 Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov ( / ˈmɒləˌtɔːfˌ @-@ ˌtɒf , ˈmoʊlə @-@ ˌˈmɔː- / ; Russian : Вячесла ́ в Миха ́ йлович Мо ́ лотов ; 9 March [ O.S. 25 February ] 1890 – 8 November 1986 ) was a Soviet politician and diplomat , an Old Bolshevik , and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s , when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin . Molotov served as Chairman of the Council of People 's Commissars ( Premier ) from 1930 to 1941 , and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1939 to 1949 and from 1953 to 1956 . He served as First Deputy Premier from 1942 to 1957 , when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev . Molotov retired in 1961 after several years of obscurity . 
