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Khruschev ebuliant (Industry (move to lighter industry and consumer goods,…
Khruschev ebuliant
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Ideology
not doctrine Marxist, but tried to restore ideological basis of society lost under S
1961: announced 20 year programme of building communism, denounced enemies at home and abroad, continued to expose Stalinist atrocities
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Social Developments keen to be seen as promoting a new stage in Soviet society, for the whole people, no longer a dictatorship of the proletariat, the promise was that the present generation would live in communism
believed in human world communism, not to say wasn't a ruthless operator (Hungarian revolution, sending in the tanks
consumer goods, sewing machines, pension arrangements improved, decreased hours of work
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priveleges remained for the hierarchy, going against his claim of an equal society
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said 'we will bury you' to the West, certain of the ideological superiority of Communism, but more practical than that, said needed to give people trousers, ideology doesn't feed you
Industry
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managers urged to make profit, not meet quotas
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economic and industrial development stalled, not enough investment, hectic campaigns to restore deficiencies weren't helpful, Canadian wheat had to be purchased to help with hunger, never should have happened
WWII destroyed 70% industrial capacity and the workforce, also an immense defence budget
defence on armaments and space where most of money went, also had to police satellite states
but introduced industrial change w/ energy, 105 economic areas created but much directive power remained in Moscow, system abandoned 1965
K offered incentives opposed to S's fear. Thought bureaucracy too heavy, not efficient, wanted decentralisation. Locals who understood local conditions
Decentralisation economically correct, but K making enemies in party as reduced party jobs.
K seemed to be leading the world in terms of technology,1st satellite sent to space in 1957
1958-65: Industrial production increased by 96%, gross national income increased by 58%
Agriculture
Virgin Lands Scheme (1954), make areas of N Kazakhstan, W. Siberia and SE Russia into grain producing regions
initially a success, hundreds of thousands of young people mobilised, thousands of tractors sent, by 1956, 1953 harvest tripled
for quick results, K discouraged use of crop cycle with fallow fields but also failed to provide fertiliser --> fertility of land disappeared, soil erosion and desertification, volunteers lost enthusiasm, moved back
Soil not suitable, neither climate, not enough fertilisers available, poor planning and management
In 1963, poor weather conditions and exhausted land meant there was a harvest failure in 1963, was around same time as Cuban Missilie Crisis which was a failure for K --> removed from power
1957, livestock campaign, aim to overtake USA in production of meat, milk and butter
necessary to overkill stock, bubble burst 1958
Traditional grain-producing Ukraine switched to maize for cattle fodder, Ukraine too wet for maize though
investment increased 400% but often clumsy and counter-productive; 1963 K used precious gold and hard currency reserve to import grain - failure of soviet agriculture
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K from peasant stock, took these reforms very seriously
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From 1952-58, farm workers incomes more than doubled, but still paid less than industrial workers.
Power Struggle
Stalin died 1953, Stalinism (nationalism, security), power vacuum ensued
Khrushchev maneuvered his way to leader, odious Baria shot (delighted in torture)
astounded party with denunciation of Stalin, party listened in shocked silence, the cult of personality was derided by K, presented S as a bloodthirsty tyrant, didn't mean would be change, K was a Marxist
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K skilled at maneuvring, Baria head of NKVD, 1953-6 got rid of Baria
K's achievement's undeniable, but deep complexities evident - was at once a Stalinist and an anti-Stalinist, faced conflicting pressures and resistance to change, causing his sometimes ill-thought-out reforms to fall short.
Foreign Policy
Hope of the Thaw, Detente
Peaceful Coexistence
Held a peace conference in Geneva in 1955, deal w/ Indochina, Great Power Summit, 1st since Potsdam
Austria, divided in 4, would become neutral and independent, got its borders back as had been before Anschluss
Stalin's death made it easier for a ceasefire in Korea, although never reached peace/conclusion
K reduced size of Red Army, did so unilaterally from 3.6 to 2.4 milllion
Denunciation of Stalin, pointed finger at S, Secret Speech in 1956, said Terror in 1930s had been wrong, S wasn't a great war-time leader, was heavy-handed in Eastern Europe, urged Party to look back to Lenin rather than Stalin
K a big Communist, not a great Marxist thinker like Trotsky, wasn't highly-educated but was a committed communist
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K maybe also trying to re-establish authority of Communist Party, which had been eroded by S's reign of terror, also would make a clear break with the Stalinist era, easier to justify a new policy
Mao saw this denunciation of USSR's great leader as an attack on China's great leader, Mao--> M developed a -ve attitude to K
Poland began seeking independence from USSR, stayed after pressure, Nagy announced free elections, K thought gap in Iron Curtain, !!, wanted out of Warsaw Pact, K ordered Red Army to crush Hungarian Uprising in 1956 #
De-Stalinisation brought an end to terror in the USSR, changing the country.This is the most important legacy of Khrushchev's rule
1958: K gave US, UK and Fr 8 months to conclude peace treaty w/ German states and USSR
1961, reannounced that the Berlin problems must be solved - Western powers must leave, only increased flight of refugees --> Berlin Wall. Described as an anti-fascist wall. Tension decreased after this as refugee problem less acute
Conflict as well though, K erratic, difficult to predict
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Berlin Problem, 1949-57, 2 million valuable citizens fled East G to West
Was a drainage, East G wouldn't last
U2 Incident. US said weather plane, but K had the plane, and Powers, knew wasn't, made a big deal of --Tensions Rising
Cuban Missile Crisis
K reckless, pushed too far, Kennedy outmaneuvered him
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K would gain prestige in 3rd world, many countries in Latin America where communism could spread.