De-colonisation
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I address the Khrushchev period in the second chapter of the book. I argue that Khrushchev intended to re-establish the partys legitimacy by reconnecting its image to that of Lenin and the revolutionary moment of 1917. This required, first, the renewal of journalism as a central institution in Soviet society, for the late 1940s were perhaps the lowest point in the history of Soviet journalism. I examine the role played by Khrushchevs son-in-law, Aleksei Adzhubei, who was editor of Komsomolskaia pravda and Izvestiia in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and who returned to the profession the respect it had lost under Stalin.
Under Khrushchev, who had succeeded Stalin after his death in 1953, Poland
was the first to revolt against the communist regime. Polish workers
rioted and went on strike in 1956 and the Polish communist party also
revolted by refusing to accept the Russian general Rokossovsky as the
Polish Minister for Defence. (9) The situation was diffused by a
compromise which was made on both sides, with Poland agreeing to remain in
the communist Eastern bloc if the nationalist communist leader Gomulka,
who had been imprisoned by Stalin, was reinstated. The fact that
Khrushchev was willing to compromise illustrates again the precarious
position of communist rule.
The Hungarian revolution of 1956 was borne out of the relative success of
the Poles in achieving concessions for the Moscow leadership. (10) The
Hungarians decided to overthrow the Stalinist regime in their country...