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Summary Khrushchev Notes
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Notes on Khrushchev from . OCR History. Russia and its rulers.
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Khrushchev NotesHow far did de-Stalinisation represent a genuine break from the past?
Khrushchev wanted to create a conservative authoritarian and bureaucratic regime
Beria returns to head of interior ministry. Malenkov as head of government – Premier. Molotov as Foreign Secretary.
Khrushchev as General Secretary
Originally, there was to be a collective leadership. Conflict between Malenkov and Khrushchev meant that this was
difficult to achieve, and Malenkov resigned as PM in 1955. Molotov disagreed with de-Stalinisation and resigned in
1961. Beria was executed in 1953.
In general, he demoted, rather than killed, his opponents – Malenkov was sent to manage a hydroelectric plant in
Kazakhstan, Molotov was made ambassador to Mongolia.
After consolidating power, Khrushchev was keen to move Russia away from governance based on extreme repression.
He believed that this had tarnished the USSR’s image overseas and was unhelpful at a time of increasing international
tension. He also thought that many people would welcome an alternative to the repressive nature of Stalinist rule.
Destalinisation began at the 20th Party Congress in 1956 to 1500 delegates. Khrushchev made the Secret Speech on
‘The Cult of the Individual and its Consequences’. The following criticisms were made of Stalin:
- He had never been accepted by Lenin as a potential leader (Lenin’s testament in 1924 had criticised Stalin for
potentially centralising to much authority)
- He had created a state that was unprepared for military conflict in 1941.
- He had committed a range of unforgivable crimes against the people.
- He had committed misdemeanours against ‘outsiders’ who should have been embraced by the Soviet leadership. For
example, Stalin ordered the assassination of the Hungarian revolutionary leader, Béla Kun.
The key features of de-Stalinisation were:
- The release of 2 million political prisoners from labour camps. This started soon after Stalin’s death but gathered
momentum from the time of the Secret Speech.
- A relaxation of censorship resulting in the publication of articles, novels and plays that criticised Stalin, including
works by Ehrenburg, Pasternak, Solzhenitsyn, and Yevtushenko.
- The erosion of the legacy of the cult of personality: pictures and statues of Stalin were removed from public places;
Stalingrad was renamed Volgograd, and Stalino was named Donetsk; and at the Twenty-second Party Congress in
1961, Stalin’s body was removed from the Lenin mausoleum and buried in a concrete-filled hole beneath the wall of
the Kremlin.
- Peaceful coexistence with the west – he travelled to America and enjoyed press attention.
- He did not criticise collectivisation, famine, and attacks on citizens.
The reaction to de-Stalinisation: There were strikes (which included newly released prisoners from the Gulags), riots
and protests for even greater freedoms (especially from the satellite states such as Yugoslavia, Poland, and Hungary).
2 million political prisoners were released between 1953-60
But Khrushchev resisted the temptation to use violence to deal with unrest. Order was maintained through the MVD,
which was under the control of the party.
Khrushchev still dismissed rebellious politicians at will (Zhukov and Bulganin) and used force when necessary (tanks
were sent into Hungary in 1956 to suppress the Nagy regime).
Khrushchev did not intend to move too far from authoritarian rule; the one-party, one-leader state was envisaged to
remain intact
To what extent were the economic and social reforms made by Khrushchev a failure?
Censorship / repression
, Release of political prisoners begins in 1953. Gulags closed in 1960. However, labour camps for small number of
political prisoners and many criminals remain – publication of “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” which
revealed harsh life in gulags.
There was a relaxation of censorship in art, movies, and literature with openness to outside world – foreign radio
broadcasts and literature was allowed.
Some people could travel abroad – many witnessed the positives of a western society.
Zhdanovshchina – cultural policy of the USSR during the cold war period – strict government control of art, promoted
anti-western bias – Khrushchev relaxed this.
Virgin Lands campaign (1954)
Maize production increased by 10%.
The aim of this was to increase the amount of land to be cultivated.
In 1950, 96 million acres of land were given over to the production of wheat. By 1964, this had increased to 165
million acres. 72% increase.
Urban dwellers started to feel that their food requirements were at last being adequately met.
However, the approach to using the ‘virgin soil’ was flawed. The land was overused with little attention paid to crop
rotation. The effect was a reduction in soil fertility.
Little was done to counter soil erosion, a result of the virgin soil regions being arid, close to the Central Asian desert
and prone to windstorms.
There was not enough fertiliser to compensate for the poor soil
In the long term, productivity and production slowed, the first major indication of which came in 1963. The disastrous
harvest of 1963 (due mainly to drought) saw grain production fall to 107 million tons compared with 140 million tons
in the previous year – almost 25%.
Economic Reform
20% of GDP was spent on nuclear arms race by 1960. Too much money went into space, sports, foreign aid, and
nukes.
1957 – established a 7-year plan, focused on coal, chemical industry, national income increased by 58%, gross
industrial production increased by 84%, producer goods by 96% and consumer goods by 60%.
A seven-hour day was introduced along with a minimum wage in 1956.
Khrushchev tried to reduce bureaucracy from Moscow – introduced regional economic councils to regulate industry –
he was trying to break down the command economy – all government ministries except those dealing with defence
were abolished.
Taxation changes: in 1958, compulsory voluntary subscriptions to the state were abolished. The bachelor’s tax and
that on childless couples were abolished. Pensions were improved and peasants became eligible for a state pension.
Housing / living reforms
Most Moscow residents had lived in shared and overcrowded homes. People shared kitchens, bathrooms in a flat of
often just 8m2.
In 1954 Khrushchev promised to end the housing crisis by promising to build millions of homes
108 million people moved into smaller flats on the outskirts of cities, they rarely shared these homes with other
families.
The Seven Year Plan launched in 1958 and promised 12 million city apartments and 7 million rural homes.
He launched a programme of 5 story blocks using western technology
Meat consumption increased by 55%
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