Pospelov Commission

Pospelov Commission was a commission of the CPSU Central Committee Presidium headed by Peter Pospelov (), whose findings had laid the basis and the contetns of Nikita Khrushchev's "secret speech" On the Personality Cult and its Consequences [Michael Charlton (1992) "Footsteps from the Finland Station: Five Landmarks in the Collapse of Communism" ISBN 1560000198, Chapter 1: "Khrushchev's Secret Speech", [http://books.google.com/books?id=LRx2kHOwra4C&pg=PA36&lpg=PA36&dq=%22pospelov+commission%22&source=web&ots=mFZS8TqPNZ&sig=MMYUQh0Qx8XtdcXXtolRSmsF81U#PPA38,M1 pp. 7-80] ] According to Knhushchev's speech, "the commission was instructed to inquire into how it was possible to carry out massive repressions against the members and candidate members of the Party elected at the 17th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party".

The commission was set by the Presiduim on December 31, 1955. In addition ot its chairman Pospelov, it included Central Committee secretary Averky Aristov, All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions chairman Nikolai Shvernik and deputy chairman of the Party Control Committee P.D. Komarov. The report of the commission was presented to the Presidium on February 9, 1956 [William Taubman, Abbott Gleason, Sergei Khrushchev (2000) "Nikita Khrushchev", ISBN 0300076355, [http://books.google.com/books?id=AjnwtuVKZgEC&pg=PA100&lpg=PA100&dq=%22pospelov+commission%22&source=web&ots=9k1u8l-LPE&sig=byQT4Uu5zV9ReP68pfiT6_HWR-E p. 100] ] The report caused heated controversy and sptit of opinions as to further actions.

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