Question by ManUtdMad: Did Khrushchev’s secret speech intensify the cold war?
Hey I was asked this the other day and the truth is im not really sure. Any help would be appreciated. x
Answers and Views:
Answer by Will
No, it was very well received in the West. He was critical of Stalin, and on that basis, he was thought to be a man the West could work with. After that speech, he was invited to the US to meet with President Eisenhower.
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What do you think?
fallenaway says
K 's speech (1956) on the evils and dangers of Stalin-ism was the beginning of the end of modern Communism. It immediately provoked a schism within the International Communist (Comintern) movement, a struggle for dominance between China and Russia, and the means by which Yugoslavia could began its migration away from Moscow's controls.
The first internal rebellions against Party rule began almost immediately, eg Hungary, Poland, and East Germany. The impending fears of disintegration of the Communist bloc did lead to increased militarization of their societies, the efforts to enforce separation and isolation of Communist nations, and the need to focus public attention on foreign enemies as a remedy for growing domestic discontent within Communist nations.
While the de-Stalinization movement begun by K's speech began to lead to the collapse of Communism, the secondary effects did lead Communist govt. to increase internal controls, build unaffordable military forces, suppress dissent, and exaggerate the external threats from the West.
Hibee says
Not if it was secret.