| BERIA | Lavrenti, Soviet secret police chief who attempted to seize power after Stalin's death (5) |
| TOSCA | In which of Puccini's operas does a famous singer kill the corrupt police chief who has arrested her lover? (5) |
| COMMANDEER | Comrade, men attempted to seize property for the military (10) |
| SUSPECT | Unreliable faction seizes power after America withdraws |
| ELSER | Depicted in 13 Minutes, a carpenter who attempted to assassinate Hitler (5) |
| FANNY | Woman who attempted to assassinate Lenin in 1918 (5,6) |
| AARON | Dales chap who attempted to return a stolen brooch (5,6) |
| NERVA | Roman emperor, 30AD to 98AD, who came to power after Domitian (5) |
| GULAG | Division of the Soviet secret police created under Stalin in the 19305 to administer prisons and forced labour camps (5) |
| CHEKA | Soviet secret police organisation set up in 1917, a forerunner of the KGB (5) |
| JUNTA | What is a military group holding power after a revolution? (5) |
| TUDOR | House that rose to power after the War of the Roses |
| CHASM | Has PM lost power after Conservative rift? (5) |
| FEIGN | Pretend female will get time in power after deposing Queen |
| MOWER | What can run on green power, after replacing lead |
| DINGLE | Dales chap who attempted to return a stolen brooch (5,6) |
| COLONELBLOOD | Irish soldier and adventurer who attempted to steal the Crown Jewels in 1671 (7,5) |
| PETERTHEGREAT | Russian emperor who assumed power after his brother Ivan's death (5,3,5) |
| REDWEDGE | A collective of musicians who attempted to engage young people with politics in the period leading up to the 1987 general election |
| ERNEST | Explorer who attempted to cross the Antarctic from the ship Endurance, ... Shackleton |
