Neo-Stalinism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Neo-Stalinism is a term used to describe historical revisionism in favor of Stalinism and/or Joseph Stalin. In the Marxist-Leninist movement, neo-Stalinism is associated with anti-revisionists.

1 Soviet Union / Russia
2 External links

[edit] Soviet Union / Russia

[edit] Khrushchev's Thaw

In February 1956, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced the cult of personality that surrounded his predecessor, Joseph Stalin, and condemned crimes committed during the Great Purge.

Although Khrushchev had himself been involved in the Stalinist repressions^{[citation needed]}, he managed to outmaneuver his neo-Stalinist rivals. While his freedom of actions was restricted by the overgrowing buerocratic elite (Politbureau), Khrushchev launched widespread reforms and tried to improve relations with the West.

[edit] Brezhnev's Stagnation

In October 1964, Khrushchev was replaced by Leonid Brezhnev, who remained in office until his death in November 1982. During his reign, the truth about Stalinism was suppressed, leading to the exile of many dissidents, most notably Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

The rehabilitation of Stalin went hand in hand with the establishment of a personality cult around Brezhnev. It should be noted, that this "personality cult" was not supported by mass repressions, and besided brave speeches of party activists, public image of Brezhnev fell under any reasonable limit, especially at the end of his rule when he was physically and mentally ill.

Brezhnev was succeeded by two short-lived successors, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko.

[edit] Gorbachev's Glasnost

Mikhail Gorbachev took over in March 1985. He introduced the policy of glasnost (openness) in public discussions – in order to liberalize the Soviet system. The full scale of Stalinist repressions was soon revealed, and the Soviet Union fell apart.

Boris Yeltsin, the first President of the Russian Federation, stayed on the course of liberalization, which brought back to Russia some dissidents (most notably, Solzhenitsyn). The second President, Vladimir Putin, continued liberal reforms and chose the policy of recovering the national economy.