3. Political authority and government under Khrushchev Flashcards
1
Q
key figure
Georgi Malenkov
A
- 1892-1988
- part of five-man Defence Council
during the war, managed Soviet Union’s war effort - 1946, Stalin appointed him deputy Prime Minister
- one of Stalin’s favourite apparatchiki - Stalin liked to talk about ‘old-times’ with him even
- exercised brief period of leadership after 1953, expelled from Presidium 1957, from the Party 1961.
2
Q
key figure
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev
A
(1894-1971)
- of peasant origins, worked for the Communist Party in Kiev and Moscow in the early 1930s
- 1935 Secretary of Moscow Regional Committee
- 1938-47, he was in Ukraine, assisting military operation at Kursk.
- 1947 chosen to supervise agricultural production.
- First Secretary of the Communist Party 1953-64.
3
Q
Lavrenti Beria
A
(1899-1953)
- communist Secret Police, head of the NKVD, following Yezhov’s purge in 1938.
- intelligent but ruthless and opportunistic man
- deputy Prime Minister 1941
- Politburo member 1946.
4
Q
Krushchevs rise to power
Initial Struggle
A
- After Stalin’s death in March 1953, newly enlarged Presidium debated the succession.
- March 6, 1953, Georgi Malenkov initially announced as combining the roles of Secretary of the Party’s Central Committee and Chairman of the Council of Ministers.
- within days, forced to step down as Party Secretary, Nikita Khrushchev taking over the post.
- collective leadership formed with Vyacheslav Molotov, Lavrenti Beria, and Malenkov.
5
Q
Krushchevs rise to power
Consolidation of Power
A
- Khrushchev began appointing his protégés to key Party positions, building a strong support network.
- June 1953, Beria arrested by the military, following a conspiracy led by Malenkov and other Presidium members, including Khrushchev.
- Beria accused of criminal anti-Party and anti-State activities, secretly tried, and executed on December 24, 1953.
6
Q
Krushchevs rise to power
Policy Differences and Political Maneuvering
A
- Policy splits emerged
- Malenkov, with Molotov’s backing, proposed a ‘new course’ focused on reducing peasant taxes and investing in consumer goods.
- Khrushchev countered with own proposals, advocating the parallel development of heavy and light industry, launching the Virgin Lands Scheme in early 1954.
- initial successes of the Virgin Lands Scheme bolstered Khrushchev’s position within the Party.
7
Q
Krushchevs rise to power
Khrushchev’s Ascendancy
A
- feb 1955, Malenkov forced to step down as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, succeeded by Nikolai Bulganin, (Khrushchev ally)
- Khrushchev and Bulganin acted as joint leaders until 1958.
- An attempt to unseat Khrushchev in 1957 failed when he secured Central Committee support with Marshal Zhukov’s backing.
- ‘anti-Party group’ plotters, including Malenkov and Molotov, were expelled from the Central Committee and given distant postings.
8
Q
Krushchevs rise to power
Final Consolidation
A
- oct 1957, Khrushchev dismissed Zhukov, accusing him of hindering Party work + cultivating his own personality cult.
- march 1958, Bulganin forced to step down, Khrushchev took over as General Secretary of the Party, combining the top positions in both the Party and the government.
9
Q
Policies and Ideology, and De-Stalinisation
Initial Changes
A
- June 1955, gov announced first Party congress since Stalin’s death,
- set February 25, 1956.
Khrushchev had already started reversing Stalinist policies: - those accused in the Doctors’ Plot were released,
- Beria and gulag system were attacked
- cultural thaw began.
10
Q
Policies and Ideology, and De-Stalinisation
The Twentieth Party Congress
A
- congress provided opportunity to explain change in direction.
- While most of the Presidium supported dismantling the Stalinist Terror apparatus, many were uneasy about reopening the past due to their involvement in the purges.
- Khrushchev persuaded to address these issues in closed session, held in secret with no questions allowed from the 1,400 delegates.
11
Q
Policies and Ideology, and De-Stalinisation
Khrushchev’s ‘Secret Speech’
A
- Entitled “On the Cult of Personality and its Consequences,”
- scathing critique of Stalin, accusing him of responsibility for purges, terror, torture, mass arrests, executions, and the gulags, which hindered socialist progress.
- blamed Stalin for betraying Leninist principles, murder of Kirov, questioned his war leadership.
- called for the rehabilitation of Trotsky.
- speech met with applause.
12
Q
Policies and Ideology, and De-Stalinisation
Impact and Reception
A
- Younger communists, Mikhail Gorbachev, demanded justice for those responsible for Stalinist crimes
- ‘Secret Speech’ condemned autocratic leadership, the suppression of Party members, and mishandling of the war, BUT largely ignored purging of ordinary Soviet citizens and upheld the legitimacy of economic controls, strong leadership, a single Party, and the elimination of factions.
- speech aimed to justify continuity while distancing the leadership from Stalinist mistakes, without incriminating those, including Khrushchev himself, who had benefited from the Stalinist system.
13
Q
Political and Party Change:
Post-Stalin Balance of Power
A
- Under Stalin, Party and state institutions were rubber-stamping organizations.
- Post-Stalin, institutions regained importance as centers for debate and decision-making.
- Initially, police competed for influence, but with Beria’s arrest and execution in 1953, the police fell under Party and gov authority again,= reducing the Secret Police’s power.
- Political amnesties and a partial revival of an independent judicial system marked a move away from police influence
14
Q
Political and Party Change:
Party Gains and Khrushchev’s Influence
A
- Khrushchev used influence to solidify power.
- 1957 sought support from the Central Committee, reinforcing traditional hierarchy of power advocated by Lenin.
- aimed to restore the Party’s position similar to that of the 1920s.
- also pursued goals of democratization and decentralization, sometimes contradicting the Party’s ascendancy.
15
Q
Political and Party Change:
Democratization and Decentralization Measures
A
- 1962, Party split into urban and rural sections.
- New rules limited the tenure of Party officials.
- Party membership 7 million = 1956 to 11 million = 1964, 3.6% to 4.8% of the population.
- role of local soviets augmented, and comrade courts for minor offences were revived.
- Non-Party members encouraged to take supervisory roles and were invited to Party congresses.
- Khrushchev personally visited villages and towns, showing a desire for direct contact with the people.
- Economic decentralization moved some power from central Moscow ministries to provincial authorities.
