17 - Secret speech denouncing Stalin.- Khrushchev (Nikita Sergeyevich) O Kulcie Jednostki I Jego Nastepstwach, first edition, first issue, creasing to one or two corners, original printed paper wrappers, faint ink-stamp to upper cover, splitting to spine extremities, lightly toned edges, Warsaw, Marzec, 1956; Nieopublikowane materiaÅ‚y, even toning, original printed paper wrappers, faint ink-stamp to upper cover, light spotting, slight creasing to edges, Warsaw, Marzec,Â1956,Â8vo (2)

Secret speech denouncing Stalin.- Khrushchev (Nikita Sergeyevich) O Kulcie Jednostki I Jego Nastepstwach, first edition, first issue, creasing to one or two corners, original printed paper wrappers, faint ink-stamp to upper cover, splitting to spine extremities, lightly toned edges, Warsaw, Marzec, 1956; Nieopublikowane materiaÅ‚y, even toning, original printed paper wrappers, faint ink-stamp to upper cover, light spotting, slight creasing to edges, Warsaw, Marzec,Â1956,Â8vo (2) *** The first mentioned is a rare and important copy of the first issue of Khrushchev's speech, given to a closed session of Communist Party delegates on 25 Feburary 1956, in which he openly denounced the deceased dictator Joseph Stalin (who died in March 1953). "Khrushchev recalled Lenin's Testament, a long-suppressed document in which Vladimir Lenin had warned that Stalin was likely to abuse his power, and then he cited numerous instances of such excesses" (Encyclopaedia Britannica Online). This Polish translation of the speech was the only version that circulated during the Cold War, the official Russian text being unknown until its publication in 1989. The work appeared in two issues published in the same month, the first including the various interjections and ovations (eg pp. 30 and 31 "(poruszenie na sali)" [movement in the hall]).