Khrushchev came to power in 1953 a few months after the death of the Secretary General of the Central Committee of the CPSU (B.) Joseph Stalin. He entered the history of the Soviet state with his reforms, to which there remains an ambiguous attitude among experts. The period of his reign is usually called the "thaw", while he became the only leader of the USSR, who was forcibly removed from his post. The country Nikita Sergeevich led 11 years. In this article we will talk about the circumstances that led him to the leaders of the Soviet Union, and about the main reforms.
The death of Stalin
It is obvious to everyone that the coming to power of Khrushchev would not have been possible if Joseph Stalin had not died on March 5, 1953. The fact that the generalissimo is close to the end, it became known in the middle of the day. Section of the inheritance of his close began even the day before. After Stalin's death, few believed in Khrushchev's rise to power, since there were many other strong players.
It was decided not to hand over the post of Secretary General of the Central Committee to anyone, but to single out the first of the Central Committee secretaries. It was in this position that, after coming to power, Khrushchev led the country.
Immediately after the death of Stalin, Malenkov was appointed first secretary. He headed the Council of Ministers. His deputies were Beria, Molotov, Kaganovich and Bulganin. As a result, Beria, who at the same time headed the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Malenkov, who combined the economic and party leadership, had the strongest starting positions.
The conspiracy against Beria
The first to take action was Beria. He decided to enlist the support of the population by declaring an amnesty on March 27 for all who received a term of less than 5 years. True, political prisoners, as well as those who were convicted under the law on the protection of public and state security, were not released. Mostly criminals were at large. He also showed activity in matters of foreign and domestic policy.
The omnipotence of the Minister of the Interior alerted the rivals. A conspiracy was organized. It is not known who was its initiator - Khrushchev or Malenkov. However, on June 26, Beria was arrested right during the meeting of the Central Committee. A few weeks later an official report was released stating that Beria was an enemy of the people and an English spy. Already in December he was shot.
Power struggle
After the overthrow of a strong competitor, the main confrontation unfolded between Khrushchev and Malenkov. Everyone began to make popular reform proposals. The first step was taken by Malenkov, who in July spoke out for material support for the peasants. As a result, the government significantly increased purchase prices for milk and meat - by 2 and 5.5 times, respectively. In rural areas taxes have decreased.
Soon, Khrushchev managed to intercept the initiative. The coming to power of precisely this politician was becoming increasingly real. Nikita Sergeevich appropriated the peasant slogans of Malenkov. At the September congress, he came up with essentially the same initiatives, but on his own behalf.
In the year he came to power, Khrushchev was secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (B.). It turned out that two politicians competed, one of which relied on the party apparatus, and the other on economic bodies. It was obvious that victory depends on which bureaucracy is stronger (government or party), which of the competitors will be able to get more support.
Speaking briefly about the coming to power of Khrushchev, it is necessary to mention the return of "envelopes" for party workers. These were semi-official prizes for loyalty; they were introduced under Stalin. The size of the monthly payment was arbitrary, but in any case it was a tangible increase. Having returned them, Khrushchev won the allegiance of the party apparatus. “Envelopes” were canceled by Malenkov three months before. Nikita Sergeyevich not only restored them, but also reimbursed the difference for three months, until they were paid.
As a result, at the September plenum, the post of first secretary was given to Nikita Sergeevich. These are the factors that contributed to the coming to power of Khrushchev. It happened on September 7th. This was the date Khrushchev came to power. The board of the hero of our article lasted for 11 years.
Reprisals against opponents
Given the circumstances of Khrushchev's coming to power, it is obvious that he could not be calm for his place. Already in early 1955, Malenkov was sharply criticized at the plenum of the Central Committee. He was accused of reviving the ideas of Rykov and Bukharin under the pretext of developing light industry. Moreover, Malenkov himself repented at that plenum, admitting that he was not ready for such a high position. On February 8, at the head of the government, he was replaced by Bulganin. So Nikita Sergeevich finally removed his main opponent from the path.
Remembering how Khrushchev came to power, what punishment was prepared for Beria, we can conclude: it is not surprising that he did not calm down until he deprived the influence of his main rival.
In essence, with these actions he repeated what Stalin did in the 1920s, proving the key role of party nomenclature in the country. He managed to win by supporting the party bureaucracy of a stronger rival, who at the same time did not make obvious mistakes.
Eliminating the opponents, he began to pursue his own political course. The rise to power and the reign of N. S. Khrushchev became a symbol of the "thaw," since it was he who in 1956 read out a report on the debunking of the Stalin personality cult. Already in March, this concept appeared in official government communications, but at first it was used unaddressed. He spoke about the "Lenin testament", which proposed removing Stalin from the post of Secretary General, falsification of criminal cases in the 30s, and torture. The report was in the spirit of Lenin's covenants. At the same time, Khrushchev did not question the socialist nature of the state. Necessary was recognized as a struggle with the Zinovievites, Trotskyists, and the right.
Rehabilitation
The recognition of repressions as erroneous in the 30s allowed for large-scale rehabilitation. This was the first important stage in the coming to power of Khrushchev. Some political prisoners were released, but the persecution of dissidents continued.
There are precedents when party members who raised questions about the underlying causes of the personality cult were arrested right at a cell meeting. Repressions were carried out against those who denied the existence of socialism in the USSR. In 1957, a group of students and teachers of Moscow State University was arrested for distributing anti-Soviet leaflets among the workers of one of Moscow factories. They received sentences of 12 to 15 years.
The debunking of the personality cult brought Khrushchev certain problems on the part of Stalin's apologists. A week after the report, demonstrations in defense of the Generalissimo in Georgia took place, which the troops had to disperse. They were killed. Moreover, the direct participants in these repressions, deprived of power by Khrushchev, felt a threat. The danger remained due to the fact that they were not dismissed, but retained posts in the country's leadership.
In 1957, a revenge attempt took place, known as the conspiracy of the "anti-party group." While the first secretary was in Finland, the presidium of the Central Committee decided on his resignation. The core of the conspirators were Malenkov, Molotov and Kaganovich, who secured the support of the majority on the podium. However, Khrushchev found out about the coup in time, immediately returned to Moscow, insisting on the convocation of the entire Central Committee, saying that the presidium was not separately entitled to resolve such issues. He was supported by Zhukov and the chairman of the KGB Serov. Members of the Central Committee were promptly delivered to the capital by military aircraft. For them, this meant an increase in the role and political weight, so they voted against the rebels. The conspirators were dismissed during the year or substantially demoted. In March 1958, Khrushchev himself took the chair of the Council of Ministers, like Stalin, and since then he has combined the highest government and party posts. Since then, he no longer listened to criticism and other people's opinions. Because of this, later his policies were called voluntaristic.
Against religion
Khrushchev's rise to power was marked by numerous reforms. Of course, the most significant was the debunking of the cult of personality, but it is worth paying attention to other transformations.
In 1954-1956, an anti-religious campaign was conducted. Khrushchev made an attempt to finally reduce the influence of the church on the country's population. Experts do not see her merits, noting that she did not bring almost any results. Believers continued to hang icons at home and attend church. Khrushchev lost the opposition to the ecclesiastical influence of the Secretary General. This negatively affected his authority among the population.
Market Elements in the Economy
In 1957, the gradual introduction of market elements into the socialist model of the economy began. This made it possible to make a turn towards consumers and expand the market.
Relations were established with some countries that preferred a market-based model of the economy. However, in the long run, the reform led to the termination of payments on bonds, which deprived the population of savings. In addition, it led to higher prices for many products.
Social reform
From 1957 to 1965, social reforms continued in the country. The working day was reduced to seven hours, and the salary was increased. Across the country, apartments began to be handed out, immediately called "Khrushchev".
However, an increase in housing stock did not mean the emergence of property rights. There was no talk of privatizing square meters. Moreover, the reforms were not consistent, which led to protests among the workers.
School transformations
Reform in education was carried out in 1958. The previous model of education was eliminated, and labor schools were introduced instead.
There was a rejection of high school in favor of compulsory education in 8 classes, and then three years of labor school. This was the desire to bring the school closer to real life. In practice, this has led to a decrease in academic performance. The involvement of the intelligentsia in the working professions again led to protests. In 1966, the reform was abolished.
Personnel shifts
The party structure was also subjected to reform. They began to attract more young staff.
However, they could not count on career growth. In addition, the concept of “irremovability of personnel” appeared, when one and the same person could hold some position for the rest of his life.
Board Results
It is worth noting that Khrushchev repeatedly changed his policy during the leadership of the country. If the beginning of his reign is associated with the "thaw," then by the beginning of the 60s a full-blown crisis began in the country.
Most of the reforms have not been completed. The economic crisis was also caused by inconsistency of reforms. Khrushchev simultaneously sought to preserve the socialist model, while at the same time bringing the country closer to Western democratic standards.
The inconsistency of politics was outraged by both the party leadership and ordinary citizens.
Resignation
In October 1964, the Plenum of the Central Committee, convened in the absence of Nikita Sergeyevich, relieved him of his post while he was resting in Pitsunda. According to the official wording, for health reasons. The very next day he was removed from the post of head of the Soviet government.
Khrushchev was replaced in the leadership of the country by Leonid Brezhnev. Nikita Sergeyevich was sent to retirement, formally remaining a member of the CPSU Central Committee. Moreover, he was removed from actual participation in any work.
In 1971, he died of a heart attack at the age of 77. In the country's leadership, few were surprised at the resignation of Khrushchev, since the sense of the need for change was felt in everything. However, Brezhnev’s rise to power did not lead to the desired results. In the future, the state was waiting for a social and economic crisis.