By 1953, Stalin had imposed his system of
control across the satellite states of East Europe
This was part of consolidation Soviet domination and
consolidating the USSR's position in the Cold War
However, on the international stage, Stalin's
final years were marked by a number of
foreign policy failures, including:
Berlin Blockade 1948-1949
formation of NATO 1949
Yugoslavia's defection from COMINFORM
Stalin's death provided the new Soviet leadership with
the change to pursue more constructive domestic and
foreign policies
Also raised the possibility of a new superpower
relationship and a relaxation of Cold War tensions.
De-Stalinisation
De-Stalinisation is the process, begun by
the Soviet leader ship in 1953, of moving
away from Stalin's policies
Following Stalin's death, The politburo endorsed the
collective leadership of Malenkov, Molotov, Bulganin and
Khrushchev to prevent another period of one man rule
1953-1955 the collective leadership attempted to
reform the Stalinist Soviet system by:
ending 'personality cult' politics
Reforming the Secret Police (renamed the KGB)
Arresting and executing Beria (1953) the feared head of
the secret police - the other leaders were worried that he
wanted to be Stalin's hard-line successor
Following a 'new course' in economic
policy - placed greater emphasis on the
production of consumer goods
Khrushchev's Secret Speech 1956
20th Party Conference Feb 1956, witnessed the high
point of Destalinisation
At a closed session of the gathering, K denounced
Stalin's reign of terror in a 'secret' speech which lasted for
6 hours.
Stalin was attacked for
Promoting a cult of personality
Using purges and persecution to
consolidate his personal rule
reducing the Comm party to a compliant body,
which endorsed his absolute control
Impact
US - regarded as a sign that real change was
taking place in the USSR.
Among the people of the satellite states -
created an expectation of reform
De-Stalinisation had the potential to affect the
USSR's foreign policy and was therefore
significant for the development of the Cold War
Khrushchev's secret speech was not intended to
remain secret
Copies of text were offered to Soviet
officials and foreign Communist parties.
CIA also quickly obtained a printed version of the speech.
Published in Western press in June 1956.
Although heavily critical of Stalin, K did not condemn