Word: khrushchevism
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...World War II, when 22 million of its citizens died. Determined to keep the searing memory of that struggle alive, the Soviet hierarchy has seen to it that an endless stream of histories and first-person accounts keeps flowing from state publishing houses. But as former Premier Nikita Khrushchev makes clear in the second installment of his reminiscences in LIFE this week, some of the most fascinating material about the Soviet conduct of the war has been scrubbed out of official chronicles...
Despite his respect for Stalin's achievements, Khrushchev says that if he were alive today, "I would vote that he should be brought to trial and punished for his crimes." Noting that some steps have been taken to rehabilitate Stalin's reputation as a war hero, Khrushchev declares angrily: "And now they're starting to cover up [again] for the man guilty of all those murders...
...Trust. To prepare for these dinners, Khrushchev made it a point to take a nap during the day; anyone who grew drowsy at Stalin's table was not likely to remain in the dictator's favor for long, Khrushchev explains. Moreover, Stalin's soirees included a good deal of heavy drinking: Khrushchev recalls that Beria, Georgi Malenkov and Anastas Mikoyan once had to arrange to be served colored water rather than wine because they could not match Stalin's capacity. Stalin, says Khrushchev, "found the humiliation of others very amusing. Once Stalin made me dance...
Each year, says Khrushchev, it became more evident that Stalin was a failing man. Once, while vacationing in Afon on the Black Sea, the dictator strolled past Khrushchev and Mikoyan, muttering, "I'm finished. I trust no one, not even myself." On another occasion, he forgot Bulganin's name. At his last New Year's celebration, a drunken Stalin ordered his daughter Svetlana to dance in front of the guests. "Stalin grabbed her by the forelock with his fist and pulled. I could see her face turning red and tears welling up in her eyes. He pulled...
...Bulganin once described very well the experience we all had to live with in those days," says Khrushchev. "We were leaving Stalin's after dinner one night, and he said, 'You come to Stalin's table as a friend, but you never know if you'll get home by yourself or if you'll be given a ride-to prison...