POL SCI 140L Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Warsaw Pact, Nikita Khrushchev
12 Mar 2018
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Document Summary
Immediate aftermath of stalin"s death was shaky for leaders looking at eastern european states (ie. the buffer states) Within 3 months of his death in march 1953: Riots and calls for elections in berlin. These communist regimes were young (only from about 1945) They hadn"t had the opportunity to build legitimacy nationally. In eastern europe: leadership struggles in certain countries. Non-synchronization of death : stalin died, but leaders of places mimicking his were alive. (they wanted to stay in power) As long as stalin remained a sacred symbol of the regime"s iconography and its greatest achievements, those who were more radical were on the fence on policy decisions . 1956: khrushchev"s secret speech denouncing stalin changes the game. He believes a decisive act was necessary to break stalemate. Encouraged students to ask questions about the regime! Ss fostered disunity within the leadership (especially in hungary and poland) Showed need for national autonomy from moscow!
