15,697
edits
Changes
no edit summary
The speech also contributed to the revolts that occurred later that year in Hungary and Poland, further weakening the Soviet Union’s control over the Soviet bloc and temporarily strengthening the position of Khrushchev’s opponents in the Presidium. Furthermore, through his Secret Speech, Khrushchev effectively denounced the "cult of personality" that surrounded Stalin and accused Stalin of the crimes committed during the Great Purges. This denunciation effectively alienated Khrushchev from the more conservative elements of the party. Moreover, it also resulted in a deepening wedge between the Soviet Union and China that led to the so-called Asian Cold War and the Sino-Soviet split later in 1960. <ref>Khrushchev’s Secret Speech and its effects - http://www.britannica.com/event/Khrushchevs-secret-speech</ref>
====First unsuccessful attempt to remove Khrushchev and his further policies====In June 1957, Khrushchev was almost overthrown from his position, and, although a vote in the Presidium actually went against him. Still, he managed to reverse this by replacing Bulganin as prime minister and establishing himself as the clear leader of both the Soviet state and Communist party. With the help of Marshal Georgy Zhukov, Khrushchev managed to prevent what he referred to as an Anti-Party Group that attempted to oust him from the party leadership and he became Premier of the Soviet Union in March 1958.
Confirmed in power and in his new role, Khrushchev promoted and set a new policy of “Reform Communism” throughout the Soviet Union. In an attempt to humanize the Soviet system – but without sacrificing its ideology – he placed greater emphasis on producing consumer goods, in contrast to the Stalinist emphasis on heavy industry. Khrushchev begun began seeing the US and the West much more as a rival instead of an evil entity. He aimed at showing off the superiority of Soviet over American and Western products. This position further alienated Mao Zedong. As the Chinese Cultural Revolution proceeded, there was no worse insult than to be scorned for being a "Chinese Khrushchev," the equivalent of an ideological turncoat. Unsurprisingly, during the following years , all this also led to further alienation with the People’s Republic of China and what would soon become their own "Cold War" triggered by the Sino-Soviet Split in 1960.
==Liberalization, political, military and agricultural reforms==