The Khrushchev era : de-Stalinisation and the limits of reform in the USSR, 1953-1964

The Khrushchev Era examines the major political, social, and economic reforms of Nikita Khrushchev, from the 'Secret Speech' and Khrushchev's limited, but at the time earth-shattering critique of Stalin, to his ill-fated reorganizations of the Communist Party, agriculture, and industry. Besides giving a factual account of the reforms themselves, Filtzer analyses the complex factors behind their failure, focussing not so much on the inadequacies of Khrushchev as a leader, as on the structural obstacles to reform within the Stalinist system itself. As such the Khruschev period is shown to contain instructive historical lessons for our understanding of Mikhail Gorbachev and his own failed perestroika. Front Matter....Pages i-xi Preface....Pages 1-5 Introduction: The Problem of Reform in the Post-Stalin Era....Pages 6-11 The Background to De-Stalinisation: The Events of 1953....Pages 12-16 De-Stalinisation....Pages 17-29 Political and Social Reforms....Pages 30-37 Agriculture....Pages 38-57 Industry....Pages 58-76 The Reorganisation of the Communist Party....Pages 77-81 Conclusion....Pages 82-84 Back Matter....Pages 85-92 Donald Filtzer. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. 85-88.