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Khrushchev The Secret Speech Analysis

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Between the early 1950's and early 1960's, The Khrushchev Thaw was expanding over Russia. Khrushchev's Thaw was Khrushchev turning the Soviet Union into a more peaceful place. Khrushchev worked as First Secretary of the communist party of the Soviet Union between 1953 and 1964 and also led the Soviet Union in the cold war. His speech, "The Cult of The Individual", was given on the 25th of February in 1952, three years after Joseph Stalin’s death, to a closed session of Communist party delegates along with guests and members of the press; however, this speech was not recorded and is nicknamed "The Secret Speech". The purpose of Khrushchev's speech was to tempt the communist party closer to Leninism.
Khrushchev furthers his argument by emphasizing …show more content…

... Everywhere and in everything he saw "enemies," "two-facers" and "spies." Possessing unlimited power, he indulged in great willfulness and choked a person morally and physically. A situation was created where one could not express one's own will.
This quote alone sent a whole room into shock. Hearing the leader they have learned to respect put into bad light shocked the communist party as a whole. By insulting communisms biggest influence, Khrushchev had brought Leninism into the mainstream.
When he begins to move into his conclusion, he uses the rhetorical device appeal to pride. Khrushchev uses an emotional appeal while enticing his audience into Leninism by saying:
Comrades! The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union has manifested with a new strength the unshakable unity of our Party, its cohesiveness around the Central Committee, its resolute will to accomplish the great task of building communism and the fact that we present in all their ramifications the basic problems of overcoming the cult of the individual which is alien to Marxism-Leninism, as well as the problem of liquidating its burdensome consequences, is evidence of the great moral and political strength of our

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