1956
Khrushchev’s Secret Speech
“On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences” was a speech given to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It denounced the enormities of the rule of Joseph Stalin, criticizing the former leader for violating the principle of “collective leadership”, fostering a cult of personality, repressing artists, exaggerating his role in World War II, and murderously purging innocent Party members. It did not take Stalin to task for many other of his crimes and the failure of his ideologically-motivated economic disasters.
The speech, which lasted four hours, was read to a closed session but word of it soon leaked out, causing dismay and wonderment in the Communist world. Some, particularly in Stalin’s home region of Georgia, reacted with violence, others were disheartened to learn of the feet of clay of their idol, others reacted with delight that truth had finally been disclosed. It marked the beginning of a relaxing of Soviet rule under Khrushchev (who, of course, had been a willing servant of Stalin in many of his crimes.)