Khrushchev remembered

On the theory of Soviet statehood

Bibliographic Data

ID11601290
AuthorsGeorge Brinkley (University of Notre Dame, corresponding author), George A Brinkley
Year1973
Volume24
Issue3
Pages387-401
Publication date1973-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSoviet Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-5859
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09668137308410871
OpenAlexW2062743245
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited12

KHRUSHCHEV'S innovative energy was one of the outstanding features of his leadership. And one of the areas in which he generated interesting and at least potentially significant new thought was that of the nature and future of the Soviet state itself. Although he was certainly not a theorist, even by Soviet standards, he did open up to discussion one of the most sensitive of all Soviet theoretical questions, that of the 'dictatorship of the proletariat' and its transition to 'communism'. There was, of course, the tradition of extending the ideology as new 'stages' of history are reached and the peculiarly Soviet need to justify practical change in ideological terms. Indeed, one may even refer to a built-in compulsion shared by all Soviet leaders to demonstrate continuous progress towards the goal of communism. But how original was Khrushchev after all? Was it simply a matter of style, or did he really change the Soviet system and the ideology which justifies it

Political science · Eastern European Communism and Reforms · Soviet and Russian History