khrushev - image vs. reality
... of the USSR were not familiar with all the policies of Stalin, only the one’s they were affected by. The cult of Stalin was a powerful force, with statues and paintings being commonplace and even a major city re-named in his honor. The effects of Stalinization were not known to the country, and no man in the government dared expose the truth for fear of retribution from Stalin and his secret police. Following the death of Stalin however, a power struggle ensued as to who his successor would be. Nikita Khrushchev emerged as the new head of state of the USSR, with a desire to reform the existing system. Khrushchev sought to expose the atrocities of the Stalin years to emphasize the need for reform and show the true policies of the man that had been established as an iconic figure in their society. Khrushchev achieved this in his secret speech in the spring of 1956 to the National Congress in which we outlined and attacked the dead Soviet leader, and introduced him as the tyrant he was by exposing his policies and showing his terrible indifference to the plight of millions of soviet citizens. This act served to disassociate the present regime with that of its predecessor which would assist in its desire to reform. Khrushchev did initiate reform during his tenure as Soviet Secretary, including the easing of certain travel restrictions, the reduction in weekly work hours for Soviet workers and improved agricultural output due to his new agricultural policies. Also significant is that Khrushchev initiated a policy of “peaceful co-existence” with the West, allowing for a reprieve in tensions between the two states. Khrushchev became an international figure, who’s image was associated with a more approachable Soviet Union, as Khrushchev’s general disposition was a welcome change to the fear invoked by Stalin. Khrushchev was successful with distancing himself from the image of Stalin and asserting himself and his image as the new face of the Soviet Russia. Khrushchev thus was able to advance the process of destalinization in as far as he initiated several relatively minor reforms to Stalinist policies and distanced Stalin’s image from the new government. He did not however resist from indulging in Stalinist tendencies and employing many similar tactics as his predecessor to establish his own position. When Khrushchev was anointed head patriarch of the communist party, this was not meant to take the same form as previously witnessed under Stalin. The single dictator was intended to be replaced by a collective leadership of Communist Party elites. Khrushchev was intended to maintain the highest position, but policy and decisions were to be shared among the Presidium, predecessor to the Politburo. Khrushchev however during the course of his position as Premiere, increasingly strayed from the collective spirit and initiated certain policies that angered members of the Presidium. Khrushchev began to promote his own image, as through the destalinization effort the country lacked a central revered figure. Khrushchev effectively replaced the image of Stalin with that of his own and established a new cult of personality revolving around his own image. Khrushchev began to monopolize the affairs of the Presidium, in turn reverting the nation back to a government ruled by a single dictator. This form of government was essentially the same that was found during the time of Stalin, that of a one-man dictatorship in which that single individual ruled arbitrarily and unchecked by party or societal organs. Khrushchev became the person associated with the interpretation of Marxist-Leninist dogma as he continued to surround himself with the cult of his own personality. On this level, Khrushchev’s efforts towards destalinization were self-serving in establishing his own position of power. Khrushchev did initiate reform on several issues, but did nothing to reform the means by which he was able to constitute his power. He did nothing to alter the system to ensure that positions of power cannot be abused to level they were under the time of Stalin, if anything he took steps back towards Stalinism, as initially the single person dictatorship model of government was replaced with a ruling oligarchy. Regardless of the realities of Khrushchev’s position and personal intentions, his ascension to Secretary did provide positive improvements for the USSR relative to government during Stalin’s era. Regardless of Khrushchev’s inadequacies as a reformer to instigate true social change, his initiation of the idea of reform was of itself revelatory coupled with the exposure of Stalin as a tyrant. Khrushchev did not abuse his power to the same degree found under Stalin, as Khrushchev’s policies proved less brutal and the lack of ‘great purges’ meant his rule was not signified by the spread of terror to maintain his political position. Khrushchev was perceived as a moderate who constantly faced opposition from hard-liners within the Presidium. These individuals felt that many of Khrushchev’s policies put the USSR in a weak position relative to the United States. Khrushchev’s policy of “peaceful co-existence” with the West angered many members of the Presidium, because of their perception of the West as a serious threat to Soviet security, and that this decision was reached by Khrushchev without the consultation of the Presidium itself. The most significant event that occurred while Khrushchev held the highest position of the Russian government came in 1963 as tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union reached their all time high, as U.S. spy planes photographed Soviet nuclear weapons being installed on the tiny island of Cuba, just south of the United States. This bold move by Khrushchev was an attempt to level to the nuclear strategic playing field, as U.S. nuclear weapons facilities were found through many areas of Western Europe and Turkey. Khrushchev also did not perceive the President, John F. Kennedy, to be a very strong or capable man and thought him to be young and inexperienced judging by his blunder at the Bay of Pigs in 1961. The Cuban Missile Crisis, as the event was coined, proved to be the closest humanity has come to nuclear war between two massively equipped superpowers. The issue was resolved by the U.S. imposition of a naval blockade of the island, internationally exposing Soviet plans in the face of their denials, and the reaching of an agreement for the removal of the weapons back the Soviet Union. The agreement stipulated that the United States would not invade Cuba, but Soviet secondary demands for removal of U.S. nuclear missiles in Western Europe and Turkey were ignored. The agreement went forward, but at the expense of Khrushchev’s hold on his government as this incident, coupled with now failing agricultural initiatives and governmental policies, lead to Khrushchev’s ouster from office in 1964. Khrushchev was forced to resign as Leonid Brezhnev took over as Premiere of the Soviet Union. The significance of Khrushchev as a historical figure in the USSR did not become apparent till decades later when Mikhail Gorbachev took power in the Soviet Union. Gorbachev was relatively young and brought with him an enthusiastic desire to reform the country which at the time had suffered from several decades of economic stagnation. Gorbachev needed to popularize his ideas for reform, to gain the necessary support to properly institutionalize his new direction and policies. To legitimize the reform process, Gorbachev would draw on the image of Khrushchev as a Soviet historical figure who pioneered the ideals of reform. Central to this image of Khrushchev as a reformer was his secret speech which exposed the brutal truths of Stalin and his reign as head demagogue of the Soviet Union. This single act, and the significance that it had on Soviet society, w...