The Government under Khrushchev Flashcards
Stalin left behind a major _____ problem
political
What political problem did Stalin leave behind?
Stalin’s power was personal, it was independent of the Party or the state
Upon his death, there was a power vacuum, which threatened to cause chaos within the government
What is a power vacuum?
When someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has replaced them
The situation can occur when a government has no identifiable central power or authority
he physical analogy suggests that in a power vacuum, other forces will tend to “rush in” to fill the vacuum as soon as it is created
Stalin’s power was personal, it was independent of the Party or the state - how did Malenkov and Khrushchev attempt to address this?
Malenkov and Khrushchev attempted to address this by shifting the balance of power away from the leader to the state and party
How did Beria reform the Gulag system?
March 1953, he introduced an amnesty for non-political prisoners who were serving short sentences
The amnesty was extended in April to some “counter-revolutionaries”
A Party commission was set up in May to investigate past executions
A Party commission was set up in May to investigate past executions. The Commission rehabilitated ____ communists who had been executed on the based of forced ____________
4620
confessions
MVD
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR
The MVD was established as the successor to the NKVD in 1946
Beria and the MVD
One way in which the new generation of leaders attempted to empower the Party and state was to reduce and restrict the power of the MVD, Stalin’s weapon against the power of the Party and the state
The MVD lost a great deal of its ________ power due to Beria’s reforms
economic
Which reforms led to the loss of a great deal of the MVD’s economic power?
The MVD had used Gulag labour to construct factories and power stations, as well as to mine precious metals including gold
These projects were terminated
Prison labour was no longer used
As a result of the reforms introduced by Beria the Gulag system population dropped from ___ million in 1953 to ___ million in ____
2.4
1.6
1956
Under Stalin the republics had been dominated by central Soviet institutions
In June 1953, Beria introduced two measures that were designed to make republic governments more representatives
He introduced a measure that required all senior Party officials to speak the language of the republic that they worked in
He ordered that all official publications should be available in the languages of the republics as well as in Russian
Beria’s fall
Khrushchev and Malenkov organised a plot to arrest and execute Beria
At a meeting of the Presidium in June 1953, Khrushchev accused Beria of handing Soviet secrets to the British government
Beria was arrested, tried and executed
From mid-1953 to the end of 1954 Khrushchev and Malenkov effectively rules as a…
duumvirate
One of Khrushchev’s first attempts at reform involved replacing…
Stalin’s supporters with his own
Khrushchev used his position as Secretary of the Central Committee to replace senior officials throughout the Party - provide evidence to substantiate this point
Between 1953-56, Khrushchev replaced around ½ of the regional Party secretaries and 44% of the Central Committee
Khrushchev used his position as Secretary of the Central Committee to replace senior officials throughout the Party - why is this significant?
In so doing, he secured his position within the Party by filling the top levels of the Part with people who were loyal to him
Khrushchev’s anti-bureaucracy campaign changed the proportion of Soviet industry controlled by central government from…
68 per cent to 44 per cent
Khrushchev and Malenkov were united in the desire to end important aspects of Stalin’s rule. Both men wanted to…
“humanise Communism”
“humanise Communism”
They wanted to end terror and enhance the lives of Soviet citizens by improving living standards
What did Khrushchev and Malenkov reject?
rejected cults of personality that had grown around Stalin
The first steps towards ending the cult of Stalin were small…
Plans to turn Stalin’s dacha into a museum celebrating his life were scrapped
Additionally, the annual Stalin prizes were cancelled and, for the first time since the 1930s, there were no official celebrations of Stalin’s birthday
The first wave of de-Stalinisation focused on…
ending the cult of Stalin
De-Stalinisation
Destalinisation refers to the process of eradicating or diminishing the influence and policies associated with Joseph Stalin’s rule in the Soviet Union
Khrushchev’s Secret Speech
Khrushchev’s secret speech was a pivotal address given in 1956 that denounced the excesses and crimes committed during Stalin’s rule, marking a significant shift in Soviet political discourse
What did Khrushchev not criticise?
Khrushchev did not criticise Stalin’s policy of industrialisation and collectivisation, or any aspect of communist ideology
In May 1954, Khrushchev and Malenkov set up…
a special commission to review the cases of political prisoners who had been sent to the Gulags
In June 1956, how many prisoners were released?
51,439
By 1961 half of those who had been exiled by Stalin had been…
rehabilitated
The problems of de-Stalinisation
Leaked information about Stalin’s crimes was shocking and caused some to question the legitimacy of communist rule
Indeed, there were student demonstrations in favour of multi-party democracy at Moscow State University in 1957 - they were suppressed by the communist authorities
Khrushchev secretly authorised the establishment of…
a Special Commission, headed by Brezhnev, to suppress anti-communist activities
Democratisation was designed to…
increase the participation of workers in the government
Democratisation did not involve elections. Rather, Khrushchev introduced two measures
Allowed expansion of Party membership:
- It grew from 6.9 million in 1954 to 11 million in 1964
- 60% of its members were workers or peasants by 1964
He introduced fixed terms for senior Communists to ensure that they were replaced regularly:
- As a result, ⅔ of regional Secretaries and the Presidium were replaced between 1957 and 1961
What did Khrushchev do in order to decentralise the Party?
he abolished some of the central ministries that oversaw the economy and devolved power to 105 newly created economic councils
Why was there renewed criticism of Khrushchev within the Party?
Khrushchev’s reforms meant that many Communist officials were demoted, lost their jobs, or were forced to move away from Moscow
Discontent over Khrushchev’s reforms and the problems created by de-Stalinisation led to…
an attempt to overthrow Khrushchev (The Anti-Party Group)
The attempted coup of 1957 was significant for the evolution of Soviet government - why?
(Khrushchev argued that the decision to replace him could only be taken by the Central Committee - where Khrushchev had the majority of the support)
- Demonstrated that senior Communists would no longer use political terror against each other
- Recognised that the power of the Party Leader depended on the support of the Central Committee
Khrushchev also introduced a radical Party reform - what was this?
He built on his earlier democratisation measures by introducing fixed terms for all jobs within the Party, including a fixed 16- year term for Central Committee members
Khrushchev accused Stalin of being involved in…
Kirov’s murder
The Congress also voted to remove Stalin’s body from…
public display
What was the impact of Khrushchev’s 1962 Party reforms?
Khrushchev’s 1962 Party reforms effectively split the Party in two
According to the new structure, one half of the Party was put in charge of agriculture and the other of industry
The new division between agriculture and industry went right to the top of the Party - how so?
The Central Committee was divided into industrial and agricultural bureaus.
Khrushchev hoped that splitting the Party into industrial and agricultural bureaus would…
boost economic growth
Khrushchev’s political reforms created…
discontent in the Party
His economic reforms failed to…
boost economic growth and from the late 1950s, the economy slowed
In October 1964 Khrushchev was summoned to a special meeting where he was…
criticised for mishandling the economy, foreign policy and creating his own cult of personality
In October 1964 the plotters had the backing of…
the majority of the Central Committee
Khrushchev’s biggest political achievement was…
ending the use of terror
Khrushchev’s enemies were sacked but not…
tortured or killed
Khrushchev ended…
Stalin’s system of personal rule
Unlike Stalin, Khrushchev was forced to…
work with other senior figures in the party
Unlike Stalin, Khrushchev was forced to work with other senior figures in the party - provide an example
Secret Speech for example, had to gain the approval of the Presidium, and the Central Committee forced Khrushchev to accept revisions to the Speech months before it happened
