Khrushchev, 1953-64

• Collective leadership followed Stalin's death. Policy and rivalry presented a power struggle behind the scenes.
• Beria was the dominant contender for leadership. He presented himself as a reformer.
• Beria issued an amnesty to present himself as a reformer. A million prisoners were released.
• The consequence that followed Beria's amnesty was that most prisoners were criminals, not political.
• Senior party leaders and military leaders feared Beria. They were suspicious of his intentions.
• The military conspired and carried out Beria's arrest. Beria was accused of and shot for the worst excesses of Stalinism.
• Beria's downfall saw a coup. Khrushchev organised the coup.
• Khrushchev emerged from the Beria coup with political authority. Other leaders didn't see him as a threat because of his peasant background.
• Khrushchev used his position of General Secretary to build up party power. Stalin also did this.
• Malenkov proposed popular economic measures as PM. He wanted to boost agriculture and consumer goods.
• Malenkov was blamed for the poor harvest in 1953. Khrushchev proposed the Virgin Lands scheme because of this.
• The Virgin Lands scheme was met with success.
• Khrushchev allied himself with leaders in heavy industry and the army. They didn't like Malenkov's policies.
• Malenkov was forced out as PM by leaders in 1955.
• Khrushchev gave his "secret speech" in February 1956. It was delivered at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party.
• Khrushchev wanted to break the hold of Stalin in Soviet Russia in his "secret speech". He wanted new leadership to make changes and move on.
• Khrushchev wanted to absolve party leaders of complicity in terror during his "secret speech".
• Khrushchev criticised Stalin for "abuses of power". He blamed him personally for terror.
• Khrushchev attacked the "cult of personality" complex about Stalin. He implied his death was a result of Stalin's "mania for greatness".
• Khrushchev's killing list of innocents didn't go back before 1934 because he only wanted to blacken Stalin's reputation. He didn't blame the Party for the murders.
• Khrushchev wanted to restore faith in the party of Lenin with his "secret speech".
• Some observers saw de-Stalinisation as the start of a new era of tolerance and freedom. 2 million prisoners were released by 1960 but some never got home.
• Censorship was eased due to de-Stalinisation. The Soviet Union was still under one-party rule.
• Secret police power under Khrushchev diminished. They were known as the KGB.
• Many Party members asked post-"secret speech" why leaders didn't speak out on Stalinism. The more critical members were expelled and labelled as "rotten elements".