just give the power to the people, Mr. Krushchev || De-Stalinization, initiated under Nikita Khrushchev after Stalin’s death in 1953, marked a turning point in Soviet history. It represented not merely a criticism of Stalin, but a departure from important economic policies and principles of socialist construction. Under Stalin, the Soviet government regularly reduced state retail prices after the war, aiming to increase workers’ purchasing power. Although shortages remained, these reductions helped make essential goods more affordable. This policy was abandoned after Stalin’s death, removing an important mechanism for improving workers’ real incomes. Khrushchev also introduced wage reforms between 1956 and 1962, changing wage structures, production norms and bonuses. While some low-paid workers benefited, changes to performance-based payments could disadvantage others. In 1957, he reorganized industrial management by replacing central ministries with regional economic councils. This decentralization created coordination problems between regions and enterprises, disrupting aspects of the planned economy. The consequences became particularly visible in Novocherkassk in 1962. Following wage disputes and increases of approximately 30–35% in meat prices and 25% in certain dairy prices, workers protested against deteriorating conditions. The authorities responded with gunfire, killing 26 people according to the official account. A state claiming to represent the working class had violently suppressed workers demanding affordable food and fair wages. Under Brezhnev, economic growth and improvements in housing and living standards continued in several areas. Nevertheless, shortages, inefficient production and economic stagnation increasingly became serious problems in later decades. These developments raise a fundamental question: did de-Stalinization genuinely advance the interests of the proletariat? Its critics argue that abandoning established policies, repeatedly restructuring economic planning and suppressing workers’ protests undermined important socialist achievements. The issue was not simply Stalin’s personal legacy, but whether Soviet economic policy continued to prioritize the material needs of the working class. #stalin #socialism #sovietunion #ussr #communism - @cumrade_noah