Who gave the Secret Speech?
Q: Who gave the Secret Speech?
A: The Secret Speech was given by Nikita Krushchev.
Q: What was the title of the speech?
A: The title of the speech was On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences.
Q: When did Krushchev give his speech?
A: Krushchev gave his speech on 25 February 1956.
Q: Why was it referred to as a "Secret Speech"?
A: It was referred to as a "Secret Speech" because it was delivered at a closed session of Communist Party delegates, with guests and members of the press excluded.
Q: What effect did Khrushchev's speech have on people in the West?
A: Many people in the West who had been Communist Party members or sympathetic fellow-travellers resigned their memberships and no longer defended Stalin's reputation after hearing Khrushchev's speech. Russian writers like Solzhenitsyn were also treated with more sympathy afterwards.
Q: How did Soviet citizens react to De-Stalinization?
A: Soviet citizens were confused by De-Stalinization since they had been fed on praise for Stalin's "genius". This reaction became especially obvious in Georgia, Stalin's homeland, where rioting ended with a Red Army crackdown on 9 March 1956.
Q: Did anyone suffer any physical effects from hearing Krushchev's Secret Speech?
A: According to some reports, some people present during Krushchev's Secret Speech suffered heart attacks while others later committed suicide due to shock from what they heard.
