De-Stalinization

The term de-Stalinization is one which gained currency in both Russia and the Western world following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but was never used during the Khrushchev era. However, de-Stalinization efforts were set forth at this time by Khrushchev and the Government of the Soviet Union under the guise of the "overcoming/exposure of the cult of personality", with a heavy criticism of Joseph Stalin's "era of the cult of personality". However, prior to Khrushchev's "Secret Speech" to the 20th Party Congress, no direct association between Stalin as a person and "the cult of personality" was openly made by Khrushchev or others within the party, although archival documents show that strong criticism of Stalin and his ideology featured in private discussions by Khrushchev at the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. == "Silent de-Stalinization" ==

De-Stalinization meant an end to the role of large-scale forced labour in the economy. The process of freeing Gulag prisoners was started by Lavrentiy Beria. He was removed from power, arrested on 26 June 1953, and executed on 23 December 1953. Khrushchev soon emerged as the most powerful Soviet politician. A period of "silent de-Stalinization" subsequently took place, as the revision of Stalin's policies was done in secret, and often with no explanation. There were dangers in denouncing Stalin as he was placed on a pedestal both at home and among communists abroad. This period saw a number of non-publicized political rehabilitations, and the release of "Article 58ers". He subsequently played a leading role in the rehabilitation of political prisoners, and worked with Lev Shaumyan (son of Bolshevik revolutionary Stepan Shaumian) and Gulag returnees Alexei Snegov and Olga Shatunovskaya to convince Khrushchev of the necessity of denouncing Stalin. In December 1955, Khrushchev proposed that a commission be set up in order to investigate Stalin's activities on behalf of the Presidium. This investigation determined that out of the 1,920,635 arrested for anti-Soviet activities, 688,503 (35.8 per cent) were executed. == Khrushchev's "Secret Speech" ==

While de-Stalinization had been quietly underway ever since Stalin's death, the watershed event was Khrushchev's speech entitled "On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences", concerning Stalin. On 25 February 1956, de-Stalinization became official when he spoke to a closed session of the 20th Party Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, delivering an address laying out some of Stalin's crimes and the "conditions of insecurity, fear, and even desperation" created by Stalin. Historian Martin McCauley argues that Khrushchev's purpose was to "liberate Party officials from the fear of repression". Khrushchev argued that if the Party were to be an efficient mechanism, stripped from the brutal abuse of power by any individual, it could transform the Soviet Union as well as the entire world. However, others have suggested that the speech was made in order to deflect blame from the Communist Party or the principles of Marxism–Leninism and place the blame squarely on Stalin's shoulders, thus preventing a more radical debate. Reactions The speech is central to the period of liberalization known as the "Khrushchev Thaw" in the Soviet bloc and to the process of de-Stalinization. It was cited as a major cause of the Sino-Soviet split of 1961 to 1989 by China (under Chairman Mao Zedong) and by Albania (under First Secretary Enver Hoxha), who condemned Khrushchev as a revisionist. In response, they formed the anti-revisionist movement, criticizing the post-Stalin leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union for allegedly deviating from the path of Lenin and Stalin. In North Korea, factions of the Workers' Party of Korea unsuccessfully attempted to remove Chairman Kim Il Sung in August 1956, having criticized Kim for not "correcting" his leadership methods, for developing a personality cult, for distorting the "Leninist principle of collective leadership and socialist legality" (i.e. using arbitrary arrest and executions of political opponents) and using other Khrushchev-era criticisms of Stalinism against Kim Il Sung's actions. They were later purged and executed. == Changes ==

Prisons The amnesty of 1953 and the subsequent rehabilitation processes began the release of most prisoners. Former political prisoners often faced ingrained hostility upon their return, which made it difficult to reintegrate into normal life. The Gulag institution was closed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) order No 020 of 25 January 1960. For those who remained, Khrushchev attempted to make the Gulag labour system less harsh, by allowing prisoners to post letters home to their families, and by allowing family members to mail clothes to prisoners, which was not allowed under Stalin. Renaming of places and buildings Khrushchev renamed or reverted the names of many places bearing Stalin's name, including cities, territories, landmarks, and other facilities. The State Anthem of the Soviet Union was purged of references to Stalin, and so were the anthems of its republics. The Stalin-centric and World War II-era lines in the lyrics were effectively excised when an instrumental version replaced it. The Joseph Stalin Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, Poland was renamed in 1956. Stalin Peak, the highest point in the USSR, was renamed Communism Peak. After the collapse of the USSR, the mountain was renamed Ismoil Somoni Peak. In East Germany, Stalinstadt was renamed to Eisenhüttenstadt in 1961. In Moscow, the Moscow Metro station Stalinskaya on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line was renamed to Semyonovskaya. Removal of monuments was removed in 1962 and replaced by Mother Armenia in 1967. Following the momentum of these public renamings, the Soviet government dismantled hundreds of Stalin monuments across the USSR. For example, the monument to Stalin in the Armenian capital Yerevan was removed in spring 1962 and replaced by Mother Armenia in 1967. Several more monuments were dismantled or destroyed across the Eastern Bloc. In November 1961, the large Stalin Statue on Berlin's monumental Stalinallee (promptly renamed Karl-Marx-Allee) was removed in a clandestine operation. The Monument in Budapest was destroyed in October 1956. The biggest one, the Prague monument, was taken down in November 1962. Relocation of Stalin's body The process of de-Stalinization peaked in 1961 during the 22nd Congress of the CPSU. Two climactic acts of de-Stalinization marked the meetings: first, on 31 October 1961, Stalin's body was moved from Lenin's Mausoleum in Red Square to the Kremlin Wall Necropolis; second, on 11 November 1961, the "hero city" Stalingrad was renamed Volgograd. Foreign policy changes after Stalin In the aftermath of the Stalin era, Khrushchev defined Soviet foreign policy during the Cold War. The biggest change to foreign policy dealt with "uncommitted nations". There were two types of neutrality according to the Soviets, those by ideology and those by circumstance. Many of the nations that were neutral came from both of these groups and were former colonies of European powers. During Stalin there was no room for neutral countries and the idea of neutral powers came about under Khrushchev. == Extent of de-Stalinization ==

Contemporary historians regard the beginning of de-Stalinization as a turning point in the history of the Soviet Union that began during the Khrushchev Thaw. The de-Stalinization process stalled during the Brezhnev period until the mid-1980s, and accelerated again with the policies of perestroika and glasnost under Mikhail Gorbachev. De-Stalinization has been considered a fragile process. Historian Polly Jones said that "re-Stalinization" was highly likely after a brief period of "thaw". == See also ==