ABSTRACT
This contribution examines the way that the surprise of Khrushchev’s secret speech forced the Soviet party leadership to acknowledge public opinion. Before 1956, the Soviet state paid lip service to the idea of public opinion, but paid no attention to it. The outpouring of emotion and argument after the twentieth party congress made policy makers take notice. In meetings throughout the country, Soviet citizens asked hard questions and raised criticisms of the regime. By the end of 1956 however, the party authorities reasserted themselves and denied the legitimacy of outside input in public debates. Khrushchev and the others realised that the emerging public opinion was incompatible with their belief in the leading role of the Communist party.
