On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences

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"On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences" is a secret speech delivered in 1956 that denounced Joseph Stalin’s authoritarian rule and marked a major turning point in Soviet politics and de-Stalinization.

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf historical document
political speech
speech
alternativeName Secret Speech of 1956
surface form: Khrushchev’s Secret Speech

Secret Speech of 1956
surface form: Secret Speech
audience delegates of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
author Nikita Khrushchev
circulation read to closed party meetings
classificationStatusAtDelivery secret
countryOfOrigin Soviet Union
criticizes Joseph Stalin
Stalinist repressions
surface form: Stalinist purges

cult of personality around Joseph Stalin
deportations of entire nationalities
excessive concentration of power in one leader
forced confessions and show trials
mass repressions of party members
violations of socialist legality
date 1956-02-25
deliveredAt Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
surface form: 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
documentType internal party report
historicalImpact contributed to ideological crisis in global communist movement
influenced political liberalization in Eastern Europe
marked a turning point in Soviet politics
shocked Communist parties worldwide
triggered de-Stalinization in the Soviet Union
weakened Stalin’s posthumous prestige
historicalPeriod de-Stalinization
surface form: Khrushchev Thaw
ideologicalPosition anti-Stalinist within communist framework
language Russian
leakedTo Western governments
Western media
mainSubject Soviet political repression
abuses of power under Joseph Stalin
criticism of Joseph Stalin
cult of personality
de-Stalinization
placeOfSpeech Moscow
politicalContext post-Stalin Soviet Union
politicalLine de-Stalinization
partial rehabilitation of victims of repression
politicalOrientation Soviet communism
publisher Communist Party of the Soviet Union
surface form: Communist Party of the Soviet Union (internal circulation)
relatedEvent Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
surface form: 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Hungarian Revolution of 1956
speaker Nikita Khrushchev
supports collective leadership in the Communist Party
return to Leninist norms
year 1956

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Secret Speech of 1956 alsoKnownAs On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences
Nikita Khrushchev delivered On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences
Secret Speech of 1956 officialTitle On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences