Following the death of Stalin in 1953, many Soviet citizens did not know what to do without

their former leader who held the nation with an iron fist as well as had an impressive cult of
personality around him. hough he gained power !y struggling against other potential successors
who all wanted to lead the Soviet "nion, and though he eventually was removed from office !y his
colleages, #ikita $hrushchev was a great leader in a difficult time as the nation had to reform itself
from its Stalnist legacy.
$hrushchev%s legacy can mostly !e contained in the various reform movements he attempted
throughout his time in office. he Soviet "nion under Stalin had suffered widespread famine as a
result of Stalin%s policies, and $hrushchev !egan in 195& the 'virgin(lands) programme. he
programme was designed to create !ountiful farmlands in Si!eria and $azakhstan that would !e
used to feed the Soviet people. *nitially, it was a success due to luck of good weather, having a
35.3+ increase in production !etween 195& and 195,. -is other two ma.or policies were those
called '/ecentralisation) and '/emocratisation.) /emocratisation had to deal with removing
entrenched officials from their posts while trying to give political responsi!ility %!ack to the people%.
/ecentralisation, meanwhile, gave power from the central, federal government to the provincial
repu!lican governments. *n industry and la!our, $hrushchev !egan other reform movements such
as the decriminilisation of !eing a!sent from work or such as esta!lishing a minimum wage and a
poverty line. *n the decade from his entrance into office until his e0it, the num!er of people living
!elow said poverty line dropped from 111 million to 31 million. *n 195, he even a!olished school
and university tuition fees to allow more citizens to afford an education.
2t the same time, however, $hrushchev also sought to remove the Soviet "nion from
Stalin%s legacy in what is known as '/e(stalinisation.) Shortly after Stalin%s death, some officials
!egan to voice dissaproval at how Stalin acted and led3 $hrushchev eve went as far as to call a late(
night meeting in which he gave a speech detailing Stalin%s various crimes while at the same time
distinguish !etween what the Soviet people had accomplished and what Stalin had done himself.
Stalin%s !ody itself was even removed from where it lay, near the !ody of 4enin, and !uried in an
'unmarked grave near the $remlin.) 5ne final !low to the legacy of Stalin was that of
'reha!ilitation) in which political prisoners and other such people sentenced to the 6ulag under
Stalin%s regeme were eventually freed 7 the victims were those of Stalin%s cult of personality, and
$hrushchev saw no need to keep them detained for any longer.
$hrushchev, for all he tried, was not a perfect leader. -is '8irgin 4ands) programme was
not as prosperous as he was initially lead to !elieve following its inception. 2 drought caused a
sharp decrease in supply. -e also put too much emphasis on the growing of corn, much to the many
farmers o!.ections that it would ruin the soil. /ecentralisation and /estalinisation 9hough not
/emocrotisation: were the two other causes of his downfall. hough meant as reforms,
decentralisation did nothing !ut weaken the power of the central government to effectively manage
its country while destalinisation rallied opposition to $hrushchev%s policies early on. *n 19;&, he
was finally removed from office for 'ruling imperiously and ignoring collective opinion.)
hough he was not a perfect leader !y any stretch of the imagination, $hruschev had to take
on the responsi!ility of handling a nation following the death of one of the most !rutal dictators in
history3 it is not an easy legacy to follow given the poor state of the Soviet union economically
during the Stalin(era. he fact that he was removed from office for !eing unpopular
notwithstanding, $hrushchev attempted to reform the nation into prosperity, and his legacy is one
that !egan to get the Soviet "nion out of the pit of desolation and into a more affluent nation.
2nnotated <i!lography
Freeze, 6regory 4. =ussia> 2 -istory. 50ford> 50ford "?, 199@. ?rint.
he !ook gives a good overview of =ussian as well as Soviet -istory3 * used the period from
Stalin%s death to $hrushchev%s removal from office in 19;3.
<altermants, /., heodore -. 4aue, and 2ngela 4aue. Faces of a nation> the rise and fall of the
Soviet "nion, 191@(1991. 6olden, Aolo.> Fulcrum ?u!., 199;.
Starting on page 1B5, the !ook has an entire chapter dedicated to the $hrushcev era accompinied !y
various pictures throughout each of the pages.
Ahew, 2llen F.. CDap 3@. =elief.C *n 2n atlas of =ussian history3. #ew -aven> Eale "niversity
?ress, 19;@. 1B1(1B1.
his map of the Soviet "nion features various types of lands throughout the great Soviet e0panse,
showing .ust how large an area of land was availi!le for $hrushchev%s '8irgin 4ands) programme.
C"S2F"SS= FactsFFigures.C Aensus.
http>FFwww.census.govFpopulationFinternationalFfilesF"SS=.pdf 9accessed Day 19, B11&:.
hough, on page @5, the year starts with 19@1, it is known that $hrushchev put much emphasis on
the production of maize. Gven so, it appears that maize production is significantly !elow that of the
".S even when he !elieved at the !einning of his fertile lands program that the "SS= would
overtake the ".S !y 19@1.
CSpeech to B1th Aongress of the A.?.S."..C Speech to B1th Aongress of the A.?.S."..
http>FFwww.mar0ists.orgFarchiveFkhrushchevF195;F1BFB&.htm 9accessed Day 1,, B11&:.
his is the speech given !y $hrushchev to the congress of the soviet union in which he denounced
Stalin, !eginning his de(stalinisation policy and rhetoric.