Khrushchev 1953-64 Flashcards
What was the disparity in pay between a collective farmer and a factory worker in 1954?
Factory workers earned 6x as much as collective farmers
Who were the five contenders to replace Stalin?
Khrushchev (Party Secretary), Malenkov (Prime Minister), Beria (Minister of the Interior and Head of Secret Police), Molotov (Foreign Minister), Voroshilov (Head of State)
What were Beria’s reforms in his attempt to replace Stalin?
Release of 1 million prisoners, reversal of Russification, talk about ending of Gulags
What happened to Beria in 1953?
Accused of crimes by Khrushchev and Malenkov, arrested by Zhukov as treasonous and enemy of the people, executed after a secret trial
How did Khrushchev outmanoeuvre Malenkov to secure power?
Malenkov moved first on agricultural reforms, however 1953 saw a poor harvest and therefore Khrushchev started the Virgin Lands scheme which gave him momentum and party support
What were Khrushchev’s motives in denouncing Stalin in the secret speech?
Morale conscience, liberate party from repression, starting debate himself could avoid more radical and implicating discussions, his rivals were more involved in terror than he was
Why was Destalinisation a risky policy?
Stalin had such a strong cult of personality by 1953 that the regime could be destabilised by attacking him
What information about Stalin’s terror did Khrushchev find out in 1955?
Between 1935-40 1,900,000 were arrested and 700,000 shot for ‘anti-Soviet activity’ yet it was all completely fabricated
What were the features of Khrushchev’s secret speech?
Attacked Stalin’s cult of personality, read Lenin’s testament criticising Stalin, criticised Stalin’s involvement in deaths of party members (e.g. Trotsky, Bukharin, Kirov), criticised NKVD, criticised 1941 wartime disasters
What did Khrushchev leave out of the secret speech?
No ideological criticisms of Marxism-Leninism, no criticism of Stalin pre-1934 (collectivisation/industrialisation), ignores suffering of non-party members (kulaks, order 00447)
How many people ended up hearing the secret speech?
20-25 million
What effects did the secret speech have on prisoners?
In the 3 years pre-speech only 7,000 political prisoners were rehabilitated compared to 600,000 in the year that followed
What impacts did the secret speech have?
Stalin began to be condemned and sometimes referred to as ‘enemy of the people’, instability in eastern european communist nations, supposedly long-term caused a crisis of confidence in Communist Party
What was the Anti-Party group?
A group of ministers intent on ousting Khrushchev after the secret speech - Malenkov, Molotov, Kaganovich and Voroshilov
What happened to the Anti-Party group after they were defeated?
Given menial jobs in remote areas
How did Khrushchev defeat the anti-party group despite being outvoted?
Support from Zhukov (head of army), KGB and unanimous Central Committee support
Why did Khrushchev remove Zhukov from his role as head of the army?
Introduced military reform without consulting the party, seen as arrogant, wanted to develop purely professional army
What further Destalinisation action was taken after the 22nd Party Congress in 1961?
Stalin’s body removed from Lenin mausoleum, places named after Stalin renamed (Stalingrad became Volgograd), monuments of Stalin destroyed, Khrushchev proposed memorial to Stalin’s victims be built in Moscow
What was Khrushchev’s assessment on the state of Soviet agriculture in 1953?
Productivity was too low, livestock compared very poorly with 1928 and 1916, farmers incomes too low because state procurement prices were too low, high taxes on private plots discouraged production
What was the Virgin Lands campaign?
Huge operation to settle and cultivate new farmland in Kazakhstan, the Urals and Siberia - 300,000 Komsomol were sent to cultivate 36 million acres
Was the Virgin Lands scheme a success?
Initially yes, as in 1956 Russia had its largest ever harvest at that point with 125 million tons of grain produced and half of this coming from new regions. However by 1963 harvest was disastrous and worst for years
Why was Khrushchev’s heavy promotion of corn misguided?
Valuable crop in Ukraine, where Khrushchev was from, however barely ripens elsewhere
How much maize was planted under Khrushchev and how much of this was harvested ripe?
85 million acres planted, only 1/6 of this was harvested ripe
What were the main aims of Khrushchev’s Seven Year Plan (1959-65)?
Rapid expansion of chemical industry, investment in oil/natural gas, focus on investment east of the Urals
What were the successes of Khrushchev’s Seven Year plan?
Industrial progress was impressive and there was a major increase in consumer goods
What were the failures of Khrushchev’s seven year plan and what were the reasons behind this?
Soaring expenses in space and missile program led to dropping growth rates - 1963 and 1964 were the lowest in peacetime since planning began
How much did cereal production increase between 1952-64?
82 million tons produced in 1952 compared to 132 million in 1964
What successes did the space programme have under Khrushchev?
First ICBM test and satellite in space in 1957, Yuri Gagarin first man in space in 1961
What social hierarchy improvements were seen under Khrushchev?
Differences in social classes reduced, wage differentials smaller, differences between town and countryside being reduced
What items began to enter Soviet homes for the first time under Khrushchev?
TVs, fridges and washing machines
How much did meat consumption increase between 1958-65?
55%
What were Khrushchev’s main priorities once he secured leadership?
“The good of the people” - Consumerism, better housing and greater freedom to move jobs
What positive social laws were passed under Khrushchev?
In 1956 minimum wage rose, major expansion of the pension scheme for elderly, disabled and sick, seven hour day introduced in 1960, holiday pay introduced, laws against absenteeism and changing jobs w/o permission repealed
What housing changes did Khrushchev make?
Cheap housing built, allowed families who once lived in one room in a communal apartment to have privacy and their own place
How many people moved into new apartments between 1956-65?
108 million
How much did higher education numbers rise between 1953-64?
Increased by 3x
What educational reforms did Khrushchev pass?
Fees for secondary and tertiary education scrapped, leaving age raised from 14 to 15
What was Khrushchev’s attitude to religion?
Fiercely atheist - Stalin had become tolerant of church post-war however Khrushchev increased anti-religious propaganda and taxes on religious activity while closing churches and monasteries
What proportion of Christian churches and monasteries in the USSR were closed between 1959-64?
3/4
What was Khrushchev’s attitude to the arts?
Partial thaw in policy in comparison to Stalin - works that denounced Stalin were acceptable, however works that denounced the party of the present Soviet way of life were off limits
What happened at Novocherkassk?
Uprising began in working-class Ukranian town after prices of butter and meat increased - troops came in opening fire which killed 28 and wounded 80
How many Soviet citizens partook in mass disorders, disturbances, protest meetings and strikes between 1953-64?
500,000
What were the main reasons behind Khrushchev’s downfall?
Seen as arrogant and unpredictable, poor harvest in 1963, Cuban Missile Crisis seen as embarrassment, reorganisations and personnel reshuffles unpopular with officials impacted
How poor was the harvest of 1963?
107 million tons of grain produced in comparison to target of 170-180 million, had to buy in grain from the West which was major embarrassment in Khrushchev’s ‘area of expertise’
What happened in the Cuban Missile Crisis?
In retaliation to US missiles in Turkey, USSR set up missiles in Cuba - this was blockaded by US and both sides agreed to withdraw missiles, however US withdrawals were secret so USSR/Khrushchev looked weak
What reasons did Khrushchev’s Presidium members give for demanding his dismissal?
“explosiveness”, “acting unilaterally/ignoring Presidium”, “cult of Khrushchev”, “rudeness of which Lenin had once accused Stalin”, agricultural failures and “juggling the fate of the world” in Cuba
How much did the gulag population decrease between 1953-60?
From 2,500,000 to 600,000
