PROS AND CONS OF THE "KHRUSHCHEV DECADE": ASSESSMENT OF N. S. KHRUSHCHEV'S ASSOCIATES IN OCTOBER 1964
The article analyzes the party documents related to the resignation of N. S. Khrushchev in October 1964. The author concludes that the main criticism was directed exclusively against Khrushchev, primarily against his leadership style. The First Secretary's erroneous decisions, in the opinion of his comrades-in-arms, were also evaluated from the standpoint of his personal initiative or interference. The silence concerned not only Khrushchev's positive contributions, but also a number of negative decisions in which his accusers participated. The changing size and composition of the audience had a significant impact on the content of the party documents. The frank talk at the session of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee was replaced by a critical but more subdued report for the participants of the CPSU Central Committee Plenum and ended with a brief resolution of the CPSU Central Committee Plenum, which did not reveal to the Soviet people the real reasons for Khrushchev's resignation. The use of secrecy was in keeping with the bureaucratic form of governance inherent in many states at the time, including the USSR.