ABSTRACT
The sudden death of Stalin on March 5, 1953, gave a new impetus to Sino-Soviet relations that was favorable to Peking. In fact, circumstances never allowed the Chinese to say freely all they might have said about the Soviet dictator. While they were winning power and right up to the time of the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, they were in many respects beholden to the Russians, while the cold war made it essential to preserve the unity of the socialist bloc. The visit of Chou En-lai to Moscow for Stalin's funeral showed, even down to minor details in etiquette, that for internal reasons having to do with the Soviet Union and the socialist bloc, the new Soviet leaders set a high value on collaboration with the Chinese. The Chinese, without taking a clearly defined position in the quarrels between Stalin's inheritors, applauded the elimination of Beria and his execution.
