Khrushchev's attempts to reform government Flashcards
(9 cards)
De-Stalinisation
Khrushchev wanted to preserve what he saw as the essential features of Communist government.
However, he was also committed to de-Stalinisation:
- ending personal rule
- ending the use of terror
De-Stalinisation took place in a series of stages.
Ending terror
Ending terror began right after Stalin’s death.
In March and April 1953, there were amnesties for various classes of prisoners.
In May, 4620 Communist prisoners were rehabilitated.
Personnel changes
Khrushchev removed Stalin loyalists from senior Party bodies.
Between 1953 and 1956, Khrushchev replaced around half of the regional Party secretaries and 44% of the Central Committee.
The Secret Speech
In 1956 Khrushchev criticised Stalin at the Party congress.
Khrushchev argued that Stalin had abandoned Party government and established a dictatorship based on the ‘cult of personality’
The impact of the Secret Speech
As news of the Secret Speech was leaked, there were demonstrations in favour of multi-party democracy at Moscow State University.
Khrushchev responded by backtracking - he agreed with his critics that the Soviet people were ‘not ready’ to know the truth about Stalin.
Democratisation and decentralisation
Khrushchev introduced major government reforms:
- ‘Democratisation’ was designed to allow workers and peasants to join the Communist Party. Membership grew from 6.9 million in 1954 to 11 million in 1964. By 1964, 60% of its members were either workers or peasants.
- ‘Decentralisation’ entailed the abolition of some central ministries. Economic powers were then devolved to 105 newly created economic councils. He moved the Ministry of Agriculture away from Moscow to make it ‘closer to the fields’
Backlash
Khrushchev’s reforms meant that many Communist officials were demoted or lost their jobs.
There was renewed criticism of Khrushchev within the Party.
In 1957 the ‘Anti-Party group’ attempted to oust Khrushchev - he survived due to the support of the Central Committee.
Khrushchev’s final reforms
The Twenty-Second Party Congress of October 1961 introduced Khrushchev’s final major political reforms:
- The Party was divided in two: one party supervised agriculture, the other industry.
- Fixed terms were introduced for all government jobs, forcing Party officials to move jobs regularly. Central Committee members had a fixed term of 16 years. Khrushchev hoped this would stop the party stagnating.
The extent of De-Stalinisation
Some aspects of Stalinism lived on.
The government never publicly rejected his legacy, or admitted the extent of Stalin’s crimes - nonetheless, Khrushchev succeeded in ending the use of terror against party officials.
Khrushchev also successfully ended Stalin’s system of personal rule.
In October 1964, Khrushchev was forced to retire by senior figures in the Party who believed that his reforms had gone too far.
