23. Opposition and the fall of Khrushchev Flashcards
What was tamizdat?
Secretly publishing illegal content abroad in the hope it would be smuggled back into the USSR.
For example, Boris Pasternak was not allowed to publish Dr Zhivago, so he had it printed in Italy in 1957. He was expelled from the Union of Soviet Writers and prevented from collecting his Nobel Prize for Literature.
‘tamis’ in Pari = ‘abroad, foreign’
What was samizdat?
Reproducing censored works by hand or illegal printer and spreading copies from person to person.
Who was Vladimir Mayakorsky?
A satirical poet. When a statue of him was unveiled in Moscow, students began impromptu public poetry readings.
In 1961, some regular attendees were arrested. One (Vladimir Bukovsky) was kicked out of uni and this turned him into an actual dissident.
What was ‘magnitizdat’?
Illegally copying and distributing music, by passing tapes from person to person.
By how much was the army reduced in size under Khrushchev?
From 5.8m to 3.7m
How many political prisoners were rehabilitated under Khrushchev?
Up to 9 million
What happened to Molotov, Malenkov and Kaganovich?
Molotov -> ambassador to Mongolia
Malenkov -> director of a Kazakh hydroelectric plant
Kaganovich -> director of a cement works
