Question

Khrushchev’s Purpose What was the purpose of Nikita Khrushchev’s secret speech?

A) To celebrate the rule of his mentor Joseph Stalin

B) To explain how he became the Soviet premier

C) To condemn the policies of his predecessor

D) To denounce Vladimir Lenin’s point of view

Answer 1

• The answer is:

C) To condemn the policies of his predecessor.

• The 20th Party Congress or, more specifically, the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union started on 14 February 1956. In the last day of the Congress, Nikita Khrushchev, who was Soviet Communist Party First Secretary (1953-1964), delivered what became later known as the Secret Speech to a group of the Congress limited to Soviet delegates. In such speech, Nikita basically destroys his predecessor’s image, who was Joseph Stalin, and promises a return to socialist legality and Leninist principles of party rule. To illustrate this, here is an excerpt of Khrushche’ speech:

“It is here that Stalin showed in a whole series of cases his intolerance, his brutality, and his abuse of power...”

• The speech was later made public and was part of the Soviet Union’s "de-Stalinization" process ( a political reform that condemned the crimes committed by Joseph Stalin).

Answer 2

The correct answer is answer C ("To condemn the policies of this predecessor").

In 1956, Nikita S. Khrushchev (a very important figure for the Soviet Union) gave his infamous speech at a closed congress session of the Communist Party. His purpose was to destroy the figure of Stalin by denouncing the abuse of power from the dictator (criticizing his policies of wide-spread mass terror in detail) and also condemn is ineffectiveness at defending the Union from the German Invasion.

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