Khrushchev Flashcards
Where was Khrushchev most influential during the 1920’s?
Ukraine (party’s district secretary for affairs)
When did he become a party secretary in Moscow then later the party secretary for the whole of Moscow?
1931 & 1935
What did Khrushchev do to show his loyalty in 1936?
Gave a speech showing his commitment to the purge of anti-Stalinist’s in Moscow
What happened to Khrushchev in 1938?
Was the first-party secretary for Ukraine to capture anti-Stalinist’s which led to him becoming a member of the Politburo
What was Khrushchev’s involvement during WWII?
He became a political commissar for Ukraine when it suffered German occupation.
He also fought in Stalingrad and the forces who liberated Kiev and after returned to his job in Ukraine
What title was he appointed to in 1949?
Secretary to the Central Committee (given responsibility for Soviet agriculture and became a success)
Who was Khrushchevs opponents?
Beria, Malenkov, Zhukov and Bulganin
What was Khrushchevs reasoning for Destalinisation?
Extreme repression tarnished the USSR’s image overseas
When did Khrushchev start his Destalisation policies?
At the 20th party congress in 1956
What is the ‘secret speech’ called?
“The Cult of the Individual and its Consequences”
What were Khrushchev’s crticisms of Stalin?
- he was never accepted by Lenin
- the USSR wasn’t ready for war in 1941
- he committed unforgivable crimes against the people
- committed misdemeanours against ‘outsiders’ who should’ve been welcomed by the USSR
Why did Khrushchev make the “secret speech”?
- introduce more progressive economic policies
- to create ‘peaceful co-existence’ with the west
- to free leaders of guilt from Stalins errors
When was the “secret speech” disclosed officially?
1961
What was the reaction of the other leaders to the “secret speech” ?
It caused an outcry in leaders as it felt like an attack on Stalins character and all the leaders benefitted from Stalins terror
(An opposition group was made called the “Anti-Party Group”)
What were the key features of De-Staliisation?
- release of political prisoners
- relaxation of censorship
- end of cult of personality
- Stalingrad replaced with Volgograd and his body removed from the Lenin mausoleum
What was the public reaction of de-Stalinisation?
Unrest occurred with Strikes, riots and protests including political prisoners and Satellite states especially
When was the Virgin Land Campaign started?
1954
What was Khrushchev’s agricultural policies?
- allow more localised leadership (stop collectivisation)
- high prices for grain to create more farming profits so farmers expand land
- sell off machine tractor stations (MTS)
- cultivate unused territory eg. Kazakhstan
- expand corn production & use it to feed livestock
How many volunteers were enlisted to work in the unused areas?
1/4 of a million (mostly from the Komsomol)
How many tractors were invested in for the VLC?
120,000
Where was the corn research institute established?
Ukraine
What was the increase in corn from 1954 to 1955?
1954: 4.3 million hectares
1955: 18 million hectares
What was Khrushchev’s nickname?
“Mr Corn”
Between 1950 and 1964, how many hectares of wheat was produced?
1950: 96 million hectares
1964: 165 million hectares
Between 1952 and 1958 how much did farm workers incomes increase?
It doubled
What was a weakness of the VLC?
- poor management
- short sighted planning
- crops were sown in unsuitable soil
- fertilisers were rare
- successful crops like cotton were replaced with other failed crops especially in Kazakhstan (during ‘maize mania’)
- lack of workers required to maintain the crops
What was focused on during the 5th - 7th 5 year plan?
Consumer goods/ plastics
When was SPUTNIK launched and what was the American reaction?
October 1957 and justified Eisenhower to establish NASA
Who was the first man in space and when did it occur?
Yuri Gagarin in 1961
What was the living/ working conditions like?
- 7 hour days
- improved wages
- housing stocks doubled and communal living abandoned
- consumer goods more readily available
- free secondary education
- censorship eased (number of books published doubled)
What was Khrushchevs foreign policy called?
Peaceful coexistence
What was the Warsaw Pact?
In may 1955, USSR feared West Germany would become a member of NATO so created its own military alliance with the Eastern Bloc and East Europe
If a treaty on collective security was signed, the pact would be dissolved
What was the Geneva Summit
In July 1955, the first meeting occurred of the ‘big four’ since Potsdam and was held to maintain their friendship
What happened during the Geneva Summit?
- USSR’s proposal to solve the “German question” by holding elections was dismissed
- Eisenhowers open skies proposal was rejected by Khrushchev
- the two sides agreed on on trade links in Germany
What was mentioned in Khrushchev’s “secret speech”?
- attempts to create allies with Yugoslavia
- the dissolution of Cominform
- reform of Satelite states and a reduction of soviet control
Reforms in Poland (Khrushchev)
- led by Gomulka
- he’d been imprisoned by Stalin in the 1940’s and was released after Stalin’s death
- in 1956, Khrushchev & Gomulka agreed on Soviet Military intervention would end as long as Poland was in the Warsaw Pact
-other Satelite state leaders seeked similar reform
Reforms in Hungary (Khrushchev)
- pro-reform communists organised protests in Budapest
- Khrushchev allowed Nagy to form a government however, ideas to legalise opposition parties and withdraw the Warsaw pact changed Khrushchev’s mind
- a pro-soviet government was installed and Nagy was arrested and in 1958 executed
What happened during the Berlin crisis?
In November 1958, Khrushchev created an ultimatum to attempt to create a formal peace with Germany and to agree that West Berlin should become a demilitarised area as he was concerned that NATO would make West Berlin a nuclear power and wanted to sign a separate peace with the GDR
What happened at Camp David?
In 1959, Eisenhower invited Khrushchev to visit the US and they visited Camp David which improved Soviet-American understanding
Khrushchev removed his Berlin Ultimatum and agreed to further talk in the Paris summit in May 1960
What happened at the Paris Summit?
In May 1960, the US discovered that the USSR was far behind in the space race due to spy planes
1st of may - a soviet missile brought down a U2 spy plane over the USSR while Eisenhower refused to apologise
How many people migrated from East Germany to West each year in 1959?
200,000
What happened in the Vienna Summit
In June 1961, Kennedy and Khrushchev refused on conversations about Germany/Berlin while Kennedy called for more military spending at fallout shelters
This led to Khrushchev telling Ulbricht to physically divide Berlin to become demilitarised
How many people fled from West to East Germany in 1961 per month?
20,000 a month
Which was done to reduce the number of refugees fleeing?
The creation of the Berlin Wall first started with barbed wire and then in August 1961, the GDR sped up the building of the Berlin Wall to stop mass emigration
Who was the leader of Cuba in 1962?
Fidel Castro
What did Cuba do in 1962?
Castro claimed himself a Communist
What did Khrushchev do in reaction to Castro?
Offered economic support and hoped for a spread in communism whilst the US feared
What was Operation Anadyr?
It installed Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba
What was the US’s response to Cuba?
Kennedy announced a naval blockade of Cuba until the missiles were removed and any attempt for them to be use would create retaliation
What did Khrushchev do with the US?
Naval challenges for the US’s blockade were made by the USSR as well as Kennedy and Khrushchev in talks to create a compromise to withdraw the missiles in Cuba for the US to reduce bases in Turkey
What was the Kitchen Debate?
In 1959, an exchange between Nixon and Khrushchev to debate about their ideologies
What was VP Nixon and Khrushchev’s relationship like?
In Moscow (July 1959), VP Nixon and Khrushchev attended creating a friendly event however, Khrushchev welcomed the VP to the “land of captive people” a reference to Eisenhowers remark about the Soviet Bloc
What was the US exhibition in Moscow?
- The exhibition was held in a 10 acre forest outside of Moscow with US funds spent to remove trees and building roads and was behind schedule.
- Both governments seen this as an opportunity for Cold War propaganda with US’s focus being about having a better standard of living such as consumer goods
- A model suburban home was replicated with dishwashers, cola and coloured televisions
- book displays had to be replaced due to being thieved
How many people attended the American exhibition?
3 million Russians
Who was the communist leader of China?
Mao Zedong (Chinese Communist Party)
What was Mao’s views of Khrushchev?
- Critical of his “secret speech”
- Critical of how Khrushchev was interacting with the West
What was the Chinese “100 flowers Campaign”?
Allowed Chinese leadership to be discussed and criticised
When did the Hungarian revolt occur?
October 23rd 1956
What happened during the Hungarian revolt?
Police fired on a demonstration in Budapest against Gero (secretary of the Hungarian communists) and people who called for more reforms and the return of a more moderate leader like Nagy
What did Khrushchev do during the Hungarian Revolt?
Sent an extra 30,000 troops against demonstrators
He also allowed a new government to be formed by Nagy and promised him more freedom of Soviet Influence however, Nagy pushed too hard and was replaced with Janos Kadar
How well did Khrushchev deal with the Hungarian revolt?
He had no grip over the satellite states and his policy of de-Stalinisation was seen as not softening the fundamental attitude
What was Khrushchev and Mao’s relationship like?
They had a personal distaste for each other. Khrushchev called Mao a “living corpse” and Mao called Khrushchev “an old boot to be thrown in the corner because it is no longer in use”
When did the Politburo meet to decide to remove Khrushchev?
October 1964 whilst Khrushchev was on holiday at a Black Sea resort
What was considered to happen to Khrushchev?
Assassination
What was decided the by Central Committee?
He’d been retired through age and poor health and replaced by Brezhnev and Kosygin
What did the Pravda do after the retirement of Khrushchev?
An editorial was published of his weaknesses and errors being highly constructive
