-Vorstellung für BRD-Regierungsdelegation

Chroetsjev omarmt Titov en Gagarin Molotof verlaat Russische ambassade, Bestanddeelnr 913-2034

In their own words 10

Vyacheslav Molotov

10 statements, newest first

We've done so much that even if we are smashed, everything will have been worth it. If not today, then tomorrow.
Jun 9, 1976, June 9, 1976 Interview, quoted in Molotov Remembers: Inside Kremlin Politics (1993) by Felix Chuev. ISBN: 978-1-5663-715-2., Own words
Only a fool would attack us.
Jun 1941, Statement of June 1941, as quoted in Hitler and Stalin : Parallel Lives (1993) by Alan Bullock, p. 715, Own words
This is not the first time that our people have had to deal with an attack of an arrogant foe.
Jun 22, 1941, Radio broadcast in response to the German invasion (22 June 1941), Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Order of Lenin1950

Order of Lenin1945

Order of Lenin1943

"Hammer and Sickle" gold medal1943

Order of Lenin1940

Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"

Order of the Badge of Honour

Medal "For the Defence of Moscow"

Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"

Medal "In Commemoration of the 800th Anniversary of Moscow"

Medal "Veteran of Labour"

Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"

Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta

Hero of Socialist Labour

Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin"

In their orbit

Spouse: Polina Zhemchuzhina

About this person

Molotov joined the Bolsheviks in 1906, endured arrest and internal exile twice, and rose through the party apparatus to back Stalin's consolidation in the 1920s. Made premier in 1930, he oversaw collectivisation and the famine it triggered, then the Great Purge that followed. Appointed Foreign Minister in 1939, he signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact that split Poland with Nazi Germany and swallowed the Baltics, then became Stalin's chief negotiator with the Allies through the war. After 1945 his standing crumbled; he lost his ministry in 1948 and faced public criticism at the 1952 Party Congress. Reappointed under Khrushchev in 1953, he opposed de-Stalinisation so fiercely he joined a failed coup in 1957, was exiled as ambassador to Mongolia, and by 1961 was expelled from the party entirely. He lived another twenty-five years defending Stalin to the end.

Country

Russia

In common with Vyacheslav

Sergei EisensteinAlso in Our Cinema (1940)

Oleksandr DovzhenkoAlso in Our Cinema (1940)

Kliment VoroshilovAlso in Our Cinema (1940)

Lev KuleshovAlso in Our Cinema (1940)

Politicians from Russia 2

Ilya Ponomarev71.2

Leonid Volkov70.1

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