Was Stalin planning another Great Purge before his death? If so, who likely amongst the Central Committee would have been next?

by Personal_Feature
DeSoulis

Yes, the next two presidium members to fall were Anastas Mikoyan and Vyacheslav Molotov, both of which were sidelined from power and gradually pushed out Stalin's inner circle. Molotov's wife had already being arrested on charges of Zionism. Among other things, both party members were not invited to Stalin's birthday party and disinvited to other gatherings. Despite the rest of the inner circle's attempt to keep them in the loop so to speak, as they viewed Stalin as likely to pick them off one by one, Stalin insisted on their poor treatment. Evidence points to that Stalin was mere months away from arranging their downfall by the time he died. See On Stalin's Team by Sheila Fitzpatrick.