The Emergence of Khrushchev and de-Stalinisation

The Emergence of Khrushchev and de-Stalinisation

1. The Death Of Stalin, 1953

   • Stalin's final years were marked by a number of foreign policy failures
     • Berlin Blockade
     • NATO Formation
     • Yugoslavia's defection from COMINFORM
   • Gave the opportunity for better relations between the superpowers and the release of cold war tensions

2. De-Stalinisation

   • Ending 'personality cult' politics
   • Reforming the secret police
   • Arresting and executing Beria (1953), the head of the secret police
     • Accused of Spying for the British
       • Malenkov and Khrushchev didn't trust him
   • Ruled by Malenkov, Molotov, Beriaand Khrushchev
     • Preventing one-man rule
     • All potential future leaders though

3. Khrushchev's Secret Speech, 1956

   • February 1956
   • Khrushchev denounced Stalin's reign of terror. Stalin was attacked for;
     • Promoting Cult of personality
     • Using purges and persecution to consolidate his personal rule
     • Reducing the Communist Party to a compliant body, which endorsed his absolute control
   • Regarded as a sign by the US that real change was happening in the USSR
   • Created the expectation for reform within the USSR

4. Personality and the role of Khrushchev

   • He out-manoeuvred his revals and emerged as the clear leader of the USSR
     • Clear by 1956
   • 'man of the people' image
     • opposite of Stalin
   • Visited Britain (1956) and the USA (1959)
   • His personality allowed the prospect of improved US-Soviet relations
   • Peaceful co-existence policy
   • Prepared to undertake high risk ventures to test the USA's resolve and secure advantages for the USSR
     • Berlin Crisis 1958-9
     • Cuban Missile Crisis 1962