Khrushchev secret speech

• 20th party congress in 1956
• Speech called on personality cult and its consequences

  • awful for congress members
• he spoke for four hours straight
• • attacks cult of personality - unquestioning adulation that Stalin made - that is corrupt
  • read out Lenin’s testament - lenin warned us - legacy backing
  • Congress of victors becomes victims - Kirovs speech - starts terror
• 1996 delegates that went to 17th congress - Congress of victors

  • 1100 are arrested and 850 are shot
  • 139 central commitee - 98 shot
  • Innocents were killed - it was unforgiveable
• Suggest stalin was apart of Kirovs murder
• anybody that followed Trotsky or Bukharin - they were challenging ideology and didnt deserve death
• criticised NKVD for torture confessions and Stalin had told them to beat beat beat
• criticised Stalins early performance in patriotic war and were preventable
• denounced the mass deportations
• Stalin had abused power in doctors plot and Leningrad affair
• intended to attack his.close Polit beraeu members through purging in presidium
• not an attack on communism, ideology and party this is solely on Stalin
• Doesn’t talk about dekulakisation or NKVD 00447 - quotas for enemies of state because he increaed the quota he was given

  35000 arrest and found 41000 and shot 8500
• even Stalin questioned Khrushchev