Who were the specific members of Joseph Stalin’s Inner Circle?

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1. Spellbound says

   Stalin was a creature of necessity, not of sentiment. Members of his inner circle changed, as they were no longer needed: Bukharin was a very close aide of Stalin – they were good friends, dining and holidaying together with their families. Stalin had Bukharin shot when he was no longer needed. Similarly, Grigory, known as Sergo, Ordzhonikidze was very close to Stalin: they were both veteran Georgian Bolsheviks. Ordzhonikidze may have committed suicide, Khrushchev thought he did, as a result of beginning to fall out of favour with Stalin
   Veterans from the Caucasus and allies from the Civil War were, mostly, protected, by Stalin. Semyon Budyonny, was a first rate cavalry commander, but a very poor modern war general, who, nevertheless, remained close to Stalin, even after he was blamed for the disastrous encirclement of Soviet armies during the battle of Kiev. However, he was only promoted sideways, and was allowed to retire as a Marshall of the Soviet Union.

   Yezhov, perhaps, demonstrates the ideal person for Stalin’s inner circle. He was a gifted and energetic administrator, with a phenomenal memory, and was a hard working, pleasant (surprisingly for such a monster), and sociable young man. But, most importantly, he understood the system, how to act in word and deed. He wrote reports that followed the preferred style perfectly, full of modesty, self-criticism and plans for action; he sought out solutions, rather than deferring to endless committees and waiting on reports. He applied this energy and dedication to whatever task he was given, even when he became NKVD chief in charge of overseeing the bloodletting of the Great Purge. However, when his usefulness was over, he too was cast aside and shot.

   The most trusted aide was Vyacheslav Molotov, who even divorced his wife, Polina, when she was arrested during the Great Purge, Molotov remained a dedicated Stalinist, defending him until his dying day.

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2. Pardeep says

   Klim Voroshilov

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3. Guy from Canada says

   The Inner Circle

   – Beria

   – Yagoda

   – Yezhov

   – Kaganovich

   – Mikoyan

   – Molotov

   – Khrushchev

   – Voroshilov

   – Zhdanov

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