History and politics students alike will welcome this new Seminar Study which analyses the Khrushchev era -- a critical period of Soviet and world history. It was Khrushchev who, in 1957, finally filled the political vacuum left by the death of Stalin in 1953. He was an erratic, impulsive, inspirational and innovative leader who addressed the fundamental problems of the country - and yet he was, Martin McCauley argues, "a brilliant failure''. In this study the author explores all aspects of the Khrushchev era: including reforms in agriculture, economic policy, crises in Eastern Europe, the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, de-Stalinisation and Khrushchev's attempts to reform the Communist Party.

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.

Tells the life story of twentieth-century Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, featuring information from previously inaccessible Russian and Ukrainian archives.

Concentrating on the years 1953-64, this history describes how North Korea became more despotic even as other Communist countries underwent de-Stalinization. The author’s principal new source is the Hungarian diplomatic archives, which contain extensive reporting on Kim Il Sung and North Korea, thoroughly informed by research on the period in the Soviet and Eastern European archives and by recently published scholarship. Much of the story surrounds Kim Il Sung: his Korean nationalism and eagerness for Korean autarky; his efforts to balance the need for foreign aid and his hope for an independent foreign policy; and what seems to be his good sense of timing in doing in internal rivals without attracting Soviet retaliation. Through a series of comparisons not only with the USSR but also with Albania, Romania, Yugoslavia, China, and Vietnam, the author highlights unique features of North Korean communism during the period. Szalontai covers ongoing effects of Japanese colonization, the experiences of diverse Korean factions during World War II, and the weakness of the Communist Party in South Korea.

This collection of essays examines women in the Khrushchev era, using both newly-accessible archival material and a re-reading of published sources. Exploring diverse subjects including housing, space flight, women workers, cinema, religion and consumption, the volume places the analysis of specific events or issues within a broader discussion of economic, political, ideological and international developments to provide a full analysis of the era.

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.

This book presents a new picture of the politics, economics and process of government in the Soviet Union under the leadership of Nikita Khrushchev. Based in large part on original research in recently declassified archive collections, the book examines the full complexity of government, including formal and informal political relationships; economic reforms and nationality relations in the national republics of the USSR; the treatment of political dissent; economic progress through technological innovation; relations with the Eastern bloc; corruption and deceit in the economy; and the reform of the railways and construction sectors. The book re-evaluates the Khrushchev era as one which represented a significant departure from the Stalin years, introducing a number of policy changes that only came to fruition later, whilst still suffering from many of the limitations imposed by the Stalinist system. Unlike many other studies which consider the subject from the perspective of the Cold War and superpower relations, this book provides an overview of the internal development of the Soviet Union in this period, locating it in the broader context of Soviet history. This is the companion volume to the Jeremy Smith and Melanie Ilic’s previous edited collection, Soviet State and Society under Nikita Khrushchev (Routledge, 2009).

Providing a comprehensive history of reform in the Khrushchev era, this book focuses specifically on social and cultural developments. It appraises how far 'Destalinization' went and whether developments in the period represented a real desire for reform, or rather an attempt to fortify the Soviet system, but on different lines.

This book examines the social and cultural impact of the 'thaw' in Cold War relations, decision-making and policy formation in the Soviet Union under Nikita Khrushchev. With individual case studies exploring key aspects of Khrushchev's period of office, it offers an important new perspective on the Khrushchev era.

Despite tense relations between the USSR and the West, Soviet readers were voracious consumers of foreign culture and literature. This book explores this ambivalent and contradictory attitude and employs in depth analysis of archive material to offer a comprehensive study of the censorship of translated literature in the Soviet Union.