209-692: Puławian faction diplomatic victory * Confirmation of Władysław Gomułka as leader of the Polish United Workers' Party The Polish October ( Polish : Polski październik [ˈpɔl.ski paʑˈd͡ʑɛr.ɲik] ), also known as the Polish thaw or Gomułka's thaw , also "small stabilization" ( Polish : mała stabilizacja ) was a change in the politics of the Polish People's Republic that occurred in October 1956. Władysław Gomułka
418-517: A narrowly avoided nuclear war over Cuba , he conducted successful negotiations with the United States to reduce Cold War tensions. In 1964, the Kremlin circle stripped him of power , replacing him with Leonid Brezhnev as First Secretary and Alexei Kosygin as Premier. Khrushchev was born in 1894 in a village in western Russia. He was employed as a metal worker during his youth, and he
627-550: A "Polish road to socialism" more in harmony with national traditions and preferences caused many Poles to interpret the dramatic confrontation of 1956 as a sign that the end of the dictatorship was in sight. Initially very popular for his reforms, they were optimistically referred to at the time as "Gomułka's thaw" to compliment the Khrushchev thaw in the Soviet Union. Society became more liberal (as seen, for instance, in
836-529: A "Polish way to socialism", and beginning an era known as Gomułka's thaw , he came under Soviet pressure. Gomułka participated in the Warsaw Pact intervention in Czechoslovakia in 1968. At that time he was also responsible for persecuting students as well as toughening censorship of the media. In 1968, he incited an anti-Zionist propaganda campaign , part of a wider Communist bloc opposition to
1045-478: A 70th birthday present. In his memoirs, Khrushchev spoke highly of Ukraine: I'll say that the Ukrainian people treated me well. I recall warmly the years I spent there. This was a period full of responsibilities, but pleasant because it brought satisfaction ... But far be it from me to inflate my significance. The entire Ukrainian people was exerting great efforts ... I attribute Ukraine's successes to
1254-533: A bitter anti-Semitic campaign during the 1968 Polish political crisis , which forced the remainder of Poland's Jews to emigrate. Amidst the ongoing political and economic crises, the Solidarity movement emerged as a major anti-bureaucratic social movement that pursued social change. With communist rule being relaxed in neighbouring countries, the PZPR systematically lost support and was forced to negotiate with
1463-405: A construction platoon, Khrushchev rose to become commissar to a construction battalion and was sent from the front for a two-month political course. The young commissar came under fire many times, though many of the war stories he would tell in later life dealt more with cultural awkwardness rather than combat. In 1921, the civil war ended, and Khrushchev was demobilized and assigned as commissar to
1672-556: A heart attack in 1971. Khrushchev was born on 15 April 1894, in Kalinovka , a village in what is now Russia's Kursk Oblast (then Kursk Governorate ), near the present Ukrainian border. His parents, Sergei Khrushchev and Kseniya Khrushcheva, were poor Russian peasants, and had a daughter two years Nikita's junior, Irina. Sergei Khrushchev was employed in a number of positions in the Donbas area of far eastern Ukraine, working as
1881-519: A labor brigade in the Donbas, where he and his men lived in poor conditions. The wars had caused widespread devastation and famine, and one of the victims was Khrushchev's wife, Yefrosinia, who died of typhus in Kalinovka while Khrushchev was in the army. The commissar returned for the funeral and, loyal to his Bolshevik principles , refused to allow his wife's coffin to enter the local church. With
2090-624: A labor camp, and her son (by another relationship), Tolya, was placed in orphanages. Leonid's daughter, Yulia, was raised by Nikita Khrushchev and his wife. After Uranus forced the Germans into retreat, Khrushchev served on other fronts of the war. He was attached to Soviet troops at the Battle of Kursk , in July 1943, which turned back the last major German offensive on Soviet soil. Khrushchev related that he interrogated an SS defector, learning that
2299-521: A large-scale housing program for Moscow. Five- or six-story apartment buildings became ubiquitous throughout the Soviet Union. Khrushchev had prefabricated reinforced concrete used, greatly speeding up construction. These structures were completed at triple the construction rate of Moscow housing from 1946 to 1950, lacked elevators or balconies, and were nicknamed khrushchyovka by the public, but because of their shoddy workmanship sometimes disparagingly called Khrushchoba , combining Khrushchev's name with
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#17327721923332508-669: A non-voting delegate to the 14th Congress of the USSR Communist Party in Moscow. Khrushchev met Lazar Kaganovich as early as 1917. In 1925, Kaganovich became Party head in Ukraine and Khrushchev, falling under his patronage, was rapidly promoted. He was appointed second in command of Stalin's party apparatus in late 1926. Within nine months his superior, Konstantin Moiseyenko, was ousted, which, according to Taubman,
2717-665: A part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on 1 November 1939. Clumsy actions by the Soviets, such as staffing Western Ukrainian organizations with Eastern Ukrainians , and giving confiscated land to collective farms ( kolkhozes ) rather than to peasants, soon alienated Western Ukrainians, damaging Khrushchev's efforts to achieve unity. When Nazi Germany invaded the USSR , in June 1941, Khrushchev
2926-676: A post he held until 1954. He remained party leader until his death in 1956. Bierut oversaw the trials of many Polish wartime military leaders, such as General Stanisław Tatar and Brig. General Emil August Fieldorf , as well as 40 members of the Wolność i Niezawisłość (Freedom and Independence) organisation, various Church officials and many other opponents of the new regime including Witold Pilecki , condemned to death during secret trials . Bierut signed many of those death sentences. Bierut's mysterious death in Moscow in 1956 (shortly after attending
3135-472: A program to modernize industry and increase the availability of consumer goods, doing so mostly through foreign loans. His good relations with Western politicians, especially France's Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and West Germany's Helmut Schmidt , were a catalyst for his receiving western aid and loans. On December 6-11, 1971, the 6th Congress of the Polish United Workers' Party was held (for
3344-442: A province with a population of 11 million. Stalin's office records show meetings at which Khrushchev was present as early as 1932. The two increasingly built a good relationship. Khrushchev greatly admired the dictator and treasured informal meetings with him and invitations to Stalin's dacha , while Stalin felt warm affection for his young subordinate. Beginning in 1934, Stalin began a campaign of political repression known as
3553-409: A quarter million more between 1944 and 1946. About 600,000 Western Ukrainians were arrested between 1944 and 1952, with one-third executed and the remainder imprisoned or exiled to the east. The war years of 1944 and 1945 had seen poor harvests, and 1946 saw intense drought strike Ukraine and Western Russia. Despite this, collective and state farms were required to turn over 52% of the harvest to
3762-516: A railwayman, as a miner, and laboring in a brick factory. Wages were much higher in the Donbas than in the Kursk region, and Sergei Khrushchev generally left his family in Kalinovka, returning when he had enough money. When Nikita was six or seven, the family moved to Yuzovka (now Donetsk , Ukraine) for about a year before returning to Kalinovka. Kalinovka was a peasant village; Khrushchev's teacher, Lydia Shevchenko, later stated that she had never seen
3971-531: A similar culture but were much richer and more open. Deeply stricken, many Poles realised that a decade's worth of anti-Western rhetoric had been false. Poles, East Germans , Hungarians , Czechoslovaks and others from the communist bloc actively socialised with one another. With the more exotic visitors, Poles also socialised in private apartments all around the city. College students even held debating meetings with foreigners, many of whom turned out not to be communists. By 1956, Nikita Khrushchev had emerged as
4180-546: A single honest Bolshevik to be harmed." When Soviet troops, pursuant to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , invaded the eastern portion of Poland on 17 September 1939, Khrushchev accompanied the troops at Stalin's direction. A large number of ethnic Ukrainians lived in the invaded area, much of which today forms the western portion of Ukraine . Many inhabitants initially welcomed the invasion, though they hoped that they would eventually become independent. Khrushchev's role
4389-461: A stroke). A dynamic younger man, Edward Gierek , took over the Party leadership and tensions eased. In the late 1960s, Edward Gierek had created a personal power base and become the recognized leader of the young technocrat faction of the party. When rioting over economic conditions broke out in late 1970, Gierek replaced Gomułka as party first secretary. Gierek promised economic reform and instituted
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#17327721923334598-545: A tax on private livestock holdings led to peasants slaughtering their stock. With the idea of eliminating differences in attitude between town and countryside and transforming the peasantry into a "rural proletariat", Khrushchev conceived the idea of the "agro-town". Rather than agricultural workers living close to farms, they would live further away in larger towns which would offer municipal services such as utilities and libraries. He completed only one such town before his December 1949 return to Moscow; he dedicated it to Stalin as
4807-399: A village as poor. Nikita worked as a herdsboy from an early age. He was schooled for a total of four years, part in the village school and part under Shevchenko's tutelage in Kalinovka's state school. According to Khrushchev's memoirs, Shevchenko was a freethinker who upset the villagers by not attending church, and when her brother visited, he gave Khrushchev books which had been banned by
5016-626: A vital partner. A high-level delegation of the Central Committee of the CPSU flew to Poland in an attempt to block removing pro-Soviet members of Politburo of the PZPR, mainly Rokossovsky. The Soviet delegation was led by Khrushchev and included Anastas Mikoyan , Nikolai Bulganin , Vyacheslav Molotov , Lazar Kaganovich and Ivan Konev . The negotiations were tense as both Polish and Soviet troops were put on alert and engaged in "manoeuvres" that were used as thinly-veiled threats. Even before
5225-526: Is considered to be the symbolic end of the process of liberalization of the system in the Gomułka era. During the session, the First Secretary delivered one of the most important speeches in his career. He devoted the report "On the current problems of the ideological work of the party" to policy towards culture, considering that the most important threat on the "cultural front" is revisionism. He condemned
5434-440: Is unclear whether this was true. According to William Taubman, Khrushchev's studies were aided by Nina Petrovna Kukharchuk , a well-educated Party organizer and daughter of well-to-do Ukrainian peasants. The family was poor, according to Nina's own recollections. The two lived together as husband and wife for the rest of Khrushchev's life, though they never registered their marriage. They had three children together: daughter Rada
5643-664: Is with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , the place of the People's Republic of Poland - with the Soviet Union". It began with securing the interests of the party apparatus. In the autumn of 1972, the State Council issued decrees that privileged people holding the highest positions in the state and their families in terms of remuneration. At that time, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of
5852-651: The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ) gave rise to much speculation about poisoning or a suicide, and symbolically marked the end of Stalinism era in Poland. On November 11-13, 1949, a plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party was held, which was devoted to the tasks of the party in the fight for revolutionary vigilance. The plenum was dedicated to two leading topics: increasing indoctrination and continuing
6061-729: The Chinese Communist Party to accommodate the Polish demands. Simulteanously, the Soviets were increasingly distracted by Hungarian Revolution of 1956 taking place in neighbouring Hungary, another one of its satellite states. Information about events in Poland reached the people of Hungary via Radio Free Europe 's news and commentary services between 19 October and 22 October 1956. A student demonstration in Budapest in support of Gomułka, asking for similar reforms in Hungary,
6270-459: The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), giving an opportunity for anti-Stalinists to attain power and influence policy. The widely publicised defection of high-ranking Polish secret police agent Józef Światło had embarrassed the PZPR internationally and resulted in the weakening of the Ministry of Public Security . In the summer of 1955, the 5th World Festival of Youth and Students
6479-612: The Great Purge , during which many were executed or sent to the Gulag . Central to this campaign were the Moscow Trials , a series of show trials of the purged top leaders of the party and the military. In 1936, as the trials proceeded, Khrushchev expressed his vehement support: Everyone who rejoices in the successes achieved in our country, the victories of our party led by the great Stalin, will find only one word suitable for
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6688-603: The Kremlin as a close associate of Stalin) to Moscow and enrolling in the Stalin Industrial Academy . Khrushchev never completed his studies there, but his career in the Party flourished. When the school's Party cell elected a number of rightists to an upcoming district Party conference, the cell was attacked in Pravda . Khrushchev emerged victorious in the ensuing power struggle, becoming Party secretary of
6897-558: The Kremlin , was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party. On July 18-28, 1956, during the 7th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, the Natolinians and the Puławy faction clashed again. The former saw the 1956 Poznań protests as an agent-like and counter-revolutionary action. The Pulawians saw it as a mass protest of an economic nature. The balance of power between
7106-681: The Milicja Obywatelska headquarters and radio jamming equipment in Bydgoszcz , and on 10 December a crowd in Szczecin attacked public buildings, including a prison, the state prosecutor's office, Milicja headquarters and the Soviet consulate . People across the country criticised the security police and asked for the dissolution of the public security committee and the punishment of its most guilty functionaries. Demands were made for
7315-479: The Moscow city Party organization , and in 1934, he became Party leader for the city and a member of the Party's Central Committee . Khrushchev attributed his rapid rise to his acquaintance with fellow Academy student Nadezhda Alliluyeva , Stalin's wife. In his memoirs, Khrushchev stated that Alliluyeva spoke well of him to her husband. His biographer, William Tompson, downplays the possibility, stating that Khrushchev
7524-609: The Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth . In 1985, Jaruzelski resigned as prime minister and defence minister and became chairman of the Polish Council of State , a post equivalent to that of president, with his power centered on and firmly entrenched in his coterie of " LWP " generals and lower rank officers of the Polish People's Army. On December 20-21, 1988, the first part of the 10th Plenum of
7733-489: The Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other legally permitted subordinate minor parties together as the Front of National Unity and later Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth . Ideologically, it was based on the theories of Marxism-Leninism , with a strong emphasis on left-wing nationalism . The Polish United Workers' Party had total control over public institutions in
7942-633: The Sejm and a guarantee of personal liberties. Alarmed by the process, the Party Secretariat decided to withhold the speech from the general public. In June, disatisfaction with the status quo eventually led to a mass demonstration by factory workers at the Joseph Stalin Metal Industries in the city of Poznań . They began a spontaneous strike when around 80% of the factory's workers had lost their bonus pay when
8151-517: The Six-Day War . On 20-22 January 1960, during the 4th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, many personnel changes were made in the highest positions in the party. Jerzy Morawski 's place in the Central Committee secretariat was taken by Ryszard Strzelecki , associated with the Natolinians . Together with him, another experienced Edward Ochab was co-opted to
8360-723: The State National Council during World War II . Gomułka was a moderate communist skeptical of the Soviets, in contrast to Bierut who was a devout Stalinist loyal to Moscow. Gomułka had been the General Secretary of the Polish Workers' Party (predecessor to the PZPR) since 1943, and had served as the de facto leader of Poland from 1947 until being ousted from power by the Stalinists in 1948. He
8569-583: The Warsaw University of Technology from 15 to 21 December 1948. The unification was possible because the PPS had effectively been taken over by pro-Communist fellow travelers , and the activists who opposed unification had been forced out of the party. Similarly, the members of the PPR who were accused of "rightist–nationalist deviation" ( Polish : odchylenie prawicowo-nacjonalistyczne ) were expelled. Thus,
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8778-520: The tekhnikum that was designed to bring undereducated students to high-school level, a prerequisite for entry into the tekhnikum . While enrolled in the rabfak , Khrushchev continued his work at the Rutchenkovo mine. One of his teachers later described him as a poor student. He was more successful in advancing in the Communist Party ; soon after his admission to the rabfak in August 1922, he
8987-403: The " Secret Speech ", which denounced Stalin's purges and ushered in a less repressive era in the Soviet Union. His domestic policies, aimed at bettering the lives of ordinary citizens, were often ineffective, especially in agriculture. Hoping eventually to rely on missiles for national defense, Khrushchev ordered major cuts in conventional forces. Despite the cuts, Khrushchev's time in office saw
9196-555: The 12th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party was held, devoted to assessing the events of the past. As a sign of protest against the anti-Semitic campaign, Edward Ochab resigned from his mandate as a member of the Political Bureau and the Central Committee. On November 11-16 of that year, the 5th Congress of the Polish United Workers' Party was held with the participation of Leonid Brezhnev , Walter Ulbricht and Todor Zhivkov . Brezhnev presented
9405-459: The 1960s. Afraid of destabilizing the system and pressured to solve mounting issues, his rule would become stagnant and authoritarian, slowly reversing much of the liberalisation. By the time of the March 1968 events , Gomułka's thaw would be long over, and increasing economic problems and popular discontent would end up removing Gomułka from power in 1970 — ironically, in a situation similar to
9614-409: The 1st National Conference of the Polish United Workers' Party, a "great and universal action of working people undertaken for the purpose of educating the 30th anniversary of the People's Republic of Poland" was initiated. Reports of increased production and coal mining began to arrive from all over the country. However, the quality of life did not improve. On February 15 of that year, the 13th Plenum of
9823-493: The 37th Army. Later, the Fifth Army also perished ... All of this was senseless, and from the military point of view, a display of ignorance, incompetence, and illiteracy. ... There you have the result of not taking a step backward. We were unable to save these troops because we didn't withdraw them, and as a result, we simply lost them. ... And yet it was possible to allow this not to happen. In 1942, Khrushchev
10032-423: The 5th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party met under the slogan "For consistent implementation of the socio-economic program of the 7th Congress of the Polish United Workers' Party, for higher efficiency of management". Stefan Olszowski and Alojzy Karkoszka were appointed as secretaries. On 9-10 January 1978, the 2nd National Conference of the Polish United Workers' Party met under
10241-637: The Bolsheviks was because he felt closer to the Mensheviks who prioritized economic progress, whereas the Bolsheviks sought political power. In his memoirs, Khrushchev indicated that he waited because there were many groups, and it was difficult to keep them all straight. In March 1918, as the Bolshevik government concluded a separate peace with the Central Powers , the Germans occupied
10450-576: The CPSU's First Secretary , making him the successor to Stalin. In February, during the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , Khrushchev delivered the speech titled On the Personality Cult and Its Consequences (commonly known as the Secret Speech ) with wide implications for the Soviet Union and other communist countries. Khrushchev was highly critical of Stalin, denouncing both him personally and his rule, much to
10659-477: The Central Committee secretariat, already as a full member. The idea of strengthening the power of the party apparatus was returned to by establishing two new departments in the Central Committee - the Department of Science and Education, headed by Andrzej Werblan , and the Department of Culture headed by Wincenty Kraska . The personnel carousel also included several first secretaries of the Central Committee of
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#173277219233310868-412: The Central Committee was held, devoted to the topic of "Ideological and educational tasks of the party in the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the People's Republic of Poland". During the meeting, Wincenty Kraska and Andrzej Werblan were elected secretaries of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, while Kazimierz Barcikowski, recommended for the position of Minister of Agriculture,
11077-545: The Cuban Missile Crisis. Such developments emboldened his political rivals who quietly rose in strength and ultimately deposed him in October 1964. However, he did not suffer the deadly fate of the losers of previous Soviet power struggles and was pensioned off with an apartment in Moscow and a dacha in the countryside. His lengthy memoirs were smuggled to the West and published in part in 1970. Khrushchev died from
11286-497: The Donbas and Khrushchev fled to Kalinovka. In late 1918 or early 1919, he was mobilized into the Red Army as a political commissar . The post of political commissar had recently been introduced as the Bolsheviks came to rely less on worker activists and more on military recruits; its functions included indoctrination of recruits in the tenets of Bolshevism, and promoting troop morale and battle readiness. Beginning as commissar to
11495-525: The Eastern Bloc. Timothy Garton Ash calls the Polish October the most significant event in the post-war history of Poland until the rise of Solidarity . History professor Iván T. Berend claims that while the effects of the Polish October on the Eastern Bloc may be disputed, it set the course for the eventual fall of communism in the Polish People's Republic. In China, some leaders viewed
11704-556: The Federation of Socialist Unions of Polish Youth was established, an organization operating under the leadership of PZPR, whose goal was to indoctrinate youth in the spirit of Marxist ideology. In 1974, the Institute of Basic Problems of Marxism-Leninism was established at the Central Committee of PZPR in order to educate party apparatchiks. Unification and centralization also included economic and cooperative structures, including
11913-481: The Germans had driven deep into the Soviet flanks, and the Red Army troops were in danger of being cut off. Stalin refused to halt the offensive, and the Red Army divisions were soon encircled by the Germans. The USSR lost about 267,000 soldiers, including more than 200,000 captured, and Stalin demoted Timoshenko and recalled Khrushchev to Moscow. While Stalin hinted at arresting and executing Khrushchev, he allowed
12122-419: The Germans intended an attack—a claim dismissed by his biographer Taubman as "almost certainly exaggerated". He accompanied Soviet troops as they took Kiev in November 1943, entering the shattered city as Soviet forces drove out German troops. As Soviet forces met with greater success, driving the Nazis westwards towards Germany, Nikita Khrushchev became increasingly involved in reconstruction work in Ukraine. He
12331-427: The IX Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party convened, under an attack by the "concrete", demanding a change of leadership to a more decisive one. Under the influence of the Soviet letter, Kania also hardened his position. On 14-20 July, the IX Extraordinary Congress of the Polish United Workers' Party was held (over 350 thousand members left the party during the year), at which Stanisław Kania
12540-408: The Imperial Government. She urged Nikita to seek further education, but family finances did not permit this. In 1908, Sergei Khrushchev moved to the Donbas city of Yuzovka; fourteen-year-old Nikita followed later that year, while Kseniya Khrushcheva and her daughter came after. Yuzovka, which was renamed Stalino in 1924 and Donetsk in 1961, was at the heart of one of the most industrialized areas of
12749-418: The June uprising, such as "We want free elections", "Down with Communist dictatorship" or "Down with the Party", were much less prevalent. Local PZPR committees were not attacked by the protesters. In October, Edward Ochab , the First Secretary of the PZPR since Bierut's death, proposed Władysław Gomułka for election as First Secretary during the 8th Plenum meeting. Gomułka and Bierut had been archrivals in
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#173277219233312958-440: The PZPR Central Committee took place, but then the sessions were interrupted until mid-January. Jaruzelski, preparing an operation to win over some of the opposition as jointly responsible for the terrible state of the country, removed six activists from the fifteen-member Political Bureau of the Central Committee, considered to be "hardliners", i.e. those opposed to the planned talks at the Round Table. Janusz Reykowski, among others,
13167-614: The PZPR and growing tensions in Polish society. Bierut's successors seized on Khrushchev's condemnation of Stalinist policy as an opportunity to prove their reformist democratic credentials and their willingness to break with the Stalinist legacy. In late March and early April 1956, thousands of PZPR meetings were held all over Poland, with the blessing of the Politburo and the Secretariat. Tens of thousands took part in such meetings. The Secretariat's plan succeeded beyond what it had expected. The political atmosphere in Poland shifted as questions were increasingly asked about taboo subjects like
13376-438: The PZPR for lack of activity and violations of party ethics, 33,000 of whom were for various offenses. On May 16-17, 1967, the 8th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party was held, devoted to "current tasks in the political work of the party". Zenon Kliszko appealed to artists to promote heroes fighting for the victory of socialism and the topics of the "socialist approach to work". On July 8-9, 1968,
13585-465: The PZPR leadership split into two factions, dubbed Natolinians and Puławians . The Natolin faction – named after the place where its meetings took place, in a government villa in Natolin – were against the post-Stalinist liberalization programs ( Gomułka thaw ). The most well known members included Franciszek Jóźwiak , Wiktor Kłosiewicz , Zenon Nowak , Aleksander Zawadzki , Władysław Dworakowski , Hilary Chełchowski . The Puławian faction –
13794-424: The PZPR were to appear before special commissions to determine their ideological stance. As a result of the verification action, which turned out to be the largest purge in the history of the PZPR, by May 1958, 207,000 members (15.5%) of all members and candidates had been excluded from the party. In the 1960s Gomułka supported persecution of the Roman Catholic Church and intellectuals (notably Leszek Kołakowski who
14003-427: The Party were not immune; the Central Committee of Ukraine was so devastated that it could not convene a quorum. After Khrushchev's arrival, the pace of arrests accelerated. All but one member of the Ukrainian Politburo Organizational Bureau and Secretariat were arrested. Almost all government officials and Red Army commanders were replaced. During the first few months after Khrushchev's arrival, almost everyone arrested
14212-418: The Polish People's Republic. On March 20, 1956, shortly after the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the VI Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party was held, during which the memory of Bolesław Bierut was honored. Jerzy Albrecht and Edward Gierek were co-opted as secretaries of the Central Committee. In the fight for the election of Bierut's successor,
14421-428: The Polish United Workers' Party issued "guidelines" regarding the nomenclature of management staff, which by the end of the decade included half a million people. Its existence and functioning proved the party's total monopoly, and at the same time exposed the superficiality of the state, administrative and scientific structures operating in the Polish People's Republic . Detailed lists included positions whose appointment
14630-416: The Polish United Workers' Party. The 7th Congress of the Polish United Workers' Party took place on December 8-12, 1975. Among the guests was Leonid Brezhnev , for who arrived to the newly opened Warszawa Centralna railway station . Gierek delivered the programmatic report of the Political Bureau "for further dynamic development of socialist construction - for higher quality of work and living conditions of
14839-426: The Polish United Workers' Party. Additionally, in May that year, Jerzy Albrecht resigned from the position of the Central Committee secretary. This confirmed the direction of staff exchange in key positions by purging the apparatus of active participants in the October changes . On July 4-6, 1963, the 13th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party was held, devoted to ideological matters. It
15048-575: The Polish communists' legitimacy, the responsibility for Stalin's crimes, the arrest of the increasingly-popular Władysław Gomułka , and issues in Soviet–Polish relations, such as the continued Soviet military presence in Poland , the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , the Katyn massacre and the Soviet failure to support the Warsaw Uprising . A new Party Congress was demanded, as were a greater role for
15257-521: The Polish people. The Soviets were disadvantaged as, during Stalinism, they had placed Moscow-friendly Poles or Soviets themselves in important political positions in Poland. After denouncing Stalinism so vehemently in his speech, Khrushchev could not regress to the Stalinist position by forcing more Soviets into the Polish leadership. However, in recognising the cries of the public, the Poles needed to keep
15466-483: The Political Bureau - Czyrek and Barcikowski. In this situation, opponents of the Round Table, who had neither a ready plan of action nor a significant leader, gave up further resistance. The regime used this incident to its own ends and two days later Ciosek, in a conversation with Mazowiecki and Father Orszulik, presented the dispute at the Central Committee session as a dangerous attempt at a coup aimed at restoring
15675-466: The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party and secretary of the Central Committee, which was interpreted as an affront. He had already taken these positions in July in exchange for the position of head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs , which Gomułka filled with his associate, Kazimierz Świtała . On June 18, 1969, during a meeting of the Central Committee of Party Control, its chairman Zenon Nowak informed that 1968
15884-472: The Red Army. Other Ukrainians joined partisan forces, seeking an independent Ukraine. Khrushchev rushed from district to district through Ukraine, urging the depleted labor force to greater efforts. He made a short visit to his birthplace of Kalinovka, finding a starving population, with only a third of the men who had joined the Red Army having returned. Khrushchev did what he could to assist his hometown. Despite Khrushchev's efforts, in 1945, Ukrainian industry
16093-548: The Russian Empire. After working briefly in other fields, Khrushchev's parents found Nikita a place as a metal fitter's apprentice. Upon completing that apprenticeship, the teenage Khrushchev was hired by a factory. He lost that job when he collected money for the families of the victims of the Lena Goldfields massacre , and was hired to mend underground equipment by a mine in nearby Ruchenkovo, where his father
16302-602: The Russian word trushchoba , meaning "slum". In 1995, almost 60,000,000 residents of the former Soviet Union still lived in these buildings. In his new positions, Khrushchev continued his kolkhoz consolidation scheme, which decreased the number of collective farms in Moscow Oblast by about 70%. This resulted in farms that were too large for one chairman to manage effectively. Khrushchev also sought to implement his agro-town proposal, but when his lengthy speech on
16511-558: The Russians," "Long live Gomułka" and "We want a free Poland". Gomułka's anti-Soviet image was exaggerated but was justified in the popular imagination by his anti-Stalinist line in 1948, and years of subsequent internment. Thus, Polish communists found themselves unexpectedly at the head of a national liberation movement. The enthusiastic public support offered to Gomułka contributed to the legitimisation of communist rule in Poland, which incorporated mass nationalist, anti-Soviet feelings into
16720-590: The Silesian Voivodeship Committee PZPR, Edward Gierek, was the most praised. Two "technocrats" became new members of the Political Bureau: Eugeniusz Szyr and Franciszek Waniolka . At the end of 1964, the PZPR had over 1.6 million members. Over the five years, between the 3rd and 4th Congresses, over 800,000 members and candidates were accepted into the party. At the same time, 150,000 were expelled from
16929-494: The Soviet Union's relationship with its satellite states . The Polish October was caused by several factors. The death of Joseph Stalin in 1953 and the resulting Destalinization and the Khrushchev Thaw prompted debates about fundamental issues throughout the entire Eastern Bloc . Criticism of Stalin and Stalinism had been unthinkable during his lifetime, but his death led to a succession crisis for leadership of
17138-406: The Soviet delegation arrived, Soviet armed forces stationed in Poland (including two armored divisions ) left their bases and started moving towards Warsaw. When ordered to halt their advance, they were only 100 km from the Polish national capital. The Polish leadership made it clear that the face of communism had to become more nationalised and that the Soviets could no longer directly control
17347-528: The Soviet model - held high positions in the state apparatus at the same time. "Rightist-nationalist deviation" was a political propaganda term used by the Polish Stalinists against prominent activists, such as Władysław Gomułka and Marian Spychalski who opposed Soviet involvement in the Polish internal affairs, as well as internationalism displayed by the creation of the Cominform and
17556-501: The Soviet model in every detail. For example, many members of the PZPR criticised Stalin's execution of older Polish communists during the Great Purge . On 3 March, during a conference of PZPR activists in Warsaw, Stefan Staszewski and others severely criticized the contemporary party leadership, including the absent Bierut. On 12 March, Beirut died unexpectedly while still in Moscow, leading to increased rivalry between various factions of
17765-495: The Soviets for so long that breaking away completely would prove disastrous. Thus, both countries held crucial power in different facets: Poland could threaten Soviet strength and power in Eastern Europe politically, and the Soviet Union could essentially destroy the Polish economy. Therefore, any reform in the Polish government would have to concede to some Soviet demands, but the Soviets concurrently would have to concede to
17974-406: The Soviets from direct control but could not raise their demands to a point that endangered their relationships in the bloc. Gomułka demanded increased autonomy and permission to carry out some reforms, but also reassured the Soviets that the reforms were internal matters and that Poland had no intention of abandoning communism or its treaties with the Soviet Union. The Soviets were also pressured by
18183-665: The Soviets: the cancellation of Poland's existing debts, new preferential trade terms, abandonment of the unpopular Soviet-imposed collectivization of Polish agriculture, and permission to liberalize policy towards the Roman Catholic Church . In December, the status of Soviet forces in Poland, the Northern Group of Forces , was finally regulated . In the aftermath of the October events, Rokossovsky and many other Soviet "advisers" left Poland, signaling that Moscow
18392-533: The Ukrainian Central Committee removed Khrushchev as party leader in favor of Kaganovich, while retaining him as premier. Soon after Kaganovich arrived in Kiev, Khrushchev fell ill and was barely seen until September 1947. In his memoirs, Khrushchev indicates he had pneumonia; some biographers have theorized that Khrushchev's illness was entirely political, out of fear that his loss of position
18601-557: The Ukrainian people as a whole. I won't elaborate further on this theme, but in principle, it's very easy to demonstrate. I'm Russian myself, and I don't want to offend the Russians. From mid-December 1949, Khrushchev served as head of the Party in Moscow city and province. His biographer Taubman suggests that Stalin most likely recalled Khrushchev to Moscow to balance the influence of Georgy Malenkov and security chief Lavrentiy Beria , who were widely seen as Stalin's heirs. The aging leader rarely called Politburo meetings. Instead, much of
18810-818: The abdication of Tsar Nicholas II in 1917, the new Russian Provisional Government in Petrograd had little influence over Ukraine. Khrushchev was elected to the worker's council (or soviet ) in Rutchenkovo, and in May he became its chairman. He did not join the Bolsheviks until 1918, a year in which the Russian Civil War , between the Bolsheviks and a coalition of opponents known as the White Army , began in earnest. His biographer, William Taubman , suggests that Khrushchev's delay in affiliating himself with
19019-423: The account Khrushchev gave in his memoirs, he ordered the Soviet troops to halt in place after he was personally confronted by Gomułka who, according to Khrushchev, was in a state of agitation and "demanded" that the troops return to their bases, or "something terrible and irreversible will happen." Khrushchev claims that he was never against appointing Gomułka at the helm of PZPR and had expected him to be elevated to
19228-477: The achievements of the Polish Film School and the creation of such controversial movies as Ashes and Diamonds ), and a civil society started to develop, but half-hearted democratization was not enough to satisfy the Polish public. Gomułka gradually softened his opposition to Soviet pressures, and the late-1950s hopes for major political change in Poland were replaced with growing disillusionment by
19437-496: The authorities - Jaruzelski, who had been prime minister since February 1981, gained support; many representatives of the army, which was gaining more and more influence, were also elected. Gierek, Babiuch , Lukaszewicz , Pyka , Szydlak and Żandarowski were ousted from the PZPR. Kania admitted that the party had made many economic mistakes, and advocated working with Catholic and trade unionist opposition groups. He met with Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa , and other critics of
19646-545: The city be abandoned, the Red Army was soon encircled by the Germans . While the Germans stated they took 655,000 prisoners, according to the Soviets, 150,541 men out of 677,085 escaped. Primary sources differ on Khrushchev's involvement. According to Marshal Georgy Zhukov , writing some years after Khrushchev fired and disgraced him in 1957, Khrushchev persuaded Stalin not to evacuate troops from Kiev. However, Khrushchev noted in his memoirs that he and Marshal Semyon Budyonny proposed redeploying Soviet forces to avoid
19855-460: The cliques meant that an absurd formula was finally adopted, in which two trends were distinguished in the Poznań protests: a broad, peaceful, mainly workers', which organized a strike and protest march, and a narrower, rebellious, which took up armed struggle. At the same time, mass rallies were ordered, during which party activists were to condemn the Poznań protests. The meetings – against the will of
20064-524: The commissar to return to the front by sending him to Stalingrad . Khrushchev reached the Stalingrad Front in August 1942, soon after the start of the battle for the city . His role in the Stalingrad defense was not major—General Vasily Chuikov , who led the city's defense, mentions Khrushchev only briefly in a memoir published while Khrushchev was premier—but to the end of his life, he
20273-498: The confession in his stride, and, after initially advising Khrushchev to keep it quiet, suggested that Khrushchev tell his tale to the Moscow party conference. Khrushchev did so, to applause, and was immediately reelected to his post. Khrushchev related in his memoirs that he was also denounced by an arrested colleague. Stalin told Khrushchev of the accusation personally. Khrushchev speculated in his memoirs that had Stalin doubted his reaction, he would have been categorized as an enemy of
20482-545: The construction and spent much of his time down in the tunnels. When the inevitable accidents did occur, they were depicted as heroic sacrifices in a great cause. The Metro did not open until 1 May 1935, but Khrushchev received the Order of Lenin for his role in its construction. Later that year, he was selected as First Secretary of the Moscow Regional Committee which was responsible for Moscow oblast ,
20691-748: The country as well as the Polish People's Army , the UB and SB security agencies, the Citizens' Militia (MO) police force and the media . The falsified 1947 Polish legislative election granted the Communist Polish Workers' Party (PPR) complete political authority in post- war Poland. The PZPR was founded forthwith in December 1948 through the unification of the PPR and the Polish Socialist Party (PPS). From 1952 onward,
20900-422: The decade of the seventies being sometimes called "Stalinism without terror". Gierek strengthened his position by filling the Political Bureau with his supporters. Besides himself, Edward Babiuch, Henryk Jablonski, Mieczyslaw Jagielski, Jaroszewicz, Jaruzelski, Wladyslaw Kruczek, Stefan Olszowski, Franciszek Szlachic, Jan Szydlak and Jozef Tejchma became members of the Political Bureau. This short-term development
21109-504: The demonstration soon turned into a violent riot. Between 57 and 78 people, mostly protesters, were killed, and hundreds were wounded and arrested. Soon, however, the party hierarchy recognised that the riots had awakened a nationalist movement and reversed their opinion. Wages were raised by 50%, and economic and political change was promised. The Poznań protests, although the largest, were not unique in Poland, where social protest resumed its fury that autumn. On November 18, rioters destroyed
21318-444: The destruction of communism and the ruin of Soviet influence in the region as a whole. The Soviet Union was not worried about only the political implications of reform but also its economic implications. Economically, the Soviet Union heavily invested in much of the Eastern Bloc and was striving for integration of its economies. The Soviet Union had financed Polish industry and was Poland's main trading partner . The Soviet Union directed
21527-406: The destructive fascination with the West, which was evident among young writers, and criticized the work of radio and television for their tendency towards sterile negation and mindless criticism. Gomułka also presented his vision of conducting historical policy, in which the development of the history of the workers' movement was to occupy a prominent place. He emphasized that the ideological front of
21736-622: The effective end of Stalinism in Poland, though Gomułka's regime became more oppressive during the 1960s. News of the events in Poland contributed to the more violent but less successful Hungarian Revolution of 1956 . Some social scientists term it the Polish October Revolution which, despite being less dramatic than the Hungarian Revolution, may have had an even deeper impact on the Eastern Bloc and on
21945-559: The elderly, sending them to the eastern parts of the Soviet Union. Khrushchev viewed this policy as very effective and recommended its adoption elsewhere to Stalin. He also worked to impose collectivization on Western Ukraine. Lack of resources and armed resistance by partisans slowed the process. The partisans, many of whom fought as the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), were gradually defeated, as Soviet police and military reported killing 110,825 "bandits" and capturing
22154-412: The encirclement until Marshal Semyon Timoshenko arrived from Moscow with orders for the troops to hold their positions. Early Khrushchev biographer Mark Frankland suggested that Khrushchev's faith in his leader was first shaken by the Red Army's setbacks. Khrushchev stated in his memoirs: But let me return to the enemy breakthrough in the Kiev area, the encirclement of our group, and the destruction of
22363-740: The end of 1947, Kaganovich had been recalled to Moscow and the recovered Khrushchev had been restored to the First Secretaryship. He then resigned the Ukrainian premiership in favor of Demyan Korotchenko , Khrushchev's protégé. Khrushchev's final years in Ukraine were generally peaceful, with industry recovering, Soviet forces overcoming the partisans, and 1947 and 1948 seeing better-than-expected harvests. Collectivization advanced in Western Ukraine, and Khrushchev implemented more policies that encouraged collectivization and discouraged private farms. These sometimes backfired, however:
22572-452: The end of the 1950s. During the plenum, the "Natolinians" candidate for the position of First Secretary was Zenon Nowak, who gained Khrushchev's favor. In turn, the Puławians put forward Roman Zambrowski. Ultimately, because none of the cliques was strong enough to take over full power, an amicable resolution of the dispute was reached. The centrist Edward Ochab , who enjoyed the full trust of
22781-711: The establishment of the RSW " Prasa-Książka-Ruch " concern, a powerful machine financing the activities of PZPR. Already in the early 1970s, the PZPR leadership had been considering changes to the constitution. They were approved by the Sejm of the Polish People's Republic in February 1976. The main program, "Dziennik Telewizyjny", almost every edition of which began with the words "First Secretary of PZPR...", broadcasts from party conferences or information about exceeded plans or completed construction or party activities. February 4, 1974 At
22990-499: The events in Poland, together with the Hungarian protests, as demonstrating the danger of overemphasizing heavy industry while paying insufficient attention to people's livelihoods. Gomułka, in his public speeches, criticized the hardships of Stalinism and promised reforms to democratize the country; this was received with much enthusiasm by Polish society. By mid-November, Gomułka had secured substantive gains in his negotiations with
23199-467: The exposure of secret police collaborators, and suspected collaborators were frequently assaulted. In many localities, crowds gathered outside the secret police headquarters, shouted hostile slogans and broke windows. Public meetings, demonstrations and street marches took place in hundreds of towns across Poland. The meetings were usually organized by local party cells, local authorities and trade unions . However, official organisers tended to lose control as
23408-691: The fact that the few mentions of Khrushchev in military memoirs published during the Brezhnev era were generally favorable, at a time when it was "barely possible to mention Khrushchev in print in any context". Tompson suggests that these favorable mentions indicate that military officers held Khrushchev in high regard. Almost all of Ukraine had been occupied by the Germans, and Khrushchev returned to his domain in late 1943 to find devastation. Ukraine's industry had been destroyed, and agriculture faced critical shortages. Even though millions of Ukrainians had been taken to Germany as workers or prisoners of war, there
23617-409: The fight against right-wing nationalist deviation. In relation to the first topic, an offensive of propaganda activities and intensification of the ideologization of public life were assumed. Yet, in connection with the strengthening of the sole rule of Bolesław Bierut, the deliberations were largely dominated by aggressive criticism of Władysław Gomułka and people from his circle. The latter, weakened by
23826-461: The first time the television broadcast of its proceedings took place using color broadcasting), attended by 1,804 delegates representing a million members of communist parties. Delegations from 70 such parties arrived. During the congress the program of "dynamic development" and "building socialism in Poland" was adopted. At the same time, a generational change took place in the authorities of the Polish United Workers' Party. The old generation, active in
24035-427: The government suddenly raised the required work quota. This grew into a wider protest against issues such as shortages of food and consumer goods , bad housing, the decline in real income , trade relations with the Soviet Union, and the poor management of the economy. The Polish government responded with a harsh crackdown, branding the protestors as " provocateurs , counterrevolutionaries and imperialist agents," and
24244-433: The government. The Soviet government sought to collect as much grain as possible to supply communist allies in Eastern Europe. Khrushchev set the quotas at a high level, leading Stalin to expect an unrealistically large quantity of grain from Ukraine. Food was rationed—but non-agricultural rural workers throughout the USSR were given no ration cards. The inevitable starvation was largely confined to remote rural regions and
24453-457: The high-level work of government took place at dinners hosted by Stalin for his inner circle of Beria, Malenkov, Khrushchev, Kaganovich, Kliment Voroshilov , Vyacheslav Molotov , and Nikolai Bulganin . Khrushchev took early naps so that he would not fall asleep in Stalin's presence; he noted in his memoirs, "Things went badly for those who dozed off at Stalin's table." In 1950, Khrushchev began
24662-476: The highest authorities of the Polish United Workers' Party and the administration has been growing. Before initiating the plan of suppressing Solidarity, he presented it to Soviet Premier , Nikolai Tikhonov . On 13 December 1981, Jaruzelski imposed martial law in Poland. In 1982, Jaruzelski revitalized the Front of National Unity , the organization the Communists used to manage their satellite parties, as
24871-483: The homes of Soviet citizens, mostly in Lower Silesia , which was home to many Soviet Army troops. However, unlike the protesters in Hungary and Poznań, activists limited their political demands and behaviour, which were not purely opposed to the communist system. The communist authorities were not openly and unequivocally challenged, as they had been in June, and anti-communist slogans, which had been prevalent in
25080-411: The leadership of the Polish United Workers' Party, representing different possibilities of overcoming the political and economic crisis that plagued the Polish People's Republic. The criticism of the Ministry of Public Security made during the session indicated that the leadership of the ministry would become a "scapegoat" on which the PZPR leaders would blame the responsibility for the terror reigning in
25289-480: The mercenary, fascist dogs of the Trotskyite- Zinovievite gang. That word is execution. Khrushchev assisted in the purge of many friends and colleagues in the Moscow oblast . Of 38 top Party officials in Moscow city and province, 35 were killed —the three survivors were transferred to other parts of the USSR. Of the 146 Party secretaries of cities and districts outside Moscow city in
25498-672: The merger was actually an absorption of the PPS by the PPR, resulting in what was a renamed and enlarged PPR for all intents and purposes. The new party included about 1 million members of the PPR and about 0.5 million members of the PPS. The highest positions in the party were taken by members of the PPR. The Political Bureau established during the Unification Congress included: Bierut, Jakub Berman , Józef Cyrankiewicz , Hilary Minc , Stanisław Radkiewicz , Adam Rapacki , Marian Spychalski , Henryk Świątkowski , Zambrowski and Aleksander Zawadzki . All of them - in accordance with
25707-428: The military, the secret police , and the economy. Its main goal was to create a Communist society and help to propagate Communism all over the world. On paper, the party was organised on the basis of democratic centralism , which assumed a democratic appointment of authorities, making decisions, and managing its activity. These authorities decided about the policy and composition of the main organs; although, according to
25916-404: The movement was split by Lenin 's New Economic Policy . While Khrushchev's responsibility lay in political affairs, he involved himself in the practicalities of resuming full production at the mine after the chaos of the war years. He helped restart the machines (key parts and papers had been removed by the pre-Soviet mine-owners) and he wore his old mine outfit for inspection tours. Khrushchev
26125-482: The name comes from the Puławska Street in Warsaw, on which many of the members lived – sought great liberalization of socialism in Poland. After the events of Poznań June , they successfully backed the candidature of Władysław Gomułka for First Secretary of party, thus imposing a major setback upon Natolinians. Among the most prominent members were Roman Zambrowski and Leon Kasman . Both factions disappeared towards
26334-612: The nation". After the congress, Gierek remained at the head of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party; a ceremonial concert for the leaders of the Polish United Workers' Party and delegates took place in the Grand Theatre. Among others, the Central Artistic Ensemble of the Polish Army performed, presenting a ballet version of "Capriccio" by Krzysztof Penderecki . On 1-2 December 1976,
26543-454: The national community. In October, they became a part of the nation opposing Soviet domination, with Gomułka being enthusiastically supported by the great majority of society, not primarily as a communist leader but as a leader of a nation who, by resisting Soviet demands, embodied a national longing for independence and sovereignty . His name was chanted, along with anti-Soviet slogans, at thousands of meetings: "Go home Rokossovsky", "Down with
26752-526: The national income was to increase by 30%. Gomułka , who was formally re-elected to the position of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, sharply criticized the leaders of the Chinese communists for their splitting activities. During the congress, the smell of incense wafted continuously over the conference hall. First secretaries of provincial committees, in particular, blew incense to Gomułka and themselves. The secretary of
26961-408: The only way into the churchyard through the church, he had the coffin lifted and passed over the fence into the burial ground, shocking the village. Through the intervention of a friend, Khrushchev was assigned in 1921 as assistant director for political affairs for the Rutchenkovo mine in the Donbas region, where he had previously worked. There were as yet few Bolsheviks in the area. At that time,
27170-599: The opposition and adhere to the Polish Round Table Agreement , which permitted free democratic elections. The elections on 4 June 1989 proved victorious for Solidarity, thus bringing 40-year communist rule in Poland to an end. The Polish United Workers' Party was dissolved in January 1990. Until 1989, the PZPR held dictatorial powers (the amendment to the constitution of 1976 mentioned "a leading national force") and controlled an unwieldy bureaucracy,
27379-430: The party leaders – became a forum for discussions on the terrible material situation, shortages of basic food products and other topics. On October 24-26, 1957, the 10th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party was held. Gomułka indicated revisionism and liquidation as the main source of the party's weakness. In order to heal the party, a resolution was passed to verify its members. All members of
27588-403: The party was insufficiently offensive in the fight against opponents. On June 15-20, 1964, the 4th Congress of the Polish United Workers' Party took place, which strengthened the so-called small stabilization. Gomułka outlined economic plans for the following years, assuming a 50% increase in industrial production. In the five-year period of 1966-1970, 1.5 million new jobs were to be created, and
27797-423: The party. Though Kania agreed with his predecessors that the Communist Party must maintain control of Poland, he never assured the Soviets that Poland would not pursue actions independent of the Soviet Union. On 18 October 1981, the Central Committee of the Party withdrew confidence in him, and Kania was replaced by Prime Minister (and Minister of Defence) Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski . On 11 February 1981, Jaruzelski
28006-631: The people then and there. Nonetheless, Khrushchev became a candidate member of the Politburo on 14 January 1938 and a full member in March 1939. In late 1937, Stalin appointed Khrushchev as head of the Communist Party in Ukraine . Khrushchev left Moscow for Kiev, again the Ukrainian capital, in January 1938. Ukraine had been the site of extensive purges, with the murdered including professors in Stalino whom Khrushchev greatly respected. The high ranks of
28215-625: The period of the Second Polish Republic in the Communist Party of Poland and later in the Polish Workers' Party, passed away. The positions were taken by "youth" who began their careers in the Stalinist Union of Polish Youth . Unable to refer to the condemned times of Gomułka, they reached for the tradition of the fifties, glorifying people from that period such as Bierut and Rokosowski, a situation which led to
28424-577: The planned price increases were suspended. High foreign debts, food shortages, and an outmoded industrial base compelled a new round of economic reforms in 1980. Once again, price increases set off protests across the country, especially in the Gdańsk Shipyard and Szczecin Shipyard . Gierek was forced to grant legal status to Solidarity and to concede the right to strike. ( Gdańsk Agreement ). On 9-10 June 1981, amidst much social and economic unrest,
28633-456: The political content exceeded their original agenda. Crowds often took radical action, which often resulted in unrest on the streets and clashes with police and other law enforcement agencies. Street activity peaked during and immediately after the 19–21 October "VIII Plenum" meeting of the Central Committee of the PZPR but continued until late in the year. A concurrent upsurge in religious and clerical sentiment took place. Hymns were sung, and
28842-497: The political system, where in Poland it was absorbed into it. Norman Davies sums up the effect as a transformation of Poland from puppet state to client state ; Raymond Pearson similarly states that Poland changed from a Soviet colony to a dominion . Nonetheless, some social scientists, such as Zbigniew Brzezinski and Frank Gibney , refer to these changes as a revolution , one less dramatic than its Hungarian counterpart but one which may have had an even more profound impact on
29051-628: The position of "First Secretary" of the Polish United Workers' Party was de facto equivalent to Poland's head of state . Throughout its existence, the PZPR maintained close ties with ideologically-similar parties of the Eastern Bloc , most notably the Socialist Unity Party of Germany , Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union . Between 1948 and 1954, nearly 1.5 million individuals registered as Polish United Workers' Party members, and membership rose to 3 million by 1980. The party's primary objective
29260-406: The prevailing power structures. Gomułka, however, could not and did not want to reject communism or Soviet domination; he could only steer Poland towards increased independence and "Polish national communism". Because of these restricted ambitions, which were recognized by the Soviets, the limited Polish revolution succeeded where the radical Hungarian one did not. In Hungary social protest destroyed
29469-489: The principles of Soviet foreign policy , assuming the Brezhnev Doctrine . The 5th Congress brought many changes in the highest positions in the party, introducing a group of young generation activists to the ruling elite. 25 new members joined the Central Committee. The expected assault on the positions of Mieczysław Moczar 's "partisans" did not take place. He himself only retained the position of deputy member of
29678-419: The products that Poland manufactured, bought the products and exported goods to Poland that were no longer produced in it. That integration meant any reform, be it political or economic, in one country would have a great impact on the other. Because Poland was inextricably connected to the Soviet Union economically, the thought of an independent Polish economy was unrealistic. The country had been forced to rely on
29887-420: The protests that once had propelled him to power. In the end, Gomułka failed in his goal to salvage communism—or socialism—in Poland. Polish United Workers%27 Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( Polish : Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza , pronounced [ˈpɔlska zjɛdnɔˈt͡ʂɔna ˈpartja rɔbɔtˈɲit͡ʂa] ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR , was the communist party which ruled
30096-668: The province, only 10 survived the purges. In his memoirs, Khrushchev noted that almost everyone who worked with him was arrested. By Party protocol, Khrushchev was required to approve these arrests and did little or nothing to save his friends and colleagues. Party leaders were given numerical quotas of "enemies" to be turned in and arrested. In June 1937, the Politburo set a quota of 35,000 enemies to be arrested in Moscow province; 5,000 of these were to be executed. In reply, Khrushchev asked that 2,000 wealthy peasants, or kulaks living in Moscow be killed in part fulfillment of
30305-535: The quota. In any event, only two weeks after receiving the order, Khrushchev was able to report to Stalin that 41,305 "criminal and kulak elements" had been arrested. Of the arrestees, according to Khrushchev, 8,500 deserved execution. Khrushchev had no reason to think himself immune from the purges, and in 1937, confessed his own 1923 dalliance with Trotskyism to Kaganovich, who, according to Khrushchev, "blanched" (for his protégé's sins could affect his own standing) and advised him to tell Stalin. The dictator took
30514-481: The release of Stefan Wyszyński and the reinstatement of suppressed bishops were demanded. Nationalism was the cement of mass mobilisation and dominated public meetings during which people sang the Polish national anthem and other patriotic songs, demanded the return of the White Eagle to the flag and traditional army uniforms, and attacked Poland's dependence on the Soviet Union and its military. They demanded
30723-421: The removal from state functions, was also deprived of party functions during the plenum, by removing him from the Central Committee. At the same time, his co-authors, Marian Spychalski and Zenon Kliszko , were excluded from the party authorities. On November 24-25, 1953, a secret session of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party was held. Cliques began to emerge within
30932-433: The rest of the Polish delegation returned, creating a prime opportunity for the anti-Stalinists. The PZPR Secretariat decided that Khrushchev's speech should have wide circulation in Poland, a unique decision in the Eastern Bloc. In Poland, in addition to criticism of the cult of personality, popular topics of debate centered on the right to steer a more independent course of "local, national socialism", instead of following
31141-653: The return of the eastern territories from the Soviets, an explanation for the Katyn massacre, and the elimination of the Russian language from the educational curriculum. In the last ten days of October, monuments to the Red Army , despised by Poles, were attacked. Red stars were pulled down from roofs of houses, factories and schools, red flags were destroyed, and portraits of Red Army general Konstantin Rokossovsky were defaced. Attempts were made to force entries into
31350-511: The rule of an iron fist. In this way, the PZPR leadership suggested to the opposition not to set too high demands, because Jaruzelski's "reformist" team could be replaced by party dogmatists. The attempt to impose a naked military dictatorship notwithstanding, the policies of Mikhail Gorbachev stimulated political reform in Poland. By the close of the tenth plenary session in December 1988, the Polish United Workers Party
31559-594: The same day, the Central Committee Commission for Clergy was established in the Central Committee Secretariat, consisting of Zenon Kliszko, Antoni Alster, Władysław Bieńkowski , Tadeusz Galiński , Artur Starewicz , Walenty Titkow , Andrzej Werblan and Stanisław Zawadzki . The post-October liberalization of religious policy turned out to be merely a tactical move. Initially very popular for his reforms and seeking
31768-441: The scandals of Stalinism, Gomułka was acceptable to the Polish masses but at first was viewed with much suspicion by Moscow. The Soviet leadership viewed events in Poland with alarm. Destalinisation was underway in the Soviet Union as well, but the Soviet leadership did not view the democratic reform that the Polish public desired as an acceptable solution. In Moscow, the belief was that any liberalisation in one country could lead to
31977-531: The school, arranging for the delegates to be withdrawn, and, afterward, purging the cell of the rightists. Khrushchev rose rapidly through the Party ranks, first becoming Party leader for the Bauman district, site of the academy, before taking the same position in the Krasnopresnensky district, the capital's largest and most important. By 1932, Khrushchev had become second in command, behind Kaganovich, of
32186-519: The shock of those in attendance and eventually the communist world as news of the speech had spread. However, this broke the social stigma towards criticising Stalin and Stalinism within the communist movement. Bolesław Bierut , the General Secretary of the PZPR known as the "Stalin of Poland" for his devout Stalinism, was in Moscow to attend the 20th Congress. Bierut's poor health caused him to be hospitalised and he remained in Moscow while
32395-413: The situation in Poland which allowed Gomułka's nationalist reformer faction to come to power. The Soviets were pressured to compromise with the Gomułka faction, leading to brief but tense negotiations. The Soviets gave permission for Gomułka to stay in power and greater autonomy to Poland in exchange for maintaining its loyalty to Moscow. The Polish October resulted in a temporary liberalisation and
32604-488: The slogan "For consistent implementation of the program of improving the quality of work and living conditions, for further strengthening of the leading party's power and deepening the moral and political unity of the nation". The standard of living improved in Poland in the early 1970s, the economy , however, began to falter during the 1973 oil crisis , and by 1976 price hikes became necessary. New protests broke out in June 1976 , and although they were forcibly suppressed,
32813-505: The so-called "party's hardcore", formed by people who were recommended to manage the main state institutions, social organizations, and trade unions . The crowning time of the PZPR development (the end of the 1970s) consisted of over 3.5 million members. The Political Office of the Central Committee, Secretariat and regional committees appointed the key posts within the party and in all organizations having ‘state’ in its name – from central offices to even small state and cooperative companies. It
33022-448: The state of history teaching at universities. Bolesław Bierut, an NKVD agent and a hardline Stalinist , served as first Secretary General of the ruling PZPR from 1948 to 1956, playing a leading role in imposing communism and the installation of its repressive regime. He had served as president since 1944 (though on a provisional basis until 1947). After a new constitution abolished the presidency, Bierut took over as prime minister ,
33231-517: The statute, it was a responsibility of the members of the congress, which was held every five or six years. Between sessions, the regional, county, district and work committees held party conferences. The smallest organizational unit of the PZPR was the Fundamental Party Organization (FPO), which functioned in workplaces, schools, cultural institutions, etc. The main part in the PZPR was played by professional politicians, or
33440-405: The subject was published in Pravda in March 1951, Stalin disapproved of it. The periodical quickly published a note stating that Khrushchev's speech was merely a proposal, not policy. In April, the Politburo disavowed the agro-town proposal. Khrushchev feared that Stalin would remove him from office, but the leader mocked Khrushchev, then allowed the episode to pass. On 1 March 1953, Stalin had
33649-419: The subsequent merger that created the PZPR. It is believed that it was Joseph Stalin who put pressure on Bolesław Bierut and Jakub Berman to remove Gomułka and Spychalski as well as their followers from power in 1948. It is estimated that over 25% of socialists were removed from power or expelled from political life. On April 20-21, 1949 a plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party
33858-720: The tensest years of the Cold War, culminating in the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. As leader of the Soviet Union, Khrushchev enjoyed considerable popularity throughout the 1950s due to the successful launching of Sputnik and victorious outcomes in the Suez Crisis , the Syrian Crisis of 1957 , and the 1960 U-2 incident . By the early 1960s, however, support for Khrushchev's leadership was significantly eroded by domestic policy failures and his mishandling of
34067-465: The top post ever since he was released from prison. The leadership of the PZPR's stance contributed to the relatively-moderate political dimension of social protest in October. The nationalist emotions that had spurred protest against the PZPR in June would become in support of it, with the threat of Soviet invasion against Gomułka and his supporters. In June, they were still treated as puppets and servants of alien, anti-Polish interests and excluded from
34276-522: Was First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and Chairman of the Council of Ministers (premier) from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev stunned the communist world with his denunciation of his predecessor Joseph Stalin and embarked on a policy of de-Stalinization with his key ally Anastas Mikoyan . He sponsored the early Soviet space program and enacted reforms in domestic policy. After some false starts, and
34485-492: Was Soviet Marshal Rokossovsky, who had mobilized troops against the Poznań workers, be removed from the Politburo of the PZPR and Ministry of National Defence , to which Ochab agreed. The majority of the Polish leadership, backed by both the Polish People's Army and the Internal Security Corps , brought Gomułka and several associates into the Politburo and designated Gomułka as First Secretary. Untouched by
34694-612: Was a political commissar during the Russian Civil War . Under the sponsorship of Lazar Kaganovich , Khrushchev worked his way up the Soviet hierarchy. He originally supported Stalin's purges and approved thousands of arrests. In 1938, Stalin sent him to govern the Ukrainian SSR , and he continued the purges there. During what was known as the Great Patriotic War , Khrushchev was again a commissar, serving as an intermediary between Stalin and his generals. Khrushchev
34903-494: Was a record year in terms of the number of new candidates to the Polish United Workers' Party. 213 thousand people were accepted, and this result was only improved after 10 years. As of 31 December 1968, the PZPR had 2.1 million members and candidates, and since 1956 its numbers had increased by 700,000. In December 1970, a bloody clash with shipyard workers in which several dozen workers were fatally shot forced his resignation (officially for health reasons; he had in fact suffered
35112-532: Was a sheepherder, I herded cows for a capitalist, and that was before I was fifteen. After that, I worked at a factory for a German, and I worked in a French-owned mine, I worked at a Belgian-owned chemical factory, and [now] I'm the Prime Minister of the great Soviet state. And I am in no way ashamed of my past because all work is worthy of respect. Work as such cannot be dirty, it is only conscience that can be. When World War I broke out in 1914, Khrushchev
35321-535: Was accompanied by a careful policy of indoctrination and total ordering of the society of the PZPR, whose institutional and ideological monopoly was expanded throughout the decade. The ranks of the PZPR grew rapidly: in 1970 it had 2.3 million members, the party was the price paid for promotions, careers, and its activists gained the title of "owners of the PRL". Many of the changes that were made had Soviet patterns, which Gierek did not hide, proclaiming that "our party's place
35530-452: Was also declared a legal organization. During the following Polish elections the Communists won 65 percent of the seats in the Sejm , though the seats won were guaranteed and the Communists were unable to gain a majority, while 99 out of the 100 seats in the Senate — all freely contested — were won by Solidarity-backed candidates. Jaruzelski won the presidential ballot by one vote. Jaruzelski
35739-426: Was appointed First Secretary of the ruling Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) marking the end of Stalinism in Poland . The hardline Stalinist faction of the PZPR was weakened in 1956 from the Secret Speech by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in February, the death of Polish leader Bolesław Bierut in March, and the violent protests in Poznań in June. These events highlighted the people's dissatisfaction with
35948-513: Was appointed Premier of the Ukrainian SSR in addition to his earlier party post, one of the rare instances in which the Ukrainian party and civil leader posts were held by one person. According to Khrushchev biographer William Tompson, it is difficult to assess Khrushchev's war record, since he most often acted as part of a military council, and it is not possible to know the extent to which he influenced decisions. However, Tompson points to
36157-440: Was appointed party secretary of the entire tekhnikum , and became a member of the bureau—the governing council—of the party committee for the town of Yuzovka (renamed Stalino in 1924). He briefly joined supporters of Leon Trotsky against those of Joseph Stalin over the question of party democracy. All of these activities left him with little time for his schoolwork, and while he later said he had finished his rabfak studies, it
36366-402: Was at only a quarter of pre-war levels, and the harvest actually dropped from that of 1944, when the entire territory of Ukraine had not yet been retaken. In an effort to increase agricultural production, the kolkhozes (collective farms) were empowered to expel residents who were not pulling their weight. Kolkhoz leaders used this as an excuse to expel their personal enemies, invalids, and
36575-475: Was born in 1929, son Sergei in 1935 and daughter Elena in 1937. In mid-1925, Khrushchev was appointed Party secretary of the Petrovo-Marinsky raikom , or district, near Stalino. The raikom was about 1,000 square kilometres (400 sq mi) in area, and Khrushchev was constantly on the move throughout his domain, taking an interest in even minor matters. In late 1925, Khrushchev was elected
36784-566: Was called the nomenklatura system of state and economy management. In certain areas of the economy, e.g., in agriculture, the nomenklatura system was controlled with the approval of the PZPR and by its allied parties, the United People's Party (agriculture and food production), and the Democratic Party (trade community, small enterprise, some cooperatives). After martial law began, the Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth
36993-408: Was dependent on the "recommendation" of a given party body - from the Political Bureau to the city and district committees. PZPR (including directors of factories, schools, presidents of cooperatives, agricultural circles, social organizations). The unification of the youth movement and changes in the education system were elements of subordinating society to communist ideology. In the spring of 1973,
37202-417: Was dismissed from this position. The following day, it was announced that Józef Tejchma had been appointed Minister of Culture and Art, while retaining his position as Vice-President of the Council of Ministers. A few days later, Józef Pinkowski was dismissed from the position of Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission at the Council of Ministers, taking up the position of secretary of the Central Committee of
37411-448: Was due to Khrushchev's instigation. Kaganovich transferred Khrushchev to Kharkov , then the capital of Ukraine, as head of the Organizational Department of the Ukrainian Party's Central Committee. In 1928, Khrushchev was transferred to Kiev , where he served as head of the organizational department, second-in-command of the Party organization there. In 1929, Khrushchev again sought to further his education, following Kaganovich (now in
37620-434: Was elected Prime Minister of Poland . On October 16-18, 1981 At the IV Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, the First Secretary, Stanislaw Kania, resigned, and the Central Committee, by a vote of 180:4, elected Wojciech Jaruzelski as his successor, as Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence , and now the First Secretary has all the power in his hands. The number of military personnel in
37829-411: Was executed. Biographer William Taubman suggested that because Khrushchev was again unsuccessfully denounced while in Kiev, he must have known that some of the denunciations were not true and that innocent people were suffering. In 1939, Khrushchev addressed the Fourteenth Ukrainian Party Congress, saying "Comrades, we must unmask and relentlessly destroy all enemies of the people. But we must not allow
38038-410: Was exempt from conscription because he was a skilled metal worker. He was employed by a workshop that serviced ten mines, and he was involved in several strikes that demanded higher pay, better working conditions, and an end to the war. In 1914, he married Yefrosinia Pisareva, daughter of the lift operator at the Rutchenkovo mine. In 1915, they had a daughter, Yulia, and in 1917, a son, Leonid. After
38247-494: Was expelled from the party in 1949 and imprisoned in 1951 after accusastions of "right-wing nationalist deviation" by Stalinist hardliners, along with Bierut, until being released in 1954. Gomułka proved to be acceptable to both factions of Polish communists: the reformers, who were arguing for liberalization of the system, and the hardliners, who realised that they needed to compromise. Gomułka insisted on being given real powers to implement reforms. One specific condition that he set
38456-427: Was forced into exile). On July 4th, 1958, during the meeting of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, a decision was made to send a letter to the executives of the provincial, district and city committees regarding the policy towards the Church. This meant the beginning of a new stage of confrontation with the Church. The July letter warned of an offensive by militant clericalism. On
38665-462: Was forced, after strikes , to approach leaders of Solidarity for talks. From 6 February to 15 April 1989, negotiations were held between 13 working groups during 94 sessions of the roundtable talks . These negotiations resulted in an agreement that stated that a great degree of political power would be given to a newly created bicameral legislature . It also created a new post of president to act as head of state and chief executive. Solidarity
38874-408: Was founded to organize these and other parties. On December 14, 1948 The 2nd Congress of the PPR and the 28th Congress of the PPS were held simultaneously, at which the decision was made to unite both parties. The Polish United Workers' Party was established at the unification congress of the Communist Polish Workers' Party and the Polish Socialist Party during meetings held at the main building of
39083-496: Was held in Warsaw . Designed to be a vast propaganda exercise and a meeting place for Eastern European communists and their comrades from Western Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, the event brought hundreds of thousands of Polish spectators to Warsaw for the five days to watch dancing, theatre and other attractions. However, the real attractions for the Polish people were the foreigners, many of whom were from Western Europe and contrasted starkly with local Poles because they shared
39292-457: Was held, devoted to matters of culture and science. Party apparatchiks demanded a bold "ideological offensive", i.e. the introduction of socialist realism to culture. In this way, the direction of action already imposed on the writers during the January congress in Szczecin was continued. Alongside Jerzy Albrecht and Jerzy Putrament - the main speakers pointing to the need to popularize socialist realism - Henryk Jabłoński appeared, criticizing
39501-479: Was highly successful at the Rutchenkovo mine, and in mid-1922 he was offered the directorship of the nearby Pastukhov mine. However, he refused the offer, seeking to be assigned to the newly established technical college ( tekhnikum ) in Yuzovka, though his superiors were reluctant to let him go. As he had only four years of formal schooling, he applied to the training program ( rabfak , short for Рабочий факультет / Rabotchyi Fakultyet, or Worker's Faculty) attached to
39710-434: Was his plane found or body recovered. One theory has Leonid surviving the crash and collaborating with the Germans, and when he was recaptured by the Soviets, Stalin ordering him shot despite Khrushchev pleading for his life. This supposed killing is used to explain why Khrushchev later denounced Stalin. While there is no supporting evidence for this account in Soviet files, some historians allege that Leonid Khrushchev's file
39919-420: Was insufficient housing for those who remained. One out of every six Ukrainians were killed in World War II. Khrushchev sought to reconstruct Ukraine and complete the interrupted work of imposing the Soviet system on it, though he hoped that the purges of the 1930s would not recur. As Ukraine was recovered militarily, conscription was imposed; 750,000 men aged between nineteen and fifty were sent to join
40128-475: Was launched, Khrushchev spent much time checking on troop readiness and morale, interrogating Nazi prisoners, and recruiting some for propaganda purposes. Soon after Stalingrad, Khrushchev met with personal tragedy, as his son Leonid , a fighter pilot , was apparently shot down and killed in action on 11 March 1943. The circumstances of Leonid's death remain obscure and controversial, as none of his fellow fliers stated that they witnessed him being shot down, nor
40337-538: Was little noticed outside the USSR. Khrushchev, realizing the desperate situation in late 1946, repeatedly appealed to Stalin for aid, to be met with anger and resistance. When letters to Stalin had no effect, Khrushchev flew to Moscow and made his case in person. Stalin finally gave Ukraine limited food aid, and money to set up free soup kitchens . However, Khrushchev's political standing had been damaged, and in February 1947, Stalin suggested that Lazar Kaganovich be sent to Ukraine to "help" Khrushchev. The following month,
40546-416: Was on the Southwest Front, and he and Timoshenko proposed a massive counteroffensive in the Kharkov area. Stalin approved only part of the plan, but 640,000 Red Army soldiers were involved in the offensive. The Germans, however, had deduced that the Soviets were likely to attack at Kharkov , and set a trap. Beginning on 12 May 1942, the Soviet offensive initially appeared successful, but within five days
40755-416: Was one of the events that sparked the revolt. The events in Hungary, more aggressive and violent in nature, helped distract the Soviets and ensure the success of the Polish October. Eventually, when Khrushchev was reassured that Gomułka would not alter the basic foundations of Polish communism, he withdrew the invasion threat and agreed to compromise, and Gomułka was confirmed in his new position. According to
40964-431: Was present at the defense of Stalingrad , a fact he took great pride in. After the war, he returned to Ukraine before being recalled to Moscow as one of Stalin's close advisers. On 5 March 1953, Stalin's death triggered a power struggle in which Khrushchev emerged victorious upon consolidating his authority as First Secretary of the party's Central Committee. On 25 February 1956, at the 20th Party Congress , he delivered
41173-456: Was promoted to the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. On January 16-18, 1989, the second part of the 10th Plenum of the PZPR Central Committee took place. In the face of the statements criticizing the plan of agreement with the opposition, among which Miodowicz's statements were among the harshest, Jaruzelski threatened his own resignation, as well as the resignation of Prime Minister Rakowski, Ministers Kiszczak and Siwicki, and members of
41382-402: Was proud of his role. Though he visited Stalin in Moscow on occasion, he remained in Stalingrad for much of the battle and was nearly killed at least once. He proposed a counterattack , only to find that Georgy Zhukov and other generals had already planned Operation Uranus , a plan to break out from Soviet positions and encircle and destroy the Germans; it was being kept secret. Before Uranus
41591-402: Was re-elected First Secretary (for the first time in the history of the Polish People's Republic in a democratic manner). He received 1,311 votes against 568 cast for Kazimierz Barcikowski . Only 4 of its previous members (Jaruzelski, Barcikowski, Olszowski, Kania) joined the new politburo. The congress was a defeat for both the reformers and the "concrete". Many new supporters found themselves in
41800-488: Was still at his post in Kiev. Stalin appointed him a political commissar, and Khrushchev served on a number of fronts as an intermediary between the local military commanders and the political rulers in Moscow. Stalin used Khrushchev to keep commanders on a tight leash, while the commanders sought to have him influence Stalin. As the Germans advanced, Khrushchev worked with the military to defend and save Kiev. Handicapped by orders from Stalin that under no circumstances should
42009-436: Was tampered with after the war. In later years, Leonid Khrushchev's wingmate stated that he saw his plane disintegrate, but did not report it. Khrushchev biographer Taubman speculates that this omission was most likely to avoid the possibility of being seen as complicit in the death of the son of a Politburo member. In mid-1943, Leonid's wife, Liuba Khrushcheva, was arrested on accusations of spying and sentenced to five years in
42218-443: Was the first step towards downfall and demise. However, Khrushchev's children remembered their father as having been seriously ill. Once Khrushchev was able to get out of bed, he and his family took their first vacation since before the war, to a beachfront resort in Latvia . Khrushchev, though, soon broke the beach routine with duck-hunting trips, and a visit to the new Soviet Kaliningrad , where he toured factories and quarries. By
42427-435: Was the union organizer, and he helped distribute copies and organize public readings of Pravda . He later stated that he considered emigrating to the United States for better wages, but did not do so. He later recalled his working days: I started working as soon as I learned how to walk. Until the age of fifteen, I worked as a shepherd. I tended, as the foreigners say when they use the Russian language, "the little cows," I
42636-408: Was to ensure that the occupied areas voted for union with the USSR. Through a combination of propaganda, deception as to what was being voted for, and outright fraud, the Soviets ensured that the assemblies elected in the new territories would unanimously petition for union with the USSR. When the new assemblies did so, their petitions were granted by the USSR Supreme Soviet , and Western Ukraine became
42845-432: Was to impose socialist agenda unto Polish society. The communist government sought to nationalize all institutions. Some concepts imported from abroad, such as large-scale collective farming and secularization , failed in their early stages. The PZPR was considered more liberal and pro- Western than its counterparts in East Germany or the Soviet Union , and was more averse to radical politics . Although propaganda
43054-446: Was too low in the Party hierarchy to enjoy Stalin's patronage and that if influence was brought to bear on Khrushchev's career at this stage, it was by Kaganovich. While head of the Moscow city organization, Khrushchev superintended the construction of the Moscow Metro , a highly expensive undertaking, with Kaganovich in overall charge. Faced with an already-announced opening date of 7 November 1934, Khrushchev took considerable risks in
43263-610: Was unsuccessful in convincing Wałęsa to include Solidarity in a "grand coalition" with the Communists and resigned his position of general secretary of the Polish United Workers Party. The PZPR' two allied parties broke their long-standing alliance, forcing Jaruzelski to appoint Solidarity's Tadeusz Mazowiecki as the country's first non-communist prime minister since 1948. Jaruzelski resigned as Poland's President in 1990, being succeeded by Wałęsa in December. Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (15 April [ O.S. 3 April] 1894 – 11 September 1971)
43472-488: Was utilized in major media outlets like Trybuna Ludu ( lit. ' People's Tribune ' ) and televised Dziennik ('Journal'), censorship became ineffective by the mid-1980s and was gradually abolished. On the other hand, the Polish United Worker's Party was responsible for the brutal pacification of civil resistance and protesters in the Poznań protests of 1956 , the 1970 Polish protests and throughout martial law between 1981 and 1983. The PZPR also initiated
43681-425: Was willing to grant Polish communists slightly more independence in exchange for allegiance. The Polish government rehabilitated many victims of the Stalinist era, and many political prisoners were set free, among them was cardinal Stefan Wyszyński . The Polish legislative election of 1957 was much more liberal than that of 1952, although still not considered free by Western standards. Gomułka's pledge to follow
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