Nikita Khrushchev's Secret Speech: The Perceived Thawing of the Cult of Personality
Soviet Union
The Perceived Thawing of the Cult of Personality Nikita Khrushchev attacked Joseph Stalin at the Twentieth Congress of the CPSU in his secret speech. His goals behind the presentation of the speech were self-serving in nature. Khrushchev wanted to consolidate power while at the same time distance himself from Stalin. His lack of political forethought created a specific set of problems for the Communist Party and the Soviet Union. Khrushchev’s program of de-Stalinization had a negative impact on Soviet political relations both at the domestic and international levels. A domestic political power struggle immediately ensued following the death of Stalin on March 5, 1953. Nikita Khrushchev was engaged in the battle for dictatorial control of the Soviet Union against Vyacheslov Molotov and Georgy Malenkov. Both Molotov and Malenkov were proud advocates of Stalinism and their affiliation with the former dictator. Khrushchev decided to make a political maneuver that would forever change the course of the Soviet Union. “Stalin’s successors could not rule by terror and had to win support of party officials, the military, the secret police, and other state bureaucracies.” Khrushchev understood this political climate and decided to act upon it. He decided to distance himself from Stalin and his reign of terror by vilifying him. This in turn would greatly reduce the political appeal of Molotov and Malenkov. Khrushchev decided to demonize Stalin and his former lackeys in the form of a presentation of statistics and inflammatory anti-Stalinist rhetoric at the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party. In the speech he first condemned Stalin for securing too much power for himself. “It is impermissible and foreign to the spirit of Marxism-Leninism to elevate one person, to transform him into a superman possessing supernatural characteristics…Such a man…is infallible in his behavior.” According to Khrushchev, Stalin had accumulated so much power that he was
The Perceived Thawing of the Cult of Personality Nikita Khrushchev attacked Joseph Stalin at the Twentieth Congress of the CPSU in his secret speech. His goals behind the presentation of the speech were self-serving in nature. Khrushchev wanted to consolidate power while at the same time distance himself from Stalin. His lack of political forethought created a specific set of problems for the Communist Party and the Soviet Union. Khrushchev’s program of de-Stalinization had a negative impact on Soviet political relations both at the domestic and international levels. A domestic political power struggle immediately ensued following the death of Stalin on March 5, 1953. Nikita Khrushchev was engaged in the battle for dictatorial control of the Soviet Union against Vyacheslov Molotov and Georgy Malenkov. Both Molotov and Malenkov were proud advocates of Stalinism and their affiliation with the former dictator. Khrushchev decided to make a political maneuver that would forever change the course of the Soviet Union. “Stalin’s successors could not rule by terror and had to win support of party officials, the military, the secret police, and other state bureaucracies.” Khrushchev understood this political climate and decided to act upon it. He decided to distance himself from Stalin and his reign of terror by vilifying him. This in turn would greatly reduce the political appeal of Molotov and Malenkov. Khrushchev decided to demonize Stalin and his former lackeys in the form of a presentation of statistics and inflammatory anti-Stalinist rhetoric at the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party. In the speech he first condemned Stalin for securing too much power for himself. “It is impermissible and foreign to the spirit of Marxism-Leninism to elevate one person, to transform him into a superman possessing supernatural characteristics…Such a man…is infallible in his behavior.” According to Khrushchev, Stalin had accumulated so much power that he was