Dissent and Cultural thaw under Khrushchev Flashcards
What did Khrushchev do with the secret police?
-abolished + replaced with KGB which is accountable to the CPSU.
-officials able to be punished for malpractice
How did Khrushchev deal with his political opponents?
-demoted like Malenkov and fellow conspiritors in 1957
(except Beria)
Which methods did the KGB use?
-less brutal- no secret trials, arrested in night never seen again.
-used criminal charges against dissidents- said it was criminally not politically motivated.
-replicated by Stasi in East Germany
How many prisioners from labour camps were released under Khrushchev?
5 million
What replaced labour camps under Khrushchev?
-labour colonies
-+penalties for many crimes decreased.
When was the Novocherkassk uprising?
1962
What was the Novocherkassk uprising?
-only major uprising in the USSR.
-caused by wage cuts + annoucement of increase in wages.
What happened in June 1962 at the Novocherkassk uprising?
-strikes + mass demonstrations
-2nd day- openfired
How many officially died during the novocherkassk uprising?
-22 dead and 39 wounded (kept very hush hush until the end of the soviet period).
What did destalinisation allow for in terms of cultural thaw?
-less censorship.
-books + Poems in criticism.
Example of a poem in definace of stalin?
P. Antokolosk
‘he who has died we hate
less than our silence’
Example of books in defiance of Stalin?
-One day in the life of ivan Denisovich- about the life in a prision camp.
What was not allowed to be criticised even following destalinisation?
-the comminist system
Which book was banned under Khrushchev for its negative portrayal of the Russian revolution?
-Dr Zhivago.
-won the nobel prize- not allowed to leave USSR to collect it
What did Khrushchev say about contemporary art?
‘its dog shit!, a donkey could smear better than this with his tail!’
-ironcally became friends with one artist + designed his tomb.
