Questions: UNIT 4

Q1. 2009- How did de-stalinization reshape soviet state and society?(long ans includes,
destalinization, state and society.
Q2-2008-IN what way did Khrushchevs agrarian and other economic policies affect the Soviet
Society?
Q3.Do you agree with the view that Khrushchevs agricultural and industrial inventions were well
conceived but poorly executed? Give reasons.
Q4.In what way did Khrushchevs agrarian and industrial policies move away from Stalins?
Q5. Discuss the impact of de-stalinization on soviet state and society.
Q6.2004- Analyse the reasons behind destalinization and its impact on soviet society. AND
2004-Give an account of the agrarian policies during the Khrushchev era. How far were they
successful?
UNIT 3
Q1.2009- Coercion was an essential feature in the expropriation of the Kulak class under
collectivization. Elucidate (PURGES) Q2. What were the main features of soviet planning .What
were the major achievements under the first and second five year plans? Q3-state and Party
2008-Q1 Was the collectivization of agriculture a necessary prelude to rapid industrialization?Q2.
How far did the second five year plan shift in its objectives from the first plan was it successful in
achieveing its goals? Q3.Were the great Purges of Stalin justified in the existing socio economic and
political circumstances?
Q What were the objectives behind the introduction of Collectivization in soviet agriculture ? Is it
fair to call it a second revolution? Q2. How far did the second five year plan succeed in correcting
the imbalances of the first five year plan?Q3. Discuss the demographic, social and intellectual
changes in soviet society during the period of rapid industrialization.
Q. What was the main reason behind the collectivization of Russian agriculture? Was the policy of
elimination of the Kulaks necessary for its success?Q2. What were the main objectives of the second
five year plan? Was it successful in achieveing these? Q3. Discuss the demographic and social
changes in soviet society during the period of rapid industrialization
2004- Q1.Analyse the causes and impact of the great purges in the 1930s on the soviet state and
polity. Q2.Discuss the search for security that characterized soviet foreign policy during the 1930s
what led to the Nazi soviet pact of 1939. Q3. Discuss the dimensions of economic reconstruction
during the post war period. (NO QUESION ON ECONOMY OF 1930s)

INTRO
When Joseph Stalin the leader of the U.S.S.R passed away in 1953, a 21 year single man
party dictatorship came to an end, resulting in a leadership void at the apex. The members of Stalins
inner circle (Malenkov, Molotov, Voroshilov, Beria, Kaganovich and Khrushchev) didnt dare fill his
shoes and initially adopted the Leninist policy or collective leadership. It was only by the end of
1957 that Nikita Khrushchev would emerge victorious in a long power struggle between the afore
mentioned inner circle members in the form of a series of political debates and manoeuvring.
Khrushchev would come assume office to unleash the force of reforms, which would ultimately lead
to his dismissal in 1964.
THE MAN
Intrinsic to understanding this period in Russian history is the understanding of
Khrushchev the man. Born in 1984 to a family of peasant-worker origin, he witnessed all periods
from the Tsarist period through the Russian revolutions (of Feb and Oct 1917) right through Stalins
period. His political ascent began in the 1930s, when he emerged as a typical second generation
communist leader, with a technical education, limited knowledge of Marxism and a polarized world
view. Leaders of this generation took pride in being, practical men or problem solvers rather than
intellectuals. Khrushchev thus fit in well into the patron client ridden Stalinist administration.
POSTS(1930s) Amongst his initial posts held some are significant in reference to the power struggle
of the 1950s. Between 1936 -64 he was a member of the central committee and candidate member
of the Polit Bureau (in 1938, 1939). His candidate membership with only advisory powers worked
to his advantage later when he denounced his rivals for sanctioning Stalins purges, even though he
had also had also participated in them. He held apex positions in Ukraine, the Moscow Oblast and
was a secretary of the CPSU. More importantly he was appointed head of agriculture in 1949 by
Stalin to counter the growing power of Malenkov and Beria (head of secret police). By 1945 he
entered Stalins inner circle to join Malenkov Beria etc, who held higher political posts, making him
an unlikely candidate to bid to power after Stalin. However this slight distance from Stalin and key
posts worked in his advantage during the power struggle.
POLICY According to historian George. W. Breslauer despite being a committed Stalinist, the
key feature that set Khrushchev apart from Stalin as well as his opponents was his emphasis on mass
political participation and genuine concern and close contact with the masses. He aimed at a tacit
alliance between himself and the masses against the institutionalized Stalinist bureaucracy. In
this context he paid attention to the agrarian sector. This was labelled his Populist Approach by his
opponents was not a short cut to power but stemmed from the belief that an effective economic policy
required an expansion of authentic initiative and criticism. Yet his policy also retained some elements
of the Stalinist era.
POWER STRUGGLE Upon Stalins death there was an adhoc redistribution of power(i)Malenkov become Chairman of Council of Ministers,(ii)Beria the official head of the Interior
Ministry and Secret Police(earlier he was informal)(iii)Voroshilov became President while
(iv)Khrushchev retained his post as Secretary of CPSU. The power struggle began in some sense by
the time Stalin was on his death bed. Beria was the greatest threat at this point due to his control of
the secret police and had betrayed his power intensions as he feigned sorrow as Stalin lay on his death
bed. The threat posed by Beria led Khrushchev to comment, As long as that bastard is alive none of
us can feel safe. By June 1953, Khrushchev daringly launched a secret initiative to remove Beria
at the next central committee meeting, where he was arrested, later tried and shot. By September
1953 Khrushchev was elected First Secretary (equal to General Secretary) of the Party; however his
power was far from secure.

His confrontation with his opponents had its roots in the 1930-40s. Malenkov and Khrushchev
clashed in early 1950s over agrarian policy. Malenkov discredited Khrushchevs agro-town
project and replaced him as head of agriculture while Stalin was alive, only to lie that the agrarian
problems were solved. By 1955 Malenkov was forced to apologise for the famine of 1953 and
mismanagement of agriculture. Finally it was his cooperation with Beria in the terror, which forced
him to resign as Chairman of Council of ministers. A new council of ministers was formed with
Khrushchevs allies- Bulganin (Chairman) & Marshall Zhukov (Defence minister).
Upon becoming first Secretary Khrushchevs began to take unilateral rushed decisions much like
his predecessors according to Volkogonov. At the 1956, 20th party congress he made his famous
Secret Speech denouncing Stalins terror and incapacity as a war leader. This didnt go down well
with Stalins old guard and eastern satellite states where revolutions broke out. Thus by June 1957 the
Anti Party Plot was hatched to oust Khrushchev as First Secretary. Upon his arrival from
Finland, Malenkov, Molotov, Kaganovich, Voroshilov and Bulganin moved an 8 to 4 motion
dismissing Khrushchev as First Secretary at a closed door Presidium (earlier called Politbureau)
meeting. Khrushchev ignored this asking for a central committee plenum, as it had the power to elect
and dismiss him. When the news of this plot reached Khrushchevs allies Marshall Zhukov and
Serov (Head of KGB-Secret police), they flew down a 100 members to the central committee
meeting, at which Khrushchev remained First Secretary with overwhelming support. What is
significant is that an era if political killings ended and Khrushchev chose to dispose of Malenkov,
Molotov, Kaganovich and Shepilov by political demotion and punishment postings to far flung
regions like Urals, Kazakhstan, Mongolia etc. By 1958 Khrushchev consolidated his position by
dismissing Marshall Zhukov (fearing his growing power) and displacing Bulganin to become
Chairman of Council of Ministers, thus holding supreme posts as head of Party and
Government.
DE-STALINIZATION- Khrushchev is often remembered for what is in retrospect called his policy
of De-Stalinization. To begin with it is hard to define Stalinism as Stalin justified his policies in
the name of Lenin. The definition of Marxism, Leninism and Stalinism really depended on an
individuals interpretation. Khrushchevs policies emerged as an inadvertent amalgam of Stalinist
policy and his conscious effort to return to Marxism and Leninism. De Stalinization was not a
pre planned, systematically implemented doctrine but a patch work of policies that yo-yoed
between attacking and changing some of Stalins policies and then back tracking on them.
Interestingly it was Beria who first initiated liberal measures, which can be viewed as part of deStalinization. He (i) granted amnesty to a million non political Gulag prisoners and banned
torture in prisons and (ii) tried to improve relations with Yugoslavia. According to Volkogonov,
these reforms were with the intention of assuming power as his role in the terror was well known.
Of greater significance within de Stalinization is Khrushchevs famous Secret Speech. This
speech was delivered at the 20th Party congress in 1956, denouncing Stalins use of terror mainly.
In 1953 at a speech delivered at Berias trial Khrushchev solely blamed Beria for the terror. Yet small
signs appeared in the build up to denounce Stalin, for example the Stalin Prizes were abolished. Early
on Khrushchev and his colleagues were faced with the problem of rehabilitation of political prisoners,
which couldnt be carried out without examining Stalins role. A special commission was set up,
headed by P.N. Pospelov (a Stalinist) to investigate all aspects of Stalins terror. Despite ignoring
selective aspects, the report sighted staggering revelations of Stalins killing of loyal party,
bureaucracy and army officials. With the report the party Presidium decided to criticize, The
personality cult era at the 20th Party congress which took place duly. However after the congress
was an officially concluded Khrushchev, recalled select Russian delegate to a closed congress to
deliver a speech past midnight on the 24th of February 1956. He cited the deportation and

imprisonment of millions of innocent people, torture and extortion of loyal party leaders, abuse of
office and Stalins incapacity as a war leader. However he also conveniently ignored the trials of the
Old Bolsheviks and blamed the terror solely on Stalin and his associates (Beria) even though
Khrushchev himself had played an active role in the terror. The speech was ostensibly secret as it
was officially read out by party officials at institutions and offices, with copies sent to Communist
party leaders across the world.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT- The intelligentsia hailed the secret speech, yet it led to popular uprisings in
Georgia (Stalins birth place) and unrest in Poland with reform being unleashed and Gomulka came to
power. In Hungary revolution broke out in opposition to the terror unleashed by Rakosi in the
Stalinist period, leading to a collapse of the communist party here. Finally Khrushchev intervened by
sending in troops to suppress Hungarian insurgents. The Chinese refused to recognise Khrushchev
accusing him of being a revisionist. The political impact of his speech forced him to tone down his
policy and deviate from de-Stalinization as he used force to repress the Hungarian rebellion and save
deteriorating relations with Yugoslavia.
Yet De-Stalinization continued some other levels, for example 7000 party workers were meant to
be rehabilitated yet 8 to 9 million were. In culture also there was relative liberalization with
Dudintsev publishing his novel, Not by Bread Alone that sharply criticized bureaucracy being
published. Khrushchev also introduced new economic policies, which can be viewed as part of this
process. His policies marked a break from the previous period as he focused on resurrecting
agriculture by lifting the shadow of police terror and extractions from Kolkhoz life. He also
tampered with the bureaucracy as he launched a de-bureaucratization campaign, this would
later lead to his demise.
At the 1961 Congress Khrushchev again launched an attack not only on, The cult of Stalin but
also on his former political opponents (Molotov, Malenkov and Kaganovich), who were finally
removed from the Party. This aimed at boosting his image. This Congress was followed by a wave
of De Stalinization, in which Stalins body was removed from next to Lenins and buried in a
cemented pit next to the Kremlin wall. This phase also witnessed the last phase of renaming of
cities and Stalins statues. His policy of de-Stalinization though active in some areas had to be
tampered with in others in order to retain hid power.
ECONOMY
In the economic policy, during the 1930 and 1940s Stalin had prioritized the
building of heavy industry and armaments, at the cost of the peasantry which was organised to
produce at collective farms (Kolkhoz) and provide fixed quotas of grain to feed the proletariat and
urban masses. Even though industrialization was successfully achieved , agriculture was in shamblesin 1953 the overall grain output was less than in 1913, while grain procurements were at 36million
tons, about 2.5 million less than 1940 figures. The formerly self sufficient peasantry was forced to
buy bread, butter and meat from nearby towns, due to extreme state requisitions. According to Alec
Nove the economy was deteriorating and live stock figures fell below 1928 and 1940 figures due to a
major fodder shortage. After Stalins death Malenkov (Head of agriculture) suggested short term
solutions such as importing foreign consumer goods and releasing grain from state reserves, yet the
poor harvest in 1953 led to famine which discredited Malenkov.
Khrushchev who had always advocated focusing on the agrarian sector, now had the opportunity to
undertake a dynamic reorganization of agriculture. He sent in motion two agrarian campaigns(i) The Virgin Lands Project (March 1954) and (ii) The Corn campaign (1959).
The Virgin Lands Project started in March 1954, involved the rapid opening up of millions of
hectares of virgin lands (i.e. Fallow lands and grazing land in the steppe) especially in the eastern and
southern frontier regions of Kazakhstan, the Altai, Siberia and Urals. The project was initially meant

to be a stop gap measure to recover the yields of the traditional central agrarian zones (Ukraine, DonVolga regions). However this policy soon led to an inversion with the virgin grazing zones being
converted into the main agrarian zones while the traditional regions were used as stock rearing zones.
The Central Committee in 1954 adopted a special resolution setting a target of 20 million tons by
1955 from 13million hectares of virgin lands. Even though this was a radical change from the
previous policy, Khrushchev followed in Stalins footsteps by retaining the collective farm or Kolkhoz
system, only to make larger collective farm units measuring above 10000 hectares this was known as
the Agro-town project. Yet he provided new machinery - 50,000 tractors and 6000 trucks to the
Sovkhozes, while building new infrastructure such as settlements, temporary tent cities, roads,
warehouses etc. in the newly cleared areas. A nationwide labour organization effort, was launched
by the Komsomol, this raised 3lakh volunteers to move by special trains to settle and work the new
lands.
The 1954 harvest was good with 19million hectares ploughed and 10 million ton output- however 7
million out of this was still from the central agrarian zones. In 1955 a major setback occurred due to
a dry period, with almost all the Virgin lands spring wheat failing. This opportunity was ceased by
Khrushchevs opponents to discredit him and ask for traditional central land sowing. Thus 1956 was
Khrushchevs only hope as he expanded acreage. He emerged triumphant with an unprecedented
yield in soviet history of 125million tons harvested, out of which 63million tons came from the
eastern regions alone. The bumper crop involved problems of its own- firstly very little time to
harvest the grain, inadequate storage and transport facilities, resulting in losses, yet Khrushchev was
blinded by his success.
(ii) Corn /Maze Campaign- In 1959 Khrushchev launched his second programme the Corn
Campaign. This involved growing corn as a fodder crop in the traditional agrarian zones, so as
to feed the livestock being reared here. After his visit to America, Khrushchev was impressed by the
genetically modified Iowa corn fields used to feed livestock, which led him to start the Corn
Campaign. Yet the new crop was initially approached with caution in Russia. In was now that the
traditional crop growing regions were fully converted into purely animal husbandry regions.
Khrushchevs corn campaign peaked from 1959-62 coinciding with a peak in his political career.
39 million hectares of corn were planted ignoring geographical factors and riding on the success of
the Virgin Lands project, which according to Khrushchev had solved of the agrarian problem.
By 1962, both his agrarian projects ran into trouble, with only 7 million hectares out of 37 million
hectares of corn ripening and the Virgin Lands were hit by major soil erosion, across the windswept
steppe, truing them into a dust bowl. Between 1960-65, 16 million hectares of virgin lad were
destroyed. 1962 registered a bad harvest and 1963 a drought. Riding on previous success
Khrushchev had reduced investment into agriculture to 2.4% from 12.8%, and abolished Machine
Tractor system in 1958. Even though overall growth was registered in agrarian production, salaries
and lifestyle, this growth could not keep pace with the 33% population increase between 195864 and 250% urbanization growth. Thus after the 1963 famine, Khrushchev was forced to import
12 million tons of grain. His downfall occurred as he didnt resurrect the Collective farm system, with
the Stalinist mentality of The bigger the better, still persisting.
INDUSTRY- 6th Five year Plan (1956-59)
. Khrushchev also undertook bureaucratic reorganization and decentralization within the economic
sector. 105 Sovnarkhoz or regional economic councils were set up in 1957. They looked after
agrarian and industrial enterprise at the local level. Yet his policy was still communist in essence as
centralized planning was retained. By 1957 Khrushchev had transferred administration to
republican ministries which took care of 56% of industrial output.

At the 20th Party congress the sixth five year plan was presented for planning between 1956-60. The
plan envisaged a 65% increase in volume of industrial production, with a first time focus on
consumer goods, apart from heavy industry, finding new mineral recourses and building up soviet
atomic power generation. In agriculture a 180 million ton target was set with an increase in milk,
meat and vegetables too. Overall the plan was quite successful as between 1956-58, as industrial
output grew by 80% and 2,400 large scale industrial enterprises were set up. This was the last
period of great economic growth in the post Stalin period. In 1957 Russia launched the first
satellite Sputnik into outer space, increasing its prestige. In 1958 a 6, 00,000 kW atomic power
station which was the largest in the world was set up.
SE VEN YEAR PLAN (1959-64) With the Hungarian Revolution being used to discredit
Khrushchevs his opponents demanded a reduction of investment into heavy industry to reduce
budgetary strain. Khrushchev responded by announcing in 1956 that the 6th Five Year Plan would be
scrapped and replaced by a new Seven Year Plan (later reduced to a five-year plan), which was
approved by the 21st Party Congress in 1959. Its AIM was - To create a material and technical basis
for communism, marking the victory of USSR in peaceful economic competition with the most
developed capitalist nations. The plan focused on electric power and oil production and the
chemical industry. The planned targets were- Industrial Output 8.3% p.a. and Producer goods 9.3%
p.a growth and Consumer goods 7.3% p.a. growth. Agrarian production was meant to surpass 1953
-58 figures. A special focus was given to housing, with 150million flats to be constructed, and
individual ownership allowed. Alec Nove says there was a focus on energy exploration and mineral
recourses thus eastern areas were to receive 40% of total funds.
IMPACT-The results until 1963 showed growth, as producer goods achieved 10% p.a. growth.
Nove says consumer goods witnessed growth, yet production fell below the 7.3% p.a. target. By
1963 industrial stagnation emerged as obsolete machinery and technology from WWII still being
used. Population was also growing rapidly and development couldnt keep pace. Party leaders blamed
Khrushchev's tendency to focus on one economic sector (such as his favourite, the chemical industry)
at the expense of others. By 1962 the agrarian problems were evident, with crop failures and
famines, these combined with stagnation of economy especially consumer goods led to popular
discontent emerging. In 1962 industrial workers at Novocherkassk protested against the economic
shortages. The government made the mistake of increasing the prices of crucial food stuff in 1962,
which sparked demonstrations which were crushed by the army. Khrushchevs policy which seemed
to favour the rural masses, sometimes adversely impacted them as he reduced investment into
agriculture, after initial success, which forced the peasantry to invest into agriculture and machinery
and MTS had been abolished. Shortage and economic stagnation were the hallmark of the soviet
economy for the next 20 years. The afore mentioned discontent was one of the factors which
contributed to Nikita Khrushchevs removal in 1964, however overall this was the last period in soviet
economic history to witness growth and rise in standard of living of all.
SOCIETY
In the sphere of society and culture there was relative liberalization as compared to
the previous period. Cooperative housing still existed yet independent rural and urban flats were
permitted and could be bought for the first time. This lead to the growth of a new middle class. Within
education fees for secondary education and university education was abolished in 1958. Youths at
the age 15 had to do two years of practical work at an office or a factory.
Labour laws were revised as criminal penalties for absenteeism, lateness and migration were
abolished. The work week was reduced by 2 hours and old age pension was introduced. The
peasantry saw an increase in wages and lifestyle. Within education fees for secondary education
and university education was abolished in 1958. Poverty was acknowledged for the first time as a
poverty line was set in 1958 with 100 million people below it which was reduced to 30 million by

1968. Despite all the above measures there was a reduction in the minimum wage and few
incentives.
CULTAL THAW Phase I -There was liberalization within culture after the 20th party Congress.
This can be viewed as part of de Stalinization. A new atmosphere of debate emerged in the
social sciences. In literature this began with (i) Ilya Ehrenburg a Russian Jewish write and
journalist publishing a novel called, The Thaw. It described the problems administrator and
intellectuals faced during Stalins period.(ii) Between 1950 and 1958 journal publishing doubled
with the works of many forbidden writers of the previous period such as Mikhail Bulgakov,
Anna Akhmatova and Marina Tsvetaeva, being published in the journal Literary Moscow.(iii)
Forbidden themes of sexuality and individual emotions resurfaced in literature.(iv) A book Ten
Days that Shook the World by American journalist John Reed , a firsthand account of the
October Revolution, was now permitted for publishing.
This cultural opening up came from above with Khrushchev encouraging it. (i) For the first time
Lenins collected works were published by the regime. This is significant as large amounts of his
writings were brutal, used violent language and betrayed a narrow minded attitude. (ii) Minutes of
the Cental Committee meetings were released for greater government transparency.
(iii)Khrushchev even entertained writers and musicians at his dacha, to discuss their works.
However he was still a committed communist at heart in a journal in 1957 he asked for a close
link between art and literature to serve the aim of society.
BACK TRACKING- De Stalinization ran into trouble with protests in Georgia, unrest in
Hungary, Poland and worldwide attacks by Communist parties on Khrushchev in 1956.
Khrushchev thus applied the brakes on his reforms by the end of the year.(i) He banned journal
Literary Moscow, (ii)suddenly denounced Dudintsevs novel Not by Bread alone as being antiStalinist.(iii) Boris Pasternak, who wrote the famous Dr. Zhivago as his final testament, was
banned from publishing it in Russia, only to be caught up in cold war politics as his book leaked
out and was published in America. He was lionized by the Americans for his book. He was also
offered the Nobel Prize which led to his expulsion from the Russian Writer Union. He turned down
the Nobel Prize to save himself; he begged the regime to pardon him exile as it would be
tantamount to death.
Phase II-At the 1961 Congress Khrushchev again launched an attack on Stalin. This started another
phase of cultural liberalization as (i) A. Solzhenitsyin. published the famous novel, One day in the
Life of Ivan Denisovich, which was about a Gulag prisoner. (ii)An underground publishing
movement called Shunizdat started. (iii) Science fiction became popular after a Russia exploded its
first Atomic Bomb. (iii)Thus I. Efromov published Andromeda, a science fiction novel which was
actually a subtle criticism of science and socialist materialism. (iv) Poetess Anna Akhmatovas
son was finally released from the Gulag, by Khrushchev. Freed from the fear of execution
Akhmatova finished her last poem a memorial to her friends in Petersburg. (v) Music composer
Dimitri Shostrakovich composed his 8th quartet, a biography of all those who suffered under
Stalin, as well as the 13th symphony which was dedicated to the Jews killed by Nazis in Ukraine.
Despite this new liberalization Robert Service mentions that in the (i) media messages in support of
the Communist Party still blared, (ii) Alternatives to Marxism-Leninism were banned in all fields.
(iii) A network of dense informers still plagued society, and the police state remained.(iv) In
religion Khrushchev launched a major offensive against organised religion on the grounds that the
compromise struck between Stalin and the Church during WWII was a deviation from MarxismLeninism. Clergymen were arrested, Churches shut down and a law in 1962 made religious
instruction illegal. From 25000(in1917) mosques fell to 500 by 1970 and only 60 synagogues

survived, and Buddhists were persecuted in Siberia. Arbitrariness and suspicion still marked the
States attitude towards society as seen above and by the killing of many in Kazakhstan due to
atomic bomb testing. People were still an indispensible recourse.
PARTY AND STATE- George .W. Breslauer pointed out that Khrushchev followed a populist
approach when it came to party and state, as he attempted to redefine the language, areas and
scope of political conflict in ways that challenged the prevailing conceptions of political and
bureaucratic autonomy. In Stalins time the State emerged of the Party with a large bureaucratic base
that Stalin cultivated for himself and was marked by patron client relations.
However Khrushchev aimed to destroy this through a tacit alliance between himself and the
masses against the bureaucracy. This was to foster administrative control and responsibility.
Unlike Stalin Khrushchev promoted the Party as his base. There were regular central committee
and local party meeting. He gave the Party greater autonomy in administration, as he introduced
agrarian and industrial departments within the party at the local level. The Party grew from
6.9million to 11million from 1954 to 1964. The Party under Stalin had become an increasingly elitist
organization however by 1964 60% of the Party was of peasant worker origin. The Party was
happy with Khrushchev however he soon attacked the party bureaucracy. Between 1940 and
1952 the party had doubled yet its bureaucracy increased by 5 times.
REFORMS
Khrushchev introduced an administrative reform - of rotating offices which led to
loss of privileges for the well entrenched bureaucracy. Between 1956 and 1961 Party Congresses half
the members of the Central Committee were rotated. After 1919 for the first time a new Party
programme was introduced. It introduced measures such as (a) No member of the central committee
could serve for 16years. For local officials it was fixed at 4years. Lower rungs of the bureaucracy
were cut down by replacing them with volunteers; this led to workers and experts coming into the
Party now. In April 1954 the Secret Police was renamed KGB and placed under direct party
control. The Army was now placed under Khrushchevs supervision.
As a result of these measures Khrushchev, invited opposition from the highest to the lowest rungs
of the Party and bureaucracy, this finally led to his overthrow. With regards to the State
bureaucracy, Khrushchev attacked it by reducing its members from 11.5 million to 6.5 million
members by 1955. This was advantageous for Khrushchevs opponents such as Malenkov who built
there base in the State bureaucracy. The number of Central Ministries, were reduced from 55to 25,
and administrative functions were transferred to local republican ministries. However centralized
planning still continued and the shift didnt question the idea of the Party State. Khrushchev also
revived concentration camps.
REMOVAL- Khrushchevs demise was caused primarily due to mounting discontent within the
Party and State Bureaucracy. By 1964 Khrushchev had alienated all elements in the Party and
State due to his reforms as 2/3rds of minsters had lost their jobs by October, 1964. Khrushchevs
allies capitalized on his failures in economic and foreign policy (Cuban Missile Crisis etc). They
hatched a conspiracy to other throw him at a Plenum of the Central Committee. He was
charged with being a, hair brained schemer, jumping from policy to another. Within foreign
policy he was charged with failing to uphold the power of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
They ignored his success in foreign policy up till 1959 as well as building up Russian nuclear power.
He was labelled as a Populist in a derogatory sense despite his genuine concern for the masses.
Finally he was also accused of vulgarity, becoming dictatorial and building up a personality cult
of his own. Despite these charges the most evident reason for his removal which was never
officially stated was that he had threatened the power, position and privileges of the Party and
State bureaucracy.

Khrushchev resigned and retired, acknowledging that he was triumphant in one respect with
certainty and that was the manner of his dismissal. It was a political dismissal unlike in the
precious period where he would have been shot or sent to the Gulag. He was replaced by Leonid
Brezhnev who displaced him, in October 1964, and a new era of tight political control, conservatism
and decadence set in, until Mikhail Gorbachov in 1985 once again unleashed the force of reforms
which swept away the system leading to the collapse of the USSR in 1991.