Northern (N): Soviet Union (NS). Annual Review for 1957

A file containing a report produced by Sir Patrick Reilly, the British ambassador to the Soviet Union, covering political developments in the Soviet Union during 1957. The report discusses the failed attempt of the "Anti-Party Group" to remove Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, from power; a number of ministerial changes within the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, largely driven by Khrushchev purging those who attempted to remove him; and Reilly's belief that, as long as "things go well and his policies are acceptable to the Party machine", Khrushchev is "unchallengeable". The report also covers Khrushchev's policy of decentralisation; the abandonment of the sixth five-year plan, and its replacement with a "perspective plan" to last seven years; and a "slow but steady improvement" in the standard of living of the Soviet public. The report also comments on developments in Soviet international relations.