Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was born on this day, March 9, in 1890 (d. 1986). Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik, and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s. Molotov served as Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars from 1930 to 1941, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1939 to 1949 and from 1953 to 1956.

In 1945 Molotov represented the Soviet Union at the “San Francisco Conference”; the conference resulted in the creation of the United Nations Charter. It was during this visit to the USA that he was photographed by Karsh, for LIFE Magazine.