RUSSIA: Return of Old Iron Pants

The man who went farthest, and stayed longest, with Stalin was Vyacheslav Molotov. Last week, after a brief eclipse, flinty-eyed Molotov, 66, moving into a key government job, gave renewed proof of his extraordinary durability in politics at its most hazardous.

A symbol of Stalinism after 43 years at Stalin's side, Molotov was shoved into the background during the new era of debunking the old dictator and cultivating such longtime Stalin enemies as Tito. But now that the fabric of Stalin's empire was rent by Titoism plus destalinization, Old Iron Pants could...