The Anti-Party Conspiracy

This section is very small and is about the Anti-Party Conspiracy. I just thought I’d do a section on it as it was a gap in my revision that I don’t know very well, and is important for Khrushchev as well as for a politically-based synoptic question.

Why?

Khrushchev despite cunningly out-manoeuvring his opponents after Stalin’s death, was never as secure a leader as Stalin had been.

Some Party members opposed his reforms, particularly his attempt to decentralise economic planning administration, which aroused the resentment of government officials. They were horrified by the prospect of being moved from Moscow to provinces.

At a lower level, officials could only express opposition by a lack of enthusiasm for implementing changes and using bureaucratic measures to slow down initiatives.

At a higher level, officials could be more direct, and they were alarmed at the decline of their influence in Khrushchev’s rash promises of reform, which were presented as a campaign to overtake the West.

What?

In May 1975, a majority group of the Presidium, including Malenkov, Molotov, Bulganin and Kaganovich (who?) plotted to demote Khrushchev to minister of agriculture (thank goodness they didn’t!). They became known as the “Anti-Party group” by opposing the influence of the Party (Khrushchev) over the government.

In a June Presidium meeting (without Khrushchev), they agreed to act which became the first time in Soviet history a political body made a formal attempt to remove the leader. But they failed to convince Marshal Zhukov, who was a candidate member of the Presidium, to join. Zhukov appeared at the critical meeting with members of the Central Committee to threaten the Presidium with a military takeover unless they agreed to a meeting with the CC to decide Khrushchev’s fate. Zhukov ensured sufficient Khrushchev supporters were flown into Moscow, and in the resulting meeting, the plotters were removed from the Presidium.