the khrushchev era

The Khrushchev Era

The Khrushchev Era

De-Stalinization

at the Twentieth Communist Party Congress in 1956, Khrushchev announced a new direction for the USSR:

he denounced Stalin's iron-fisted, repressive methods

he reiterated Lenin's contention that there are many roads to socialism unlike Stalin, Khrushchev would permit some political diversity in the USSR

he announced his intention to support developing countries as a way to peacefully promote the growth of socialism

3rd world competition!

The Warsaw Pact

The Warsaw Pact - 1955

a military alliance between the USSR and Satellite States

a response to NATO

also, an attempt by the new Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, to bring the satellite states to the table a more moderate approach

this is part of de-Stalinization

Attempts at Breaking Soviet Domination

Attempts at Breaking Soviet Domination

In the relaxed atmosphere of post-Stalinism, several satellite states attempted to either gain their independence from the USSR or at least operate in a more independent manner.

There are small examples in nearly every satellite state, but the most significant are in Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia

In nearly every case, these attempts were met with uncompromising force

1. Poland 1956

Wladyslaw Gomulka a moderate communist

Gomulka did not stray too far from the Soviet model, but tried to bring in some reforms to allow Poles to live more independently

De-collectivization of agriculture

Lifted restrictions on the Catholic Church

The Hungarian Revolution, 1956

Stalinist Rakosi replaced by

Imre Nagy

Nagy was initially like another Gomulka

But Nagy increased demands and became anti-Soviet

Announced he would be pulling Hungary out of the Warsaw Pact

Soviets send tanks Khrushchev may be a moderate, but his party would never allow this

Many Hungarians, mostly young people, prepare to fight them

Hungarian Uprising

30,000 killed & 200,000 fled

Nagy executed

Where were the Americans?? Why didnt they help little Hungary??

Czechoslovakia 1968
The Prague Spring

Alexander Dubcek came into power in 1968 and began to establish his program of socialism with a human face

Freedom of press, assembly, worship, right to strike

About to bring in free elections when Soviets put the brakes on

Leonid Brezhnev (Leader 64 to 82) established the Brezhnev Doctrine: it is the right and duty of fraternal socialist countries to intervene in each others affairs when socialism is threatened

This is a way to justify to use of tanks and troops to crush the Prague Spring

Dubcek was arrested

Czechoslovakia lost its attempt at humanizing communism, and experienced a harsh Soviet reality for the next 20 years

Peaceful Co-Existence

this term comes from Khrushchevs 1956 speech in which he announced that the USSR was ready to peacefully compete with the USA on a global basis

the word peacefully sounded nice, but really this speech signals the beginning of aggressive competition for clients especially in the Middle East

The New Berlin Crisis 1959-60

In 1959 Khrushchev proposed to the USA to make Berlin a free city

he suggested both Soviet and American troops withdraw

Americans suspected this was a ruse to initiate a Soviet takeover of the entire city

They were probably right

Summit Conference 1960

talks broke down when Khrushchev walked out

he was mad that the USA would not apologize for the U2 incident

the Americans had been flying their U2 spy-planes over the USSR

pilot Gary Powers was hit by a ground-to-air missile (new technology), his plane crashed and he was captured by the Soviets

The Berlin Wall

in 1961 Khrushchev again pressured the Americans to abandon Berlin

The Soviets were embarrassed about the large number of East Germans leaving to West Germany through Berlin and its corridors to West Germany

Most of these were skilled workers the brain drain

Kennedy increased American strength in Berlin

Khrushchev answered back by building the Berlin Wall to prevent this movement

It began, simply, as a fence

But became a concrete structure with armed shoot to kill guards

the wall became the central symbol of the Cold War

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the khrushchev era

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