32 - Khrushchev, 1953-64 Flashcards
What type of leadership followed Stalin’s death? What 2 factors presented a power struggle behind the scenes?
Collective leadership
Policy
Rivalry
Who was the dominant contender for leadership? What did he present himself as?
Beria
A reformer
Who issued an amnesty to present himself as a reformer? How many prisoners were released?
Beria
A million
What consequence followed Beria’s amnesty?
Most prisoners were criminals, not political
What 2 leadership groups feared Beria? What were they suspicious of?
Senior party leaders
Military leaders
His intentions
Who conspired and carried out Beria’s arrest? What was Beria accused of and shot for?
The military
The worst excesses of Stalinism
Whose downfall saw a coup? Who organised the coup?
Beria’s
Khrushchev
What did Khrushchev emerge from the Beria coup with? Why didn’t other leaders see him as a threat?
Political authority
His peasant background
What position did Khrushchev use to build up party power? Which previous figure also did this?
General Secretary
Stalin
Who proposed popular economic measures as PM? What 2 things did he want to boost?
Malenkov
Agriculture and consumer goods
Who was blamed for the 1953 poor harvest? What did Khrushchev propose because of this?
Malenkov
Virgin Lands scheme
What was the Virgin Lands scheme met with by critics originally?
Success
Which 2 groups of leaders did Khrushchev ally himself with? What didn’t they like about Malenkov?
Heavy industry and army
His policies
When was Malenkov forced out as PM by leaders?
1955
When did Khrushchev give his “secret speech”? Where was the speech delivered?
February 1956
20th Congress of the Communist Party
