# Arrest of Beria (1953)

URL: https://history-russia.com/timeline/1953-arrest-of-beria
Categories: ruler-change

Lavrentiy Beria was arrested at a Presidium meeting on 26 June 1953 and executed in December. Nikita Khrushchev became First Secretary in September. A mass amnesty and uprising in East Germany also marked the year. The security services were placed under party control. Beria's fall ended the rule of the secret police over the party.

## Why it matters
Beria's fall ended the rule of the secret police over the party.

Ruler at the time: [Georgy Malenkov](https://history-russia.com/rulers/georgy-malenkov)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Lavrentiy Beria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavrentiy_Beria)
- [Wikipedia — Nikita Khrushchev](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Khrushchev)
- [Wikipedia — Khrushchev thaw](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khrushchev_thaw)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Arrest of Beria](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Arrest+of+Beria)
- [Wikipedia — Timeline of Russian history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Russian_history)