Theme 1 Khrushchev

Question 1

What did the collective leadership decide to change after Stalin’s death?

Answer 1

Beria, the head of the secret police, greatly reduced the use of terror. Releasing millions of prisoners from gulags.
Doctors from the doctors plot were released

Question 2

Who was in the collective leadership following Stalins death?

Answer 2

• Members of the presidium (previously politburo before 1952)
• Georgy Malenkov, Leventiy Beria and Nikita Khrushchev were the main players.

Question 3

What did Khrushchev do upon becoming the First Secretary of the Communist Party?

Answer 3

He filled the presidium with his allies.
- Made sure that the Central Commitee was filled with his loyal followers. He removed Stalin’s 1952 members.

Question 4

How was Beria dealt with and why?

Answer 4

Malenkov and Khrushchev saw Beria as a threat as he was head of the Secret Police
Beria was arrested in June 1953 after being accused of being a British Spy.
They felt it was important to restore “Socialist legality”

Question 5

What is Socialist Legality?

Answer 5

The idea that actions of the government and party should be done under the law. This was implemented to prevent the Secret Police from carrying out unnecessary arrests.

Question 6

What were the key features of de-Stalinisation?

Answer 6

• Regular meetings of the presidium and Central Committees
• More power given to regional organisations for decision-making
• Party/Government officials no longer faced prison when not meeting targets.
• Secret Police brought into party control and lost control over labour camps
• 2 Million political prisoners freed from camps between 1953 and 1960.

Question 7

Why did fear not disappear completely?

Answer 7

• There remained heavy punishment for corruption
• Criticisms outside of the boundaries laid by the party could result in exile or removal from position.

Question 8

What was the crisis of 1957?

Answer 8

The “Anti-party Group” tried moving against Khrushchev to remove him from power. This was because of his decentralised government had made them significantly lose power of party leaders.
- Led by Malenkov and Molotov
- Khrushchev asked for the discussion to go to the Central Committee where his allies were. His move was therefore rejected.
- A key change from Stalin, his opponents were not arrested/executed.

Question 9

Was Khrushchev a complete dictator by March 1958?

Answer 9

Khrushchev became Prime Minister
He had not developed into a dictator as his power was still under authority of the Central Committee. Debate in the party was common.

Question 10

What further reforms were enacted after the crisis of 1957 during the Twenty-Second Party
Congress of 1961?

Answer 10

Stalin’s body removed from Lenin’s Mausoleum in Red Square
- Major purge of local Party secretaries (removed from party not killed)
- Khrushchev divided party into agricultural and industrial departments, reduced power of party officials
- Introduced limit to length party officials could serve in-post to 3 years to try to bring about newer, fresher ideas.

Question 11

Why was Khrushchev removed in 1964?

Answer 11

• Economic Mistakes: humiliating Cuban Missile Crisis
• Bad Personality: His conduct depended on his mood. Banged his show on a desk during a UN debate
• Failures of Agricultural policies
• Was not killed but rather sacked and retired.

Question 12

What happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Answer 12

USA realised Khrushchev was building nuclear missile bases in Cuba, another communist nation. Kennedy placed Cuba in quarantine and stopped any ships from reaching it to prevent nuclear war.
Viewed in USSR as a humiliating back-down. Major factor in Khrushchev’s dismissal