1956 1.3: A Not So Secret Speech

When Diplomacy Fails Podcast

Zack Twamley

19th Century, 20th Century, International Relations, Politics, Thirty Years' War, Korean War, 18th Century, First World War, Phd, 17th Century, European History, History, War

4.8 • 773 Ratings

🗓️ 18 January 2024

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Episode 1.3 opens with the scene which greeted Khrushchev as he performed that incendiary speech over 24-25th of February 1956. It was a pivotal day in the history of the Soviet Union, and after we unwrap its major aspects, we then tackle the key questions – how had this speech come to be, and how had Khrushchev managed to convince his peers that it was necessary?

These questions require answers if we’re to understand and appreciate the world which housed the secret speech, so I hope you’ll tune in here and have a listen to an incredible period of history, when Josef Stalin – the father of peoples and the sun of the universe, was exposed as the monster that he was, by the very people who had followed his lead and helped him craft the system that dominated much of the continent.

What followed the secret speech then were other questions – how would Khrushchev et al manage to reconcile their involvement in Stalin’s crimes with this new course, and how would they manage to critique Stalin’s role in creating the Soviet system without also delegitimising it at the same time? Would the speech be seen as a welcome admission of wrongdoing, or an invitation to push for more freedom? From this speech in spring 1956 would spring even more troubles, which Khrushchev could never have imagined.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome history friends, patrons all to 1956, episode 1.3.
0:27.7	Last time we examined how Nikita Khrushchev managed to take over from Stalin, thereby taking the reins of the Soviet Union into his hands.
0:36.4	In short, he accomplished this by outmaneuvering his
0:39.1	rivals and by publicly and privately undermining them through the party apparatus. Having built up a
0:45.5	cadre of allies in the process, Khrushchev's power base appeared secure. Since summer 1955,
0:54.0	it had been decided that the 20th Party Congress would take place
0:58.2	in February 1956. Khrushchev knew throughout 1955 that the Soviet Union would have to move
1:05.0	forward if it was to compete with the West on a realistic basis. To do so, Khrushchev posed something radical,
1:12.2	a speech absolving much of the party for what had gone wrong in the past,
1:16.3	but placing a great deal of blame on the personal leadership of Joseph Stalin.
1:21.2	Yet, as we'll see in this episode,
1:23.1	neither the circumstances which surrounded this supposedly secret speech,
1:29.2	nor Khrushchev's motivations for performing it were entirely straightforward. I'll now take you to February 1956,
1:35.5	or one of the landmark events in this series of ours was taking shape.
1:49.8	On the surface, it seemed to be business as usual.
1:55.0	The great Kremlin palace was crowned with party functionaries from across Europe and the world.
2:02.0	Red Army generals, resplendent in their military uniforms and medals, completed the picture of power, influence and confidence.
2:05.6	Fourteen hundred individuals from all walks of life were present,
2:11.1	and they collectively expected to hear the usual messages and clap at the usual prompts.
2:19.4	Yet even on the first official day of this Congress on the 14th of February, something was amiss. While a statue of Lenin towered over the crowd as usual, no portrait of Stalin could be seen anywhere. This touch,
2:25.5	while subtle, was noted by many who had grown accustomed to the late leader's mustachioed face
2:30.9	adorning every significant wall in sight. Suddenly now, his face was absent.
	...

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