2. NAME: Nikita OCCUPATION:
Khrushchev World Leader
BIRTH DATE: PLACE OF BIRTH:
April 17, 1894 Kalinovka, Russia
DEATH DATE: PLACE OF
September DEATH:
11, 1971 Moscow, Russia
3. Nikita Khrushchev became Premier of
the Soviet Union after Joseph Stalin's
death in 1953. In a 1956 "secret speech,"
he discussed Stalin's crimes for the first
time, starting a process called "de-
Stalinization." He also visited the
West, putting a smiling face on his brand
of "Reform Communism." Khrushchev
flinched first during the Cuban Missile
Crisis and oversaw the building of the
Berlin Wall.
4. Climbing up the political ladder
• Khrushchev’s rise to power came during Stalin’s bloody purges
of the 1930s.
• During those years he was a staunch Stalin supporter, taking
part in his repressions.
• During World War II Khrushchev served as a political
commissar in the army, spurring the resistance of civilians
while liaising with Stalin and top party members, and acting as
political advisor during the crucial defence of Stalingrad (now
Volgograd) that marked the turning point of the war.
5. The thaw
• In 1956 he kicked off a campaign of “de-Stalinisation”.
• His secret speech to a closed session of the 20th Communist
Party Congress, denouncing Stalin’s dictatorial rule, caused a
storm.
• The so-called “Khrushchev’s Thaw” followed, meaning less
political control and censorship, and more openness and a rise
in living standards.
• The USSR also saw the release of millions of political
prisoners.
6. The KGB
Established on March 13, 1954
• the State Security Committee known for its Russian
abbreviation KGB , became one of the USSR’s most vital
agencies and an internationally-known brand name.
7. Persecution of the Church
• But Khrushchev’s “thaw” wasn’t without a dark side.
• He renewed a campaign of persecution against the Russian
Orthodox Church, publicly promising to show the last
remaining priest on Soviet television.
• During his time in office, the USSR also suffered a major
agricultural disaster.
8. The maize campaign
• ambitious initiative, known as the Virgin Lands Campaign,
• was started in 1954 to open up vast tracts of unsown steppe in
Kazakhstan and Russia’s Altay region.
• Initial successes of the programme rapidly turned sour.
• In a failed attempt to resolve the USSR’s agricultural
troubles, Khrushchev ordered the widespread planting of
maize, and became known as kukuruznik – “the maize
enthusiast”, derived from the Russian word for maize –
kukuruza.
9. Foreign policy
• Khrushchev’s leadership was also marked by a series of high-
profile international crises.
• While championing change, he wouldn’t tolerate dissent.
Khrushchev sent in tanks to Budapest, ruthlessly suppressing a
1956 Hungarian uprising against Soviet-imposed policies.
• There was also the shooting down of an American U2 spy-
plane over the Soviet Union in 1960, the building of the
notorious Berlin Wall in 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis in
1962, which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.
• Yet, Khrushchev also attempted to pursue a policy of co-
existence with the West. This shift in doctrine and his rejection
of Stalinism led to a split with Communist China in 1960.
10. Succession and death
• By 1964, Khrushchev’s blunders and perceived failures had
alienated much of the party elite. He was ousted by
opponents led by his own protégé, Leonid Brezhnev. In
retirement, Khrushchev was fond of reading and gardening.
• He died of a heart attack in September 1971 in Moscow. While
most Soviet leaders before and after him were buried by the
Kremlin Wall, Khrushchev was denied a state funeral and laid
to rest at Moscow’s Novodevichy Cemetery.
