Topic summary
Secret Speech
Extracted from the Wikipedia article On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences.
Circulation
The spread of the speech began immediately. Shortly after the conclusion of the speech, a Soviet acquaintance urgently briefed Reuters journalist John Rettie, then stationed in Moscow, about Khrushchev's speech and its general content. After consulting with his boss at Reuters, together they decided the leaked information was credible. He subsequently published a story on the Secret Speech, requesting that his name and Moscow byline be removed. In mid-March Rettie confirmed the rumors spreading concerning the Secret Speech to the western press. In retrospect, Rettie believes that the leak was authorized by Khrushchev himself.