HIS242H1 Lecture Notes - Warsaw Pact, Avail
Document Summary
1968 east: reform communism and the prague spring. Nikita khruschev"s secret speech, feb 25, 1956: sets up the thaw, even inside of the soviet system, with its revolutionary ideas, stalin went too far, stalin used extreme methods and mass oppression. He showed his brutality and abuse of power: trying to detach soviet communism from stalinism. Of course, this secret speech leaked into the public. Hits other communist leaders like a bomb. Flies to belgrade, gets out of the plane, embraces tito as a comrade: they"d risen to their positions by being faithful to stalin. They owed their position to the system that khruschev was now breaking from: this meant their own power basis was not secure. Khruschev"s break with stalinisation seemed to imply that moscow would now be open to difference paths to socialism. Had opposed the show trial and execution of rayk and purged as a result. Removed again in 1955 after the government is led by rakosi.
