RUSSIA Politics- KHRUSHCHEV AND BREZHNEV Flashcards
What was Brezhnev’s regime based on?
Party structures
What had developments after the death of Stalin shown?
For change to occur, the impetus would have to come from the leadership itself
How did Brezhnev approach politics?
Preferred to trust Party officials in their responsibilities
What happened after Stalin died?
Members of the Politburo formed a collective leadership
Who were the main players in the collective leadership after Stalin’s death?
Beria; Malenkov; Khrushchev
Who initially after Stalin’s death seemed to be holding the most power?
Beria
How did Beria move quickly after Stalin’s death to build his popular support?
Reduced the use of terror
When did Beria issue an amnesty releasing a million prisoners?
27 March 1953
What became the key principle of government after Stalin’s death?
Socialist legality
When did Khrushchev become First Secretary of the Communist Party?
September 1953
How did Khrushchev originally consolidate his power?
Removed almost 1/2 of those elected to Central Committee in 1952; gave CC more authority over both government and Party structures
When was Khruschchev’s ‘Secret Speech’?
Twentieth Party Congress of 1956
What did Khrushchev accuse Stalin of in his ‘Secret Speech’?
Developing a cult of personality; acting as a tyrant; using unnecessary terror; making economic mistakes
What did Khrushchev gloss over in his ‘Secret Speech’?
Politburo contained Party members, including himself, who had risen through the ranks by implementing Stalin’s policies
How did Khrushchev believe that the Soviet system would be rejuvenated?
By a return to the legality of Leninism
What was Khrushchev careful to focus attention on during de-Stalinisation?
Stalin and not the Soviet system itself
What were the key features of de-Stalinisation?
Regular meetings of presidium and CC resumed; decentralisation of decision-making; party and government officials no longer faced prison for failing to meet targets; secret police brought firmly under Party’s control; secret police lost control over labour camps; 2 million political prisoners released 1953-60
Why was it significant that the secret police lost control over the labour camps?
Their economic resources had bolstered power of organisation
How many of those who appealed for release from the labour camps on political grounds were returned to civilian life by 1955?
4%
What did heavy punishments remain for under Khrushchev?
Corruption; criticism outside boundaries laid down by Party leadership
What could criticism of Party leadership result in under Khrushchev?
Internal exile; removal to a psychiatric hospital
Why did the population still fear the secret police under Khrushchev?
Aware that the secret police had ever more sophisticated methods of surveillance
What was the most contentious aspect of de-Stalinisation?
Decentralisation of decision-making
When was the ‘Anti-Party Group’ coup?
1957
What was the ‘Anti-Party Group’ coup?
Attempt to remove Khrushchev from power
Who led the ‘Anti-Party Group’?
Malenkov; Molotov
How did Khrushchev halt the ‘Anti-Party Group’ coup?
Demanded that the issue went to CC, packed with his allies
What was the difference between Stalin and Khrushchev’s approaches to removing political rivals?
Khrushchev’s rivals were not arrested/executed
What happened to Malenkov after the ‘Anti-Party Group’ coup was unsuccessful?
Put in charge of electricity
What happened to Molotov after the ‘Anti-Party Group’ coup was unsuccessful?
Became ambassador to Mongolia
When was Khrushchev’s power enhanced?
March 1958- he became Prime Minister as well as First Secretary
Why did Khrushchev not have the same personal dictatorship as Stalin?
His power was subject to the authority of the CC; debate within Party was common
When did further de-Stalinisation reforms emerge?
Twenty-Second Party Congress of 1961
What did the second wave of de-Stalinisation involve?
Stalin’s body removed from Red Square; major purge of local Party secretaries; 1962 division of Party into industrial/agricultural departments; limit on length Party officials could serve in-post
What did Khrushchev reduce the time in which Party officials could serve in-post to?
3 years
What were some of the reasons for Khrushchev’s growing unpopularity?
Economic mistakes; Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962; his erratic and unpredictable behaviour
When did Khrushchev cause a stir because he repeatedly banged his shoe on the table during a debate at the United Nations?
1960
When did Khrushchev’s failures in agricultural policy come to a head?
Disastrous harvest in 1963
When did the Central Committee decide to remove Khrushchev from his post?
1964
Who had Khrushchev’s reforms made particularly uneasy?
Bureaucrats in Party
How did Brezhnev sideline potential rivals within the Politburo?
Nikolai Podgorny given largely ceremonial post of Head of State; Alexander Shelepin put to task on foreign affairs
What was Brezhnev part of initially?
Group of leaders
What allowed Brezhnev to get his way without causing conflict?
His affable personality
How did Brezhnev quickly reverse those aspects of de-Stalinisation that had upset the Party?
Division of Party into industrial/agricultual sections dropped; limits on tenure of office removed; ‘trust in cadres’; decisions no longer made by leader without consulting Party; Soviet Constitution of 1977
How did the membership of the Party grow after 1953?
From 6.9 million to 17 million by 1980
When had Brezhnev emerged as ‘first among equals’?
1966
What is an example of Brezhnev being prepared to smooth over divisions within the Party?
Kosygin remained Prime Minister despite the fact that the 2 men hated eachother
What did the Soviet Constitution of 1977 do?
Enshrined the right of citizens to critcise incompetent and ineffective Party secretaries
How did Brezhnev consolidate his move away from de-Stalinisation?
Limited recognition of centenary of Stalin’s birth in 1979
Which Party Congress was referred to as ‘the congress of silences’?
Twenty-Third Party Congress of 1966
What were the only changes made at the Twenty-Third Party Congress of 1966?
Presidium renamed Politburo; First Secretary renamed General Secretary
What made Brezhnev’s rule different to both Stalin’s and Khrushchev’s?
Exercised less personal power
What was the problem with Brezhnev’s popular leadership style?
Stagnation
What luxuries did Brezhnev enjoy?
Hunting; collecting Western limousines
When had the Party structures that had developed under Stalin become so entrenched that the system was difficult to change?
1980
What had the Party leadership developed into under Brezhnev?
Oligarchy
Who was the most powerful oligarch in Brezhnev’s Party leadership?
General Secretary
Who were some of the most powerful players in Brezhnev’s Politburo?
Kosygin (Chairman of the Council of Ministers); Suslov (Party ideology chief); Shelepin (former boss of the KGB)
What did promotions usually involve before the 1970s?
Moving to another part of the Soviet Union to gain experience and spread new ideas
What did promotions involve under Brezhnev?
Made from within the ranks of the local Party membership after serving time in a junior position
What is an example of the widespread corruption under Brezhnev?
‘Cotton affair’
What was the ‘Cotton affair’?
Resulted in millions of roubles being claimed for non-existent cotton as officials fiddled the figures
What was the Soviet leadership becoming by the early 1980s?
‘Gerontocracy’
How many members of the Politburo were 70+ by 1984?
7/11
How long did Politburo meetings last for by 1984?
40 minutes
How much of Stalin’s Central Committee were retained in office by his last Party Congress?
56%
How much of Brezhnev’s Central Committee were retained in office in 1976?
79%
What were Brezhnev’s final years marked by?
An increasing loss of control
When did Brezhnev die?
1982
Who succeeded Brezhnev?
Andropov
What did Andropov recognise?
Need for reform
What was Andropov’s key priority?
Corruption
What hampered Andropov’s abilities to be effective?
His lack of charm; illness
When did Andropov die?
February 1984
