Secret Speech Flashcards
When was the 20th party congress and what happend
1956
Secret speech
25 million audience
What was the secret speech
Speech to party members where he dismantled the legend of Stalin for 4 hours
Why did Krushchev do the secret speech
“ if we don’t tell the truth, we will be forced to in the future under investigation”
What did Krushchev reveal in his secret speech
Attacked cult of personality
Read Lenin’s testament
Kirov affair
Bad wartime leader
De kulakisation
Stalins “grave abuse of power”
What consequences followed the secret speech at home
“Revealed a blood stained torture chamber”
Boycotts at Moscow uni
Stalin photos tore down
Demand for multiparty elections
617, 000 prisoners rehabilitated
What were the consequences of the secret speech outside the USSR
Destabilised Eastern Europe
Change of government in Poland
Uprising in Hungary- denounced Warsaw pact - Krushchev caused 20k deaths
Zedong denounced Krushchev as a revisionist
Figes quote on the secret speech
“It changed everything. It was the beginning of the end”
Who was against the speech
Molotov
Kaganovich
Voroshilov
