Nikita Khrushchev's "Secret Speech" - 50 year anniversary

When the topic of famous speakers and speeches comes up, a familiar littany of names surface: Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan. Our U.S.-centric (not to mention male-centric) knowledge of political communication suggests that our country invented and exclusively practices successful and important rhetoric. A fascinating story on National Public Radio this morning reminds us how far that is from the truth:

"Saturday marks the 50th anniversary of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's "secret speech" to the Communist Party's Congress. It was the first major denunciation of Joseph Stalin and proved a watershed in Soviet history."

The NPR report discusses in more detail the context and unexpected consequences of Khrushchev's speech. The report also concentrates on a surprising wave of "growing appreciation" of the brutal Stalin among many of today's Russians. Listen to this interesting piece to learn more about an example of compelling non-American political communication and a disturbing shift in Russian collective memory.