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2T The Crisis of Communism: The USSR and the Soviet Empire, 1953–2000

The Secret Speech and De-Stalinisation

  • 1 thing to know
  • Component 2

Overview

Recall questions on the Secret Speech of 1956 at the Twentieth Party Congress, its charges against Stalin and what it left untouched, the release of Gulag prisoners, legal reform and the creation and powers of the KGB.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What aspects of Stalinism did the Secret Speech deliberately NOT criticise?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    When and where was the Secret Speech delivered?

    Model answer

    February 1956, to a closed session of the Twentieth Party Congress

  2. 2

    What criticism of Stalin's leadership style did the Secret Speech contain?

    Model answer

    It denounced Stalin's cult of personality

  3. 3

    What did the Secret Speech say about Stalin's use of terror?

    Model answer

    It condemned the purges against loyal Party members

  4. 4

    How did the Secret Speech address Stalin's wartime leadership?

    Model answer

    It blamed Stalin for military failures during World War Two

  5. 5

    What aspects of Stalinism did the Secret Speech deliberately NOT criticise?

    Model answer

    Collectivisation, the terror against ordinary citizens, and the fundamental nature of the Soviet system

  6. 6

    What happened to Gulag prisoners as part of de-Stalinisation?

    Model answer

    Millions of Gulag prisoners were released and many victims of Stalin's purges were rehabilitated

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