> The speech was shocking in its day. There are reports that some of those present suffered heart attacks and that the speech even inspired suicides, due to the shock of all of Khrushchev's criticisms and condemnations of the government and the figure of Stalin.

I guess these indeed are the consequences of developing a cult of personality over decades, that some people just are unable to deal with hearing criticism of the dear leader.

Also the cognitive dissonance at hearing a member of the politburo openly saying stuff that would usually have sent them and their family to the gulag.

Funny, for all that communists like to go on and on about 'contradictions' in capitalism meaning it is therefore inevitably doomed, they are completely incapable of seeing the many contradictions of their preferred ideology right in front of their faces. They like to think they are great rationalists, but they are only great rationalizers. Throwing such shade would be gratuitous if not for the fact that an increasingly vocal minority still believes in that crap.

Obligatory, check “The Death of Stalin”. I hadn’t laughed like this in years.

I can't help but think that the speech must have been a pretty easy grab of political power and historical significance with - now - relatively low personal risk.