Khrushchev Flashcards
What was the Cold War?
Conflict between the USA and USSR’s, driven by the USA’s want to impose its ideology worldwide and Khrushchev’s determination to maintain control over satellite states.
How did the space race impact the USSR?
It raised its international prestige and allowed for technological advancements which could also be used for the military. Achievements included 1957’s Sputnik satellite and laika the dog sent into space, 1961 Gagarin and 1963 Tereshkova.
What happened in Hungary in 1956?
Soviet invasion increased east/west tensions and showed Khrushchev was unwilling to cede satellite state control- just because he wanted peaceful coexistence with the west did not mean communism would submit to capitalism.
What happened with Berlin?
Disputes over it created tension, these were ‘solved’ with the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961.
What happened in 1959?
Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba and formed economic ties with the ussr, exporting 24million tons of sugar to the USSR. This worried the USA as Cuba was under 100 miles away and could be a prime spot for soviet nuclear weapons.
What were discovered in 1962?
Societ nuclear weapons were photographed in Cuba, panic broke out. Kennedy put American forces on nuclear alert and set up a naval quarantine around Cuba.
How did Khrushchev react to Kennedy’s actions?
Relented and ordered Soviet ships to turn around. Soviet weapons were removed from Cuba and US missiles were removed from turkey.
How did the missile crisis impact Khrushchev?
The USA’s part of the treaty was a secret clause, this made it look like he had been the only one to back down. The crisis damaged his reputation and was a major factor in his 1964 dismissal.
What did Khrushchev set out to do in economy and society?
Modernize soviet agriculture, improve efficiency and make the USSR self sufficient.
What was the virgin lands scheme?
Introduced in 1954 it planted on the unused soil of Kazakhstan and Siberia, in the short term it was a great success, but began to fail after two years with harvests becoming unpredictable owing to soil erosion.
What was Khrushchev’s other agricultural policy?
The maize growing initiative, only 1/6th of the 85million acres actually grew. 1963 saw bad harvests caused by a lack of fertilizer and exhausted soil, harvests were 1/3rd of what was expected and the ussr had to import US grain.
What plan did Khrushchev introduce in 1959?
The seven year plan, emphasized heavy industries, chemicals and plastics. To enforce the plan he dekentralized the system and set up local councils known as soznarkhozy to oversee economic development.
What were the consequences of decentralization?
Made many party bureaucrats unhappy and created more bureaucracy as there was a lack of communication between the soznarkhozy which led to a misuse of resources and confusion.
What social policies did Khrushchev introduce in 1956?
The living wage and the embarkation on a huge house building scheme which used prefabricated blocks and allowed families to have heating and running water.
What was Khrushchev’s housing policy?
Prefabricated Khrushcheyokhya could be constructed quickly, they gave families clean running water, apartments to themselves and heating.
