de-Stalinization

American  

[dee-stah-luh-nuh-zey-shuhn, -stal-uh-] / diˌstɑ lə nəˈzeɪ ʃən, -ˌstæl ə- /

Or destalinization

noun

1. the policy, pursued in most Communist areas and among most Communist groups after 1956, of eradicating the memory or influence of Stalin and Stalinism, as by alteration of governmental policies or the elimination of monuments, placenames, etc., named for Stalin.

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de-Stalinization British  

/ diːˌstɑːlɪnaɪˈzeɪʃən /

noun

1. the elimination of the influence of Stalin

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de-Stalinization Cultural  

1. An effort after the death of the Soviet premier Joseph Stalin to soften some of the repressive measures used by his government. Premier Nikita Khrushchev was a leader in the de-Stalinization movement, which involved the downgrading of Stalin's reputation.

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Etymology

Origin of de-Stalinization

First recorded in 1955–60; de-Stalinize + -ation

Example Sentences

This kind of rhetoric is evidence of the cult of personality that would be disavowed a few years later when Nikita Khrushchev came to power and undertook a program of de-Stalinization.

From New York Times • May 6, 2021

During the period of de-Stalinization in the 1950 and early ’60s, the city’s name was again changed, to Donetsk.

From New York Times • Jun. 11, 2012

Pyotr Yakir was released after 17 years and rehabilitated as part of Nikita Khrushchev's de-Stalinization campaign in 1956.

From Time Magazine Archive

Hoxha broke with Moscow over Nikita Khrushchev's de-Stalinization drive in the early 1960s.

From Time Magazine Archive

Politically, after Nikita Khrushchev started his de-Stalinization policy in the Soviet Union, the Bulgarian repercussion was evident in Chervenkov's disenchantment with the Soviet trauma and his looking favorably instead toward the Chinese example.

From Area Handbook for Bulgaria by Baluyut, Violeta D.