Khrushchev in the Kremlin: Policy and Government in the Soviet Union, 1953-64

by Jeremy Smith (Editor), Melanie Ilic (Editor)

Overview

This book presents a new picture of the politics, economics and process of government in the Soviet Union under the leadership of Nikita Khrushchev. Based in large part on original research in recently declassified archive collections, the book examines the full complexity of government, including formal and informal political relationships; economic reforms and nationality relations in the national republics of the USSR; the treatment of political dissent; economic progress through technological innovation; relations with the Eastern bloc; corruption and deceit in the economy; and the reform of the railways and construction sectors.

The book re-evaluates the Khrushchev era as one which represented a significant departure from the Stalin years, introducing a number of policy changes that only came to fruition later, whilst still suffering from many of the limitations imposed by the Stalinist system. Unlike many other studies which consider the subject from the perspective of the Cold War and superpower relations, this book provides an overview of the internal development of the Soviet Union in this period, locating it in the broader context of Soviet history.

This is the companion volume to the Jeremy Smith and Melanie Ilic’s previous edited collection, Soviet State and Society under Nikita Khrushchev (Routledge, 2009).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415838160
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/05/2013
Series:	BASEES/Routledge Series on Russian and East European Studies
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jeremy Smith is Senior Lecturer in Russian history at the Centre for Russian and East European Studies (CREES), University of Birmingham, UK. He is author of The Bolsheviks and the National Question, 1917-1923 and The Fall of Soviet Communism.

Melanie Ilic is Reader in History at the University of Gloucestershire, and Research Fellow at CREES, University of Birmingham, UK. She is co-author of Women in the Khrushchev Era.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 2. Khrushchev as Leader 3. The Rise of Political Clans in the Era of Nikita Khrushchev: The First Phase, 1953-1959 4. The Central Committee Apparatus under Khrushchev 5. The Outer Reaches of Liberalization: Combating Political Dissent in the Khrushchev Era 6. Leadership and Nationalism in the Soviet Republics, 1953 - 1959 7. Moscow-Kiev Relations and the Sovnarkhoz Rreform 8. Failings of the Sovnarkhoz Reform: The Ukrainian Experience 9. Khrushchev and the Challenge of Technological Progress 10. Khrushchevism after Khrushchev: The Rise of National Interest in the Eastern Bloc 11. The Economy of Illusions: The Phenomenon of Data-inflation in the Khrushchev Era 12. The Modernisation of Soviet Railways Traction in Comparative Perspective 13. From Khrushchev (1935-6) to Khrushchev (1956-64): Construction Policy Compared

Editorial Reviews

"In attempting a multifaceted examination of the Khrushchev-era party leadership, this volume sheds new light on the post-Stalinist Soviet Union, and raises new questions for future research." - Polly Jones, Davis Center for Historical Studies, Princeton University, NJ; Slavonic and East European Review (vol. 89, no. 4, October 2011)

"The story that unfolds in this revealing, stimulating survey is the failure of Khrushchev’s attempts to match the achievements of capitalism without capitalism. Time and again he was frustrated by the interest groups that eventually removed him from power. This book provides fascinating glimpses into the formation of these interest groups, which acted in their own rather than in the national interest...All in all, this is a valuable addition to the study of the Khrushchev period." - Martin McCauley, Slavic Review (vol. 71, no. 1, Spring 2012)

From the Publisher