Communist government in the USSR: Krushchev Flashcards
How did Krushchev come to power and who was his main rival?
- Head of the secret police Beria, who in March 1953 released over a million prisoners from the Gulags
- However he still remained a vicious threat so he was framed of being a British spy and executed
- In September Krushchev became the first secretary of the party, using his power to place his allies in the Presidium and removing those Stalin had used to strengthen his own position
- By 1956 he was firmly in power
What was the “secret speech” of 1956 and what was de-stalinisation?
- In 1956 he made a speech accusing Stalin of all the things he was guilty of, from economic mistakes to unnecessary brutality and terror
- Pinned all of this on Stalin and not the Soviet system or those who had risen through the ranks such as himself
Krushchev then made reforms to remove all of Stalin from the country and its political system, coined as “de-stalinisation”. Methods included:
- Regular meetings of the Presidium and Central committee were reinstated
- Government began to decentralise as more power and responsibility was given to officials, groups and organisation at a local and regional level
- Party and government officials no longer faced prison if targets were not met
- Secret police were brought firmly under party control, meaning they could no longer act accordingly to their own interests invulnerable
- Secret police lost control of prison camps, which albeit had bolstered the economy
- Between 1953 and 1960 over 2 million people had been released from prison camps, however this was a long and drawn out process
Helped to relieve the population of some fear and tensions, however harsh punishments remained for corruption and criticism while the secret police were growing ever more advanced in their surveillance
What was the crisis of 1957?
- Occurred due to Krushchev’s attempts to de-centralise power, meaning leaders and members of the presidium would have less
- Malenkov and Molotov called for his resignation, however Krushchev called for it to be voted on by the Central Committee which was full of his own allies
- His rivals were not arrested or executed but demoted to meaningless positions
- Without opposition Krushchev became the Prime Minister as well as party secretary, enhancing his power further in 1958. However he was not the dictator as Stalin had been, but rather debated issues and answered to the Central Committee
What were Krushchev’s reforms of the party?
In the 1961 party conference Krushev pushed ahead with reforms:
- Stalin’s body was removed from Lenin’s mausoleum in Red Square
- Major purge of local party secretaries
- In 1962 the party was divided into industrial and agricultural departments, meaning officials’ power was further reduced
- Krushchev made a policy that meant party officials could only stay in a post for 3 years, which increased responsiveness to change and reform however threatened the power and luxuries of many to an unacceptable point
What were the reasons for the downfall of Krushchev and when did it occur?
1964
- Economic mistakes
- The humiliating back down in the Cuban missile crisis
- His erratic and unpredictable nature. Things depended heavily on his mood
- Eventually voted out by the central committee who wanted to maintain their security, however this could be viewed as a victory due to the liberal and open nature in which it occurred
What was the Cuban Missile crisis?
1962
- Cuba had a communist revolution in 1959 led by Fidel Castro
- USSR attempted to adopt it as a satellite state and place Nuclear missiles there, and soon after it became a stand off between the USA and USSR
- Despite the negotiated terms, this was still seen as a major defeat and act of cowardice on the part of Krushchev
How did the political climate under Brezhnev return to stability?
- Seen as a safe option and peacefully maintained his position through the uncontroversial decisions and nice nature
- Reverted the Presidium back to the Politburo in 1966
- He pushed possible rivals to roles that could not harm him, so a repeat of Krushchev could not happen
Reverted some aspects of de-Stalinisation
- divison in the party was set back from industrial and agricultural sectors
- Limits on tenure of office were removed
- Membership increased to 17 million by `1980 because of more safety as a career, building pride
- Party was consulted on decision making by many others and had debates about issues, while also using his role as general secretary to spread information and keep people informed
- Party was now open to criticism from citizens
- Didn’t micromanage all decisions made, so left them to party officials below him
Removed most radical elements of de-Stalinisation while not reverting back to the brutal elements of Stalin’s rule
Ultimately led to stagnation however
How did the Soviet Union under Brezhnev lead to stagnation?
- Politburo consisted of a coalition of the most powerful men in government whose main concern was keeping the status quo (an oligarchy
- Innovation was limited due to promotion being based on time spent in a position rather than experience and prestige
- System encouraged corruption, as was found out during the cotton affair” in Gorbachev’s time, money was majorly embezzled through government
How did the Soviet Union under Brezhnev lead to stagnation?
- Politburo consisted of a coalition of the most powerful men in government whose main concern was keeping the status quo (an oligarchy
- Innovation was limited due to promotion being based on time spent in a position rather than experience and prestige
- System encouraged corruption, as was found out during the cotton affair” in Gorbachev’s time, money was majorly embezzled through government
