Khrushchev Flashcards
German secret police under Khrushchev
Stasi
When was the Hungarian Uprising?
1956
Who initially took power after Stalin’s death?
Georgy Malenkov
Why was Lavrentiy Beria executed?
After 1953 East German uprising, he was suspected of taking American money for reunification of Germany
What happened to Georgy Malenkov post 1955?
In 1955 forced to resign as soviet premier due to relations with Beria, in 1957 he attempted a Coup, kicked out of party and exiled to Kazakhstan in 1961
Who was known as Stalin’s protégé and criticised destalinisation?
Vyacheslav Molotov
Who replaced Malenkov as Soviet Premier in 1955?
Nikolai Bulganin
Why did Malenkov, Molotov and Bulganin oppose Khrushchev, and what did the Politburo do?
Felt his liberal policies lead to the unrest Poland and Hungary, voted for him to be removed as party secretary, but Khrushchev argued that whole party should decide
Why was Bulganin forced to resign in 1957?
He admitted to involvement within the “anti-party group”
Who did Khrushchev send in to do farming, and was it a successful move?
Communist youth - No
Why was Beria feared?
After Stalin’s death, the powers of the secret police had increased
What didn’t help the VLP in regard to crop choice?
Decided what crop they wanted to grow, not what was possible to grow in the soil
What were the core reasons for destalinisation?
To justify more progressive economic measures (privatisation); to help aid co-existence with the west and to absolve Khrushchev and other leaders involved in Stalin’s errors
Why would Khrushchev personally want destalinisation?
To sever ties from his role within the purges
What was set up in 1955?
A committee looking into Stalin’s repressive policies
What did Khrushchev say in his secret speech?
Criticised purges, handling of WW2, Foreign policy, and read out Lenin’s letters condemning Stalin
What happened as a result of the secret speech?
Hungarian and polish uprisings, tension with chairman Mao
What did Khrushchev report to the central committee in 1953?
That grain production and livestock was lower than in the final years of the Tsarist regime
What happened to the price of grain between 1953 and 1956?
It went up 25%
What happened in regard to collective farms?
Could set own targets and choose how to use land, encouraged to merge collective farms to create larger farms, collective farms halved from 1950 to 1960
What was there a campaign about?
Private cows, they were “voluntarily” given to the collective farms
What was the young communist league called?
Komsomol
How did cereal production change from 1952 to 1953-6, to 1957-1960 to 1961-1964 (excluding maize)?
From 82m tons to 99m to 120m to 132m
How did meat production change from 1952 to 1953-6 to 1957-60 to 1961-4m
5.2m tons to 6.3m to 8.2m to 9.1m
How did farmers incomes change from 1952-8?
More than doubled
How many volunteers were there for VLP?
250k, mainly Komsomol
How many tractors were given for the VPL?
120k
How many acres were freshly ploughed within the first year?
6 million
What happened in 1963 and what did Khrushchev have to do?
Grain production went down a third, which lead to a shortage of animal fodder, so slaughtered livestock, Khrushchev had to import large quantities of grain from NA & Australia to avoid famine
When were Gulags shut down?
1961
What changed in courts?
Anti-state crimes could no longer be tried in secret courts, military courts now only for espionage cases, or where military personnel involved, confessions not enough to get a conviction, presumed guilt in counter revolutionary cases dropped
What happened to the secret police in 1954?
State owned again
How happened to laws and the death penalty in 1961?
Death penalty covered a broader range of crimes, also used retroactively, parasites law introduced - if someone was thought to be avoiding socially useful work, could be internally exiled, property confiscated on the verdict of local groups if confirmed by the town Soviet, increased penalties for hooliganism
Which 1954 book criticised Stalin’s regime?
“The Thaw” - Ilya Ehrenburg
Which book about life in the Gulags were published in 1962?
“A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (Only work published before 1990)
Which booked was not allowed to be published in the USSR, why, and what award did it receive?
“Dr Zhivago” - Boris Pasternak, alleged anti-Soviet themes, won Nobel prize for literature in 1958, had to turn it down due to pressure from KGB, thought he wouldn’t be let back into Russia if he collected the award
How did Khrushchev remove Stalin’s cult of personality?
Stalin’s body moved from Lenin’s mausoleum to outside the Kremlin wall in 1961, all of Stalin’s faces removed from art work, words in national anthem changed to remove mention of Stalin, places named after Stalin changed (e.g. Stalingrad change to Volgograd in 1961)
Who were the 4 main conspirators to remove Khrushchev in 1957?
Georgy Malenkov, Vyacheslav Molotov, Lazar Kaganovich and Dmitri Shepilov
What was the Ukrainian man made famine of 1932-3 called and who was a major orchestrator of it?
Holodomor - Lazar Kaganovich
Who were there lots of jobs for, and why?
Those at the top - due to Stalin’s purges
What was abolished in 1958?
Compulsory subscriptions to the state
What happened to taxes and pensions in 1958?
Bachelor’s tax and taxes on childless couples lifted, pensions improved, and peasants now eligible for pension