On 25 February 1956, Nikita Khrushchev delivered a historic speech at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, denouncing Joseph Stalin’s brutal reign of terror, widespread purges, and cult of personality.
In his "Secret Speech," Khrushchev exposed Stalin’s crimes against party members, military leaders, and ordinary citizens, condemning his oppressive rule as a betrayal of Leninist principles.
This momentous address shattered the illusion of Stalin’s infallibility, igniting a wave of de-Stalinisation that rippled through the Soviet Union and its satellite states, ultimately reshaping the global communist movement.
