Why De-Stalinisation?

De-stalinisation was a criticism of the Stalinist system that already existed when Khrushchev came into power, and the dismantlement of aspects of his regime. Thatcher referred to it as “the elimination of Stalinist excesses and policies as well as his cult of personality from Soviet politics, post 1953.” It is vital to understand why Khrushchev decided to attempt de-Stalinisation in order to evaluate whether or not he achieved his motives.

The Relaxation of the Political Atmosphere

Novels critical of Stalin were beginning to appear, notably “The Thaw” by Ehrenburg.

-          Khrushchev took advantage of this -> on the 24^th Feb. 1956 he delivered his “Secret Speech” to the 20^th Party Congress on the subject of “The Cult of the Individual and its Consequences”

·         This described the negative comments made by Lenin by Stalin and pointed the finger directly at Stalin for not preparing the USSR for war in 1941

·         It also listed Stalin’s crimes: mass arrests, deportations of thousands of people, execution without trial

·         This speech was met with disbelief, applause and shouts. Molotov, Kaganovitch and Malenkov tried to remove Khrushchev as First Secretary but this was overturned by the Central Committee

Defensive Motives

If he did not strike a blow against Stalin, Khrushchev believed someone else would show him as one of Stalin’s henchmen

-          He was in charge of the Ukrainian Party between 1938-1949

-          He had worked to eliminate nationalist movements in Ukraine and Poland

Sense of Security

Khrushchev calculated that since none of the current Soviet leaders had a clean record, their shared guilt would prevent any serious challenge.

Genuine Feeling

Alternatively to cunningness, Khrushchev was an idealist who was personally shocked by the extent of Stalin’s terror.

-          This is VERY difficult to argue; Khrushchev was very much aware of the atrocities in the Ukraine, even if he did claim that he was too afraid to speak out about them at the time.

Economic Reasons

By attacking Stalin’s record, Khrushchev believed he would be more likely to gain support for his economic reforms in industry and agriculture.

-          His main focus was agriculture, notably his “Virgin Lands Scheme”, but also placing emphasis on consumer goods, which greatly contrasted with Stalin

Social Reasons

Khrushchev wanted to introduce a policy of Reform Communism;

-          This intended to make the Soviet system more humane by improving living standards

·         By attacking the full terror of Stalin’s system with its labour camps and torture, he hoped to gain support for this policy

Foreign Policy

De-Stalinisation made co-existence with the West easier

The conclusion  to be made here is that if there was ever a time that the Soviet system would be able to change from the rigidity of Stalinism, it would be following Stalin’s death when public opinion was starting to turn more critical. Like any politician, Khrushchev also had his own political motives in that criticising Stalin secured his own position. And without condemning the Stalinist system, Khrushchev would not have been able to drum up support for his policy of Reform Communism. However, as we will go on to look at, the success of de-stalinisation and Reform Communism was very limited.