Khrushchev Begins to Attempt at Erasing Stalin

The 20th congress of the Communist party holds a unique place in Soviet history, due to Nikita Khrushchev's report On the Cult of the Individual. The speech was prepared in strict secrecy, and Khrushchev kept working on it during the congress. He gave the speech on February 25 1956 at a closed meeting, after the new party leadership was elected. The speech shocked delegates, all committed communists, and then wider Soviet society. It accused Joseph Stalin of creating a personality cult. It debunked the myth of Stalin as "the disciple of Lenin": in fact, under the guise of fighting the "enemies of the people" Stalin had eliminated Lenin's closest associates.Khrushchev cited facts about Joseph Stalin's criminal deeds, of which the people knew little or nothing. For the first time, he spoke not only about the murder of Sergei Kirov and the execution of delegates to the 17th party congress, but also about the abuse of prisoners. Stalin, who had been venerated as next to God, was revealed as the instigator of mass repression.