Guide Note:
Nikita Khrushchev was born in a village in rural Russia. He joined in the movement of Joseph Stalin during the Great Patriotic War. Upon Stalins death , Khrushchev came into power by ousting the then Premier Lavrenty Beria. The Berlin Wall was constructed while under his power. Khrushchev mismanaged the agriculture by banning private farms and having wheat replaced by corn. Corn would not grow in the region and this caused serious food shortages and uprisings. During his visits to the United Nations General Assembly, he is noted for pounding his fist and shouting in Russian. At one time he took off his shoe to pound and called out to the Philippines Delegate that they were a jerk a stooge and lackey of imperialism. Another time his outburst was translated "we will bury you" in reference to capitalism. During 1962 the Unites States had a spy plane fly over Cuba and was noted that the Soviet Union was setting up to build missiles. It took President John F. Kennedy and the United Nations 13 days to defuse a very tense situation and was the closest we have come to a nuclear war. While Khrushchev made risky political moves and lost control a secret meeting was held while he was on vacation at the Black Sea. Leonid Brezhnev took over power and forced his retirement, he lived under house arrest till his death in 1971. Soviet Union denied him a State Funeral and wasn't allowed to be buried in the Kremlin Wall
Fast Facts:
- Born: April 17, 1894
- Political party: Communist Party of the Soviet Union
- 1953–64: First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
- 1958-64: Premier of the Soviet Union
- Died: September 11, 1971
