Who served as the USSR's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1939-49 and again from 1953-56, originally named Skryabin?

• A. Andrei Gromyko
• B. Vyacheslav Molotov
• C. Nikolai Bulganin
• D. Mikhail Gorbachev

Answer: (B)

Vyacheslav Molotov. He was born Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Skryabin (Skryabin being his original surname) and served as the Soviet Union’s Foreign Minister during the two periods in question: 1939 to 1949, covering World War II diplomacy and the early Cold War, and again from 1953 to 1956, after Stalin’s death and during the early Khrushchev era. This combination of exact years and the birth name clue points squarely to Molotov. The other figures listed held different roles or served in the Foreign Ministry at different times (for example, Gromyko’s long tenure began after these dates), so they don’t fit the timing and identity provided.