Chapter 5: Brezhnev As Leader

Question 1

What were the short term reason for Khrushchev removal of power ?

Answer 1

-His mishandling of the Cuban missile crisis and disorganising of soviet economy
- his administration reform that put the party against him
- the failure in agriculture
- the sino- soviet split
- his erratic and cantankerous behaviour regarded by the party as a tremendous embarrassment on the international stage

Question 2

What were the long term reason for Khrushchev removal of power ?

Answer 2

• the idea of de-salinisation made many party member against him as there was a period of liberalisation
  -forge in affairs of the sino-soviet split

Question 3

Evidence of Khrushchev hared brained schemes, half bakes conclusions, hasty decision, unrealistic action etc ?

Answer 3

• his unrealistic aims of forgein peaceful co- existence when he couldn’t even co exist with his neighbouring states in china
• unrealistic action in the virgin land scheme an ambitious led him to believe he could cultivate grain in an infertile land

Question 4

Why did Khrushchev character, style and method remove him from power ?

Answer 4

• his character is describes as hare-brained scheme making of half baked conclusion and hasty decision
• reluctant to take account of scientific achievement and practical experience
  -attack upon his cult of personality used as to make Khrushchev vulnerable
  -unlike Khrushchev, Stalin ha more authority over the party and maintain fear towards him
• people viewed him as a man of the people but his perception changed after his impulsive decision making
• vulnerable due to his visibility of attendance

Question 5

How did domestic policies remove Khrushchev from his power ?

Answer 5

-domestic polices failed
- attempt to streamline an decentralised many areas of party and government involved him in continuous struggle with the forced of soviet burreacacy
-greater freedom of expression giving to writer and artist in the post Stalin era “thaw” to be adding unnecessary danger, placing hazard intro traditionalist communist party
- virgin land scheme was one of the reform which brought most critism

Question 6

How did foreign affairs affect Khrushchev removal of power ?

Answer 6

-his embarrassment movement in the Berlin and Cuban crisis
- didn’t follow his word and both ultimatum during Berlin crisis were never done due to different alternative
-long, embarrassing and unresolved conflict with china not being able to retain in the moral leadership of the USSR communist world
- made a war with Germany but failed to deliver the peace treaty
-backed down due the American determination

Question 7

Hoe did Brezhnev ambitious removed Khrushchev from power ?

Answer 7

• advantage of Khrushchev absence
  -collective leadership

Question 8

What family did Brezhnev come from ?

Answer 8

• son of a medal worker and worked in steelworks in Ukraine
  -served in war

Question 9

Brezhnev role in CPSU?

Answer 9

• promoted by Khrushchev to deputy position in the central committee secretariat
• was Khrushchev protege meaning that if he went up in line so would him

Question 10

When was Khrushchev remove from power ?

Answer 10

1964

Question 11

What did Brezhnev take advantage of which allowed him to remove Khrushchev from power ?

Answer 11

Khrushchev absence in the party

Question 12

What official reason was given for Khrushchev removal of power ?

Answer 12

Advanced age and poor health

Question 13

Which of Khrushchev reform had hurt many party bureaucrats ?

Answer 13

His political reforms and aims to destalanisation

Question 14

What did many feel was needed of their leader by 1964?

Answer 14

Discipline and stability

Question 15

Who took on the role of a) party leader and b) premier ?

Answer 15

A) Brezhnev
B) Kosygin

Question 16

What were Brezhnev character traits that made him a popular replacement for Khrushchev ?

Answer 16

-He was a realist and enforced discipline which was perfect for the role
- conservative, working class background

Question 17

What change did Brezhnev make in the politburo and central committee ?

Answer 17

• he promoted his supporters to the politburo
  -by 1981, 8 full time politburo members were Brezhnev proteges
  -there was gerontocracy between 1960 and 1978
  -appointed Yuri Andropov as head of KGB in 1967 who continued to control security service which was very conservative (stagnation)

Question 18

What changes did Brezhnev do to the party ?

Answer 18

-give access to privileges reserves party for members who had reached a particular level of:better medical cara, dachas
-most full-time member were reassured by Brezhnev conservative approach
-lack on innovation in the party which mirrored the lack of innovation at the top

Question 19

What did the USSR need when Brezhnev came to power?

Answer 19

Change in development of society while the parry craved discipline and realism

Question 20

Who did Brezhnev share power with ?

Answer 20

Shared power with Kosygin and Podgornyi

Question 21

What are the difference between Brezhnev and Khrushchev in terms of character and aims?

Answer 21

• Brezhnev was ruthless enough to betray Khrushchev to whom he owed his party career, displace and realist however was undermined by ambition
• while Khrushchev was more to an extent liberal mined and full of ambition which led to his downfall

Question 22

How did the party try and prevent Brezhnev from following Khrushchev lead by undermining leadership colleagues ?

Answer 22

Brezhnev was initially appointed first secretary by the presidium as temporary party leader someone who was relatively weak in terms of support. This would prevent him from following Khrushchev lead in overruling leadership colleagues and would allow the party to return to collective leadership

Question 23

What actions did Brezhnev take on becoming leader ?

Answer 23

• the ministries were resurrected and the sovnarkhozy reforms abandoned in 1965
• de-stalanisation and the thaw were reversed
• gifted party member and burrecrats privileges

Question 24

How did the nomenklatura system work ?

Answer 24

Was first used in 1970 and was used to describe an elite class within the Soviet Union

Question 25

Why do you think this system had become so far embedded ?

Answer 25

It grew under Stalin as their own social class but was heavily criticised as an exploiting of the workers due their control of the economy and the state

Question 26

Why do you think that the ordinary Soviet citizen saw this system as being high hypocritical ?

Answer 26

• it was heavily relied on corruption and the controlled the economy and the state
• it reflected a monarchical hierarchy why was ironic as they whole ideology and bolshvixh revolution resurrected due to the abusement of power and inequality between the monarchy and the people

Question 27

To what extent did you think this will be an obstacle to reform ?

Answer 27

• there was lots of corruption and frustration and resentment from burrecrats
• and no interest in reforming standard of living

Question 28

What other forms of corruption existed ?

Answer 28

The black market where product that are hard to obtain are trade illegally usually for higher prices