Khrushchev's Removal from Power

How Nikita Khrushchev was Removed from Power

When Khruschev took power of the USSR, he immediately denounced Stalin’s cult of personality that had been built and consolidated since he assumed leadership of the USSR. This was to be among his collective fatal folly. Agricultural policy appeared to be the Premier’s central failure, and he continued to embarrass the Soviet Union on the world stage, not least thanks to the Cuban Missile Crisis. His erratic behaviour and alienation of his allies culminated in his replacement in a coup by his ‘protégé’ once loyal, Leonid Brezhnev.

Khrushchev came to power in a relative shock – a power struggle with the heir apparent, Malenkov, begun after Stalin’s death. Khrushchev gained his majority, and was appointed First Secretary in September 1953. Causing a stir within the party, he kickstarted de-Stalinisation with a condemning secret speech to the 20^th Party Congress of the former leader. He embarked on a policy of liberalisation, freeing thousands of political prisoners in his first years in charge. Censorship was relaxed, making way for a Soviet ‘literary renaissance’. This policy was a major factor in revolts in Poland and Hungary. In Hungary, thousands demonstrated for the removal of Soviet troops, with an air of liberation after Stalin’s brutal, yet effective, controls had disappeared. The Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe was diminishing as a result of his policies, even if the revolution was crushed. In 1957, a vote in the Presidium had gone against him. He repressed the so-called ‘anti-party group’, and established himself as Premier in 1958. Although he had managed to consolidate power, swathes of the Soviet elite opposed him and his policies, and his perceived weakening of the USSR.

Khrushchev’s 1956 speech angered the Chinese. His denunciation of Stalin was seen by Mao as egregious treachery. Mao publicly always saw Stalin as an effective communist and an effective leader. Chinese communists wrote their own interpretation of Stalin, stating that ‘Stalin was a great Marxist-Leninist’, even if he did commit ‘several gross errors’. Peaceful co-existence further established the line in the sand between Khruschev and Mao’s leadership. Mao was always opposed to co-operation with the West, whilst Khrushchev saw it to be possible. Khrushchev and Eisenhower met for talks in 1958, indicating that peace was on the table with Khrushchev, something the Chinese communists were opposed to. A speech praising Eisenhower’s foreign policy enraged Chinese leadership. By 1960, any relationship that was left was destroyed. Khrushchev’s alienation of a key ally undoubtedly angered the Soviet political class and contributed to Khruschev’s downfall.

Foreign policy disasters decisively marked Khrushchev’s regime. The USSR failed to use its veto power to stop the UN from deposing Lumumba’s regime. Bizarre displays of strength were commonplace in his diplomacy. A comparison between Soviet control of Eastern Europe and Western imperialism resulted in him banging his shoe on his desk. Proceedings in the UN General Assembly in 1960 were frequently interrupted by Khrushchev banging his fist on the desk and shouting in Russian. All of this culminated in his reputation of a buffoon in his own country – a reputation that would give justification to those who wanted to depose him. Perhaps his most infamous ‘blunder’, the Cuban Missile Crisis resulted in Soviet missiles on Cuba being removed after an agreement with US President Kennedy, on the condition that the US wouldn’t overthrow the government in Cuba. This perceived appeasement and abandonment of communist principles further alienated the USSR’s most powerful people.

His agricultural policy was another perceived failure of his time in office. 70 million acres of virgin land in Siberia was opened up and cultivated, with thousands of workers being sent to work that land. His plan was another failure, and the USSR had to import wheat from the capitalist US and capitalist Canada. Reliance on Western nations established the Soviet Union’s weak position in the world, and vindicated the view that Khrushchev was a failure – he couldn’t place the USSR in higher stead with his agrarian reforms, much like his other policies, and, according to his most vehement opponents, he had to go.

Ultimately, Khrushchev’s abject failure to lead resulted in his climax of power. He was removed from power by Leonid Brezhnev, his deputy, on the 14^th of October 1964. He was forced to resign due to his ‘age and poor health’, most obviously displayed by his unusual diplomatic tactics. Accused of making key political mistakes by the party, he was no longer fit to serve as the USSR’s Premier. His alienation of China, his optically weak handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis and his ineffectual policies in reforming agriculture all coincided to force him out of power.

References

1. Editors, History. com (2020). Eisenhower and Khrushchev meet for talks. [online] Available at: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/eisenhower-and-khrushchev-meet-for-talks [Accessed 14 Oct. 2023].
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3. (2020). Why was Nikita Khrushchev deposed as the leader of the USSR. [online] Available at: https://www.dailyhistory.org/Why_was_Nikita_Khrushchev_deposed_as_the_leader_of_the_USSR [Accessed 14 Oct. 2023].
4. bbc.co.uk. (n.d.). BBC - History - Historic Figures: Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971). [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/khrushchev_nikita.shtml. [Accessed 14 Oct. 2023].
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