The Condition of the Soviet Union by 1964

• Khrushchev did not fight against his colleagues following demand for his resignation in 1964.
• Khrushchev asked his colleagues "Could anyone have dreamt of telling Stalin that he didn't suit us anymore?" upon his resignation. He said Stalin would've "annihilated them".
• Khrushchev left Russia freer, happier and more prosperous in 1964. Society was more open and less fearful.
• Millions of prisoners had been released from labour camps. Red Terror and state powers had ended by 1964.
• The Soviet Union was never the same after Khrushchev's "secret speech". Mass terror would never be returned to what took place in the Stalin years.
• Khrushchev's "secret speech" had shaken up the Soviet Union. Russia became more stable after the dust settled.
• Most people felt content by 1964.
• The Soviet Union was no longer governed by autocracy. One-party rule remained.
• The political elite had risen to power under Stalin. They were never going to relinquish state control.
• The political elite depended on their lives, their careers and privileges with state control.
• The method of terror disappeared. Improving material conditions was emphasised so that support was maintained and socialism worked.
• The military budget was cut in the 1960s to pay for food imports and to start a big housing programme.
• The Soviet Union became a consumer-based economy. Living standards improved.
• The economy was subject to a high degree of central planning. This was not conducive to initiative and innovation.
• Increases in agricultural productivity was a priority for Khrushchev with the economy. This remained backwards by 1964.
• There was no significant increase in output in farms and factories by 1964.
• Many young people left villages to move to cities. The Soviet Union was an urban society by 1964.
• Women formed the backbone of the Russian economy.
• Military and space technology developments were impressive by 1964. Khrushchev was instrumental in these developments.
• The Soviet Union maintained its reputation as a great military power.
• Censorship was tightened in the 1960s because of the rise of the "thaw".
• Samizdat publishing increased. Khrushchev started to relax rigid censorship controls in cultural lfie.
• There was an undoubted flowering of Russian art and culture by 1964.