Stalin's death and Khrushchev's rise

Question 1

Problems left by Stalin’s death

Answer 1

• Stalin did not allow anyone to have power so there was no obvious successor
• Economy and industry still devloping
• Many offials killed in purge, no one left to run gov
• Buearacratic system leaves power vaccum, requires mulitple people to fuffil
• people still didnt want to oppose stalin

Question 2

Nikita Khruschev

Answer 2

Khtuschev became Secretary of the central committee on Stalins death. He had no state role the party was his powerbase. He was a popular member of the politburo.

Question 3

Beria’s reform

Answer 3

• March 1953 introduced an amnesty of non-political prisoners
• This was extended in April to some counter revolutionaries
• A party commision was set up to investigate past executions. This rehabillitated 4620 communists who had been executed on the basis of ofrced confessions.
• The MVD lost most of its econmoic power, Projects like gulag labour constructed factoires and power stations.

Question 4

Beria’s fall

Question 5

De-Stalinisation

Answer 5

Khurschev and Malenkov were united in the desire to end aspects of Stalin’s rule. Both wanted to humanise communism. They wanted to wanted to end the use of terror and improve standard of living.

Both men were leninists so rejected the ‘cult of personality’ and both wanted to hsift focus from Stalins achievments to the communist party.

Question 6

The secret speech

Answer 6

Khurshchev presented his critisisms of Stalin in a secret session of the twentieth party congress of 1956 (the first congress after Stalins death)

Khurschev focused on the cult of personality he argued stalin had abandoned collective leadership. He claimed Stalin had committed enourmous crimes and made mistakes such as ourging the red army prior to ww2.

Khurschev did not critise Stalins policy of industrialisation or collectivisation or any aspect of communist ideology and argued that the fundations of the communist system were sound.