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khrushchev 1953-64 Flashcards

1
Q

what did khrushchev announce the politburo was going to be replaced by?

A

an enlarged presidium (nominated people rather than elected)

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2
Q

who took on a leadership role once stalin died?

A

Beria

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3
Q

what did krushchev do within the party initially?

A

•he immediately began appointing his own protégés to important party posts
•understood the importance of a support network within the party

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4
Q

what were Beria’s views on the stalinist regime?

A

he was anxious to depart from stalinist policies

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5
Q

what polities did beria put forward?

A

•a reform programme in which he released a million prisoners and talked of dismantling the gulags
•he reversed the policies of russification

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6
Q

what event led to khrushchev being able to gain support for beria’s removal?

A

beria was blamed for a rising in east berlin

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7
Q

how was beria removed?

A

•he was arrested and blamed for the worst excess of high stalinism, made an enemy of the people and accused of being a british enemy agent for 30 years
•he was executed at a secret trial with six of his colleagues

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8
Q

who was malenkov?

A

prime minister and the leading reformist

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9
Q

what did malenkov want to do?

A

he wanted to increase the output of consumer goods as well as having industrial taxes, raising produce prices and increasing the size of private plots

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10
Q

what was malenkov blamed for?

A

the poor harvest in 1953

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11
Q

how did khrushchev outmanoeuvre malenkov?

A

•khrushchev resented him for taking the initiative in agriculture
•khrushchev strengthened his position and weakened Malenkov’s
•the military said that malenkov was unbalancing the economy

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12
Q

when was malenkov forced to resign?

A

he was forced to resign as prime minister in febuary 1955

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13
Q

when the khrushchev launch his virgin lands scheme and what was the impact?

A

•early 1954
•the success helped rally the party behind him

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14
Q

how long was khrushchev’s secret speech?

A

4 hours long

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15
Q

what were the motivations for giving the secret speech?

A

•to liberate party officials from fear and repression
•they were afraid that if they did not speak of stalins crimes there would be more radical debate (amongst the intelligentsia) which the party could not control
•plagued by his moral conscience and wanted to save the party from a fatal loss of self belief
•he wanted to undermine his rivals
-if his rivals (who had been at the heart of things in the 1930s) criticised him, they might appear to be advocating for a return to state terror

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16
Q

what were the consequences of the secret speech in russia?

A

•the party was thrown into confusion
•some blamed khrushchev for failing to speak out earlier, while others criticised him for raising all these questions
•students tore stalins portraits off the wall

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17
Q

what were the consequences of the secret speech outside the USSR?

A

•it had a de-stabilising impact
•a strike brought a change of government in poland
•there was a full-blown uprising in hungary (20,000 hungarian casualties)

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18
Q

what were five problems with the stalinist industrial economy?

A
  1. ministers set up different industrial targets for each enterprise, complicating the system
  2. there were too few administrators to make the system work properly
  3. exceeding targets would mean targets were raised for the next year, leading to managers hiding their productive capacity
  4. output targets were usually assessed by weight, resulting in heavy goods being favoured
  5. resources were not being used efficiently so increasing amount of capital investment were needed
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19
Q

what did khrushchev’s 1959 seven year plan have the main promise of?

A

improving standards of living for the ordinary people, as well as catching up to the west

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20
Q

what was the focus in khrushchev’s seven year plan?

A
  1. vast expansion of chemical industry (plastics, fertilisers)
  2. housing factories to produce prefabricated sections for new flats
  3. increased production of consumer goods
  4. greater exploitation of the USSR’s resources
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21
Q

examples of key scientific progresses in this period

A

•many railway lines were electrified or had the engines converted to run on diesel- the network was greatly expanded
•air transport was expanded
•the USSR launched the earths first artificial satellite
•launched the world first civil nuclear-powered ship

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22
Q

what percentage were consumer industries growing in 1964?

A

2%

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23
Q

what did growth fall to in 1964?

A

it fell from 10% to 7.5% in 1964

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24
Q

evidence that khrushchev’s social changes were an improvement

A

•consumer goods such as radios, televisions, sewing machines and fridges became more widely available
•introduced prefabricated flats to alleviate overcrowding
•peasants became eligible for a stage pension
•hours of work were reduced (40 hour working week)
•wage equalisation campaign
•factory trade unions given more responsibility
•better and more widely available education
•improvement in medicine and welfare services

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25
evidence that khrushchev’s social changes did not improve society
•privileges remained in the form of non-wage payments •healthcare and holidays only for those at the top of the social hierarchy •cars were reserved for party officials •living standards were still lower than most industrialised states •the quality of consumer goods was poor
26
evidence that cultural change under khrushchev was an improvement
•greater personal freedom for soviet citizens •censorship and restriction of foreign media was lifted •new opportunities for tourism (economically and culturally) •established ‘intourist’
27
evidence that cultural change under khrushchev did not improve society
•a limited number of citizens were allowed to travel abroad •access to western influence through tourism brought a new source of discontent with the rigidity of soviet life •changes in youth attitudes brought more incidents of petty vandalism
28
when was the sixth 5 year plan introduced and what happened to it?
•it was launched in 1956 •it’s targets were over-optimistic and the plan was abandoned after two years
29
what happened in 1957 which helped the soviet union move towards a degree of centralisation?
•sixty moscow ministries were abolished •the USSR was divided into 105 economic regions, each with its own local economic council (sovnarkhoz) to plan and supervise economic affairs
30
what was the alterior motives to khrushchev’s 1957 reforms?
•it removed malenkov’s men and extended khrushchev’s patronage network in the localities
31
when was a 7 year plan announced?
1959
32
evidence to show that khrushchev’s industrial change was successful
coal in 1958- 496 million tonnes coal in 1965- 578 million tonnes fridges in 1958- 360 thousand fridges in 1965- 1675 thousand
33
what did his decentralisation methods do?
add another layer of bureaucracy
34
when was khrushchev’s system abandoned?
1965
35
what were the consequences of the ‘scorched earth policy’?
•it had destroyed western regions and only a third of farms were left operational
36
what did 1946 see agriculturally?
the worst drought experienced since 1891
37
what state was agriculture in after the war?
two thirds of the agricultural labour force had gone, many animals had been destroyed, there were few horses left and there was little agricultural machinery
38
what were some changes introduced to incentivise peasants to produce more?
•price paid for state procurements of grain was raised •state procurement quotas were reduced •taxes were reduced •quotas on peasants private plots were cut •collectives were allowed to set their own production targets and choose how to use their land
39
what other changes were designed to increase production?
•increase in the numbers of farms which were connected to the electricity grid •a 1962 campaign for the increased use of chemical fertiliser •increases in the use of farm machinery •encouragement to merge collectives to create larger farms
40
what was khrushchev’s virgin lands scheme?
•he attempted to cultivate lands in western siberia and northern kazakhstan
41
what occurred when khrushchev’s first virgin lands scheme was successful in 1953?
•the cultivated area was extended and a huge campaign launched to attract farmers to settle in these parts •many of the komsomol were also encouraged to spend time on the new farms, helping build settlements
42
by 1956, how many hectares of ‘virgin land’ had been ploughed for wheat?
35.9 million hectares of land
43
what were some of khrushchev’s other agricultural campaigns?
•he encouraged maize production and the production of cornflakes •he had an idea for ‘agrocities’- huge collective farm/ towns (however this never got beyond the visionary stage)
44
what was cereal production in 1952 compared to 1964?
•82 million tonnes in 1952 •132 million tonnes in 1964
45
what was khrushchev’s target for cereal production?
180 million tons
46
what did khrushchev’s agricultural reforms fail to do (in terms of the peasants)?
•they failed to encourage the peasants to put more effort into their work on the collectives and state farms
47
what did peasant work on their own private plots contribute to?
•it contributed to about half the peasants income •contributed to over 30% of the produce sold in the USSR
48
what percentage of cultivated area did private plots represent?
around 3% of the total cultivated area
49
why did the new pricing system prove a failure?
•because state officials kept altering the prices, so farmers found it difficult to plan ahead •there were frustrations at the low prices the state paid for produce and the interference from party officials
50
why was the increase of farming machinery on farms not particularly effective?
•the selling of tractors to collectives was not effective as there were too few farmers capable of carrying out repairs •peasants were not prepared to pay their repair stations to service the machinery
51
what were the long term negative implications of khrushchev’s ‘virgin lands’ scheme?
•land erosion took place and the soil rapidly became infertile •there was a bad harvest in 1963 as a result •the USSR was forced to import grain as a result
52
in what ways politically did khrushchev give attention to agriculture?
•he made a huge effort to integrate rural areas into the party structure •he increased rural representation within the party at both the local and more senior level
53
which taxes were removed in 1958?
•compulsory voluntary subscriptions to the state were abolished •both the bachelor’s tax and that on childless couples were removed
54
what restrictions did khrushchev lift?
•restrictions on the reading of foreign literature, on listening to foreign radio broadcasts •a limited number of citizens were allowed to travel abroad
55
what changes did khrushchev make to the churches?
•Atheism was brought into the school curriculum •children were banned from church services from 1861 •all higher learning institutions had to deliver a mandatory course on ‘the foundations of scientific atheism’
56
how many monasteries were there in 1959 compared to 1965?
•22,000 in 1959 •under 8000 by 1965
57
what happened to pilgrimages and other church services?
•pilgrimages we’re banned •extensive regulations were imposed on the holding of services and ringing of church bells •devoutly religious people could be imprisoned for their beliefs
58
why was it ironic that khrushchev made no moves to secure independence for the ethnic minorities?
he was ukrainian
59
what did the party doctrine (revised in 1961) say they wanted in relation to ethnic minorities?
•the ultimate aim was for ethnic distinctions to disappear and a single common language be adopted by all •greater union and fusion of nationalities
60
how did the cuban missile crisis undermine khrushchev’s authority?
•khrushchev ended up backing down and removed missiles from cuba •this was seen as weak
61
how did khrushchev pay for grain from the West?
he had to use gold reserves
62
how many tonnes of grain did khrushchev promise in comparison to how much he actually produced?
•he had promised to produce 170-180 million tonnes •only managed 107 million tonnes
63
what proportion of party members did khrushchev replace in his party reorganisation?
•between 1956 and 1961 he replaced more than two-thirds of the members of the council of ministers, the presidium and the local party secretaries
64
how did khrushchev divide the party in 1962?
he divided the party between two parallel hierarchies for industry and agriculture
65
what did the presidium think about khrushchev’s anti-stalinism?
•that it had gone too far
66
who described a ‘cult of khrushchev’?
Brezhnev
67
what was khrushchev’s personality like?
•he often behaved terribly on foreign trips, in 1960 he took his shoe off and banged it on the table in anger •he was unpredictable and explosive, he often insulted colleagues
68
why did working class opposition grow?
•food prices and other things increased (butter and meat) along with wages being cut
69
what happened at Novocherkask?
•unrest due to rising prices and cut wages •a passing train was stopped and ‘cut khrushchev for sausages’ was hung on it •troops were brought in, opened fire and killed 28 (wounding 80)
70
what was significant about the scale of dissent within khrushchev’s rule?
•it was estimated that 500,000 soviet participated in mass disorders/ disturbances between 1953-1964
71
how did khrushchev deal with dissent?
•he worked on improving the standards of living and keeping food prices down •mass terror had been abandoned •peer-policing was employed to stifle political discontents •there was a network of informants
72
what was the samizdat?
a self published group, an underground press
73
how did khrushchev improve politics by 1964?
•attempted to steer the system away from the autocratic and coercive practices of the stalinist era •moved away from terror •one-party state, makes it easier to rule
74
what were the weaknesses of politics by 1964?
•the party elite who had risen in the stalinist era wanted to have more control •political reforms were half-hearted and erratic •cold war- cuban missile crisis •growth of opposition especially from working class and intelligentsia
75
how did khrushchev improve the economy by 1964?
•more focus on consumer goods, housing and agriculture rather than just heavy industry •there were large technological advancements •more effective collectivisation •more efficient
76
how did the economy decline by the end of 1964?
•changing the workings of the centralised command economy created problems for the planners and led to an expended bureaucracy •slows down industrial growth after 1958 •virgin lands scheme failure •import grain from the USA •poor quality of goods
77
how did khrushchev improve society by 1964?
•pensions improving •new housing- less communal living •travel made easier, ‘The Thaw’ - access to new ideas •greater personal freedom •40 hour work week
78
how did society decline towards 1964?
•religion is persecuted •restrictions on literature •society is fractured

history- Russia (21 decks)

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