OTD: Stalin thrown under a bus by Khrushchev. A Buffs in Brief special #1

Was this the most reckless speech in modern political history?In February 1956, at the 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party, Nikita Khrushchev delivered a four-hour address that stunned the room — and reshaped the communist world.Behind closed doors, in what became known as the “Secret Speech,” Khrushchev denounced Joseph Stalin for terror, deportations, purges and catastrophic leadership. Delegates reportedly turned ashen. Some were physically ill. Others feared the knock of the KGB.But was this genuine moral reckoning — or a calculated power move?In this inaugural Buffs in Brief, Antonia and Roger break down:Why Stalin’s system depended on terrorWhy 2.5 million people were still in the Gulag in 1953How Khrushchev outmanoeuvred rivals like Lavrentiy BeriaWhether communism could survive without random repressionHow the speech sparked upheaval from Poland to HungaryWhy it helped trigger the “Thaw”Within months, the speech was published in the New York Times. The spell of Stalinism was broken — but the consequences were explosive.This was not just a political gamble. It was a moral one.And it changed the Cold War forever.To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause – Benjamin NathansKhrushchev: The Man and His Era – William TaubmanThis is Buffs in Brief — sharp, punchy history you can finish before the washing-up’s done.🔔 Subscribe for the next episode on the Reichstag Fire.🎧 Available on YouTube, Spotify & Apple Podcasts.📖 More from History Book Buffs every week.📚 Books MentionedTo the Success of Our Hopeless Cause – Benjamin NathansKhrushchev: The Man and His Era – William Taubman