Communists: The Show Goes On

In that important branch of Russian political show business—public condemnation of the regime's enemies—styles have changed. Stalin's show trials specialized in public confessions followed by quiet executions in the cellar. Khrushchev generally dispenses with the deadly finale, but instead of letting his victims reveal their own past, he himself holds stage center and tells their stories for them. At this kind of monologue, Khrushchev and his friends at the 22nd Party Congress last week continued to prove themselves masterful. One by one, once famed party names were hauled out again and...