No. 603
Editorial Note

At a meeting on the morning of July 10, the Cabinet, presided over by President Eisenhower and including Nixon, Dulles, Humphrey, Wilson, Allen Dulles, and others, considered the situation in Russia. The minutes of the Cabinet meeting record the discussion as follows:

“Mr. Allen Dulles characterized the ousting of Beria as a tremendous shock to the Russian people, suggested that the army may be augmenting its power, and advised that this development does not necessarily mean that Malenkov has consolidated his position.

“(Mr. Allen Dulles left the meeting after this discussion.)

“Mr. C. D. Jackson spoke briefly on the great opportunity presented by the Beria affair for developing passive resistance in the satellite states and on the desirability of presenting the Russian Government with a series of notes concerning food, atrocities, trade unions, and slave labor. He hoped that the Foreign Ministers meeting would produce a resounding statement for German free elections.” (Eisenhower Library, Whitman file, Cabinet series)