Krushchev

Krushchev

1. Rise to Power

   • Stalin had not nominated a successor
     • meant that when he died (1953), the leading members of the politburo decided to rule collectively
       • was not to last long
   • 1st phase of power struggle (1953-55)
     • Malenkov
       • leading head of both the government and party
       • closely associated with Stalin
       • seen as Russia's future leader
       • favourable factors
         • execution of Beria
           • fear Beria was too powerful and would become the next Stalin
           • executed in 1953 after being deemed as capitalist agent
           • meant threat to Malenkov's power position removed
       • unfavourable factors
         • Krushchev
           • appointed 1st secretary
             • same amount of power Stalin had during his power struggle
         • policy differences
           • various debates b/w Malenkov and CC
             • Five year plans and what to focus on
             • what to do about low agricultural output
             • how to approach west
       • opposed by Krushchev
         • lost support of CC in 1954
         • 1955 - replaced by Bulganin as PM (nominee of Krushchev)
         • emerged as most powerful leader
         • had much support
           • the army
           • Ukrainian communist party
           • majority of followers in Politburo
   • 2nd phase of power struggle 1957
     • Anti-Krushchev majority formed by 1957
       • included Malenkov
       • nearly overthrown
       • why they opposed K
         • his style of leadership
         • his eco. policies
         • the speed and nature of destalinisation
         • the pursuit of peaceful co-existance
     • 1957 politburo demanded K resigned - refused
       • able to maintain in office due to CC supporters
         • why?
           • 60% of members were supporters appointed by him to official roles
           • making genuine effort to solve problems
           • CC did not trust anti-K group
         • members such as Malenkov were ousted from party
           • marked new tolerance as in Stalin's era, they would have been executed
     • by 1958, K was in full control of party

2. Domestic Policies

   • Aims - return to Marxism and establish communism
     • Raise living standards
       • raise food production
       • switch focus to consumer goods
     • decentralise government power and economy
     • Destalinisation
       • dismantle Stalin's reforms without causing collapse of USSR
       • improve efficiency of Russian eco
       • strengthen K's position
   • Successes
     • Destalinisation
       • 1956 - secret speech
         • denounces Stalin for what he did
           • purges
           • great terror
           • his conduct of ww2
         • attempt to dismantle stalin's dictartorship
       • downgrading of secret police and new laws
         • abolished special courts
           • in future criminal investigations carried out
         • no longer criminal to quit job
   • Failures
     • virgin land schemes
       • attempt to raise grain production
         • initially successful
           • 1956 production triple to that in 1953
       • Krushchev discouraged use of crop cycle and fallow land for quick results
         • failed to provide fertilisers too
         • fertility of land decreased
           • 1960 half of farm land ruined
       • many volunteers lost enthusiasm
       • Climate in Kazakhstan and Sibieria not suitable for farming
     • failure to produce maize
       • after trip to US, K. decided Russia would also produce corn
         • Ukraine fields turned into maize fields
       • huge failure
         • Ukraine climate too damp for maize to thrive
         • 1962 food process raised = food crisis in Ukraine
     • eco. policies
       • 1957 - attempts to reduce central control over eco
         • set up regional eco councils (Sovnarkhozy)
           • hard to organise eco without central control
       • failure to correct inbalances
       • high military spending and high spending on space programs

3. Foreign policies

   • Aims
     • peaceful co-existence with west
     • prevent nuclear war
   • success
     • 1963 Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty
       • US, UK and USSR agreement to not testing any more atomic bombs
   • failures
     • 1960 American spy plane shot down over USSR
       • US denied spy plane and claimed it was a weather plane
         • However American pilot survived and confessed
       • relation b/w west and USSR seriously declined
         • 1961 Berlin Wall built