The article discusses some aspects of the removal of L.P. Beria from power. Various versions of the fact that the official date of the execution of L.P. Beria on December 23, 1953 is false are analyzed. On the basis of the analysis of literary sources, the authors put forward a version that the order to the commandant of the Special Judicial Presence of the USSR Supreme Court, Colonel-General P.P. Batitsky about the shooting of L.P. Beria, in accordance with the accepted forensic terminology, is counterfeit. Analysis of the documents of the trial of Beria and his accomplices (including the so-called “Letters of Beria from Imprisonment”) showed that they are also falsified. This confirms the hypothesis that Beria was killed immediately after the arrest, and the trial was imitated to create the appearance of respect for the law.