Policies, Ideology and De-Stalinisation Flashcards
How did Khrushchev begin De-Stalinisation?
Khrushchev began reversing Stalinist policies
releasing the doctor’s plot
attacking Beria and the Gulag system
What was the Secret Speech?
Khrushchev held a Secret Speech blaming Stalin for the purges + The Terror and accusing him of betraying Leninist policies
however, the Secret Speech still accepted strong leadership + a one-party state being legitimate but it wanted to distance itself from stalin’s mistakes
How did Khrushchev avoid a dictatorship?
under Stalin, the government and party were ruled by him
this was avoided by making them both centres for debate and decision-making
How was the power of the police reduced?
After Beria’s arrest in 1953, the police was once again put under the authority of the party and government like it had been in 1934
the secret police was also reduced in size
What were the 2 main aims of Khrushchev in 1957?
in 1957 Khrushchev sought to achieve:
Democratisation: weaken bureaucracy and give responsibility to the ppl
Decentralisation: give more initiative to the localities
How did Khrushchev aim to achieve Democratisation + Decentralisation?
In 1962 the party was split into urban and rural areas at all levels
limits were put on how long party officials could serve
→ this reduced the power of party members
non-party members were encouraged to take supervisory roles
membership expanded from 7 million in 1953 to 11 million in 1964
→ This bought an increase in working-class members and broaden the party’s popular base
→ it also reduced the power of Higher bureaucrats
Khrushchev Visited villages and towns
→ showing a personal Desire for first-hand contact with people
