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Stalin’s death in March 1953 was a terrible disaster for those who had come from the USSR. I was surprised that they were grieving after a person they didn’t know. I thought Stalin’s death was natural – nobody lives an eternal life, and old people are dying whether they are leaders of the country or common pensioners.
I was a devoted communist and thought: Stalin died, but the Party was still there and nothing would change and the Party would go on the right course. Khrushchev’s [34] speech at the Twentieth Party Congress [35] confirmed this conviction of mine. Although Stalin was an idol of a few generations of Soviet people, the party managed to find out that he was a criminal and told the truth in public.
I was a devoted communist and thought: Stalin died, but the Party was still there and nothing would change and the Party would go on the right course. Khrushchev’s [34] speech at the Twentieth Party Congress [35] confirmed this conviction of mine. Although Stalin was an idol of a few generations of Soviet people, the party managed to find out that he was a criminal and told the truth in public.
Period
Location
Uzhgorod
Ukraine
Interview
Stepan Neuman