Editing Georgy Zhukov (section)

=== Fall from power ===
[[File:Георгий Константинович Жуков в военной форме.jpg|thumb|upright|Zhukov, {{circa|1960}}]]
On his 60th birthday, in 1956, Zhukov received his fourth [[Hero of the Soviet Union]] title—making him the first person to receive the honour four times. The only other four-time recipient was [[Leonid Brezhnev]], who never rose above modest military rank and received all of his four Hero of the Soviet Union medals for his birthday as part of his overall cult of personality and love for medals, titles, and decorations. Despite his general lack of political ability, Zhukov became the highest-ranking military professional who was also a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. He further became a symbol of national strength, the most widely-esteemed Soviet military hero of World War II. Zhukov's prestige was even higher than the police and security agencies of the USSR, and thus rekindled concerns among political leaders.

Going even further than Khrushchev, Zhukov demanded that the political agencies in the Red Army report to him before the Party. He demanded an official condemnation of Stalin's crimes during the [[Great Purge]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2012}} He also supported the political vindication and rehabilitation of [[Mikhail Tukhachevsky]], [[Grigoriy Shtern]], [[Vasily Blyukher]], [[Alexander Yegorov (soldier)|Alexander Yegorov]] and many others. In response his opponents accused him of being a Reformist and [[Bonapartist]]. Such enviousness and hostility proved to be the key factor that led to his later downfall.{{sfn|Spahr|1993|p=391}}

The relationship between Zhukov and Khrushchev reached its peak during the [[20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU) in 1956. After becoming the First Secretary of the Party, Khrushchev moved against Stalin's legacy and criticised his personality cult in a speech, "[[On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences]]". To complete such startling acts, Khrushchev needed the approval—or at least the acquiescence—of the military, headed by Minister of Defense Zhukov.

At the [[plenary session]] of the [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Central Committee of the CPSU]] held in June 1957 Zhukov supported Khrushchev against the "[[Anti-Party Group]]", that had a majority in the Presidium and voted to replace Khrushchev as First Secretary with Bulganin. At that plenum, Zhukov stated: "The Army is against this resolution and not even a tank will leave its position without my order!".{{sfn|Afanasyev|1989|pp=151–152}} In the same session the "Anti-Party Group" was condemned and Zhukov was made a member of the Presidium.

His second fall was more sudden and public even than his first. On 4 October 1957, he left on an official visit to Yugoslavia, and Albania.{{sfn|Chaney|1996|pp=444–445}} He returned to Moscow on 26 October, straight to a meeting of the Presidium, during which he was removed from that body. On 2 November, the Central Committee convened to hear Zhukov being accused of 'non-party behaviour', conducting an 'adventurist foreign policy', and sponsoring his own personality cult. He was expelled from the Central Committee and sent into forced retirement at age 62. The same issue of the ''[[Krasnaya Zvezda]]'' that announced Zhukov's return also reported that he had been relieved of his duties.{{sfn|Spahr|1993|p=238}} According to many researchers, Soviet politicians—including Khrushchev himself—had a deep-seated fear of "powerful people".{{sfn|Afanasyev|1989|p=152}}{{sfn|Chaney|1996|pp=453–455}}