Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (1894-1971) was a politician who led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953-1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958-1964. Khrushchev was responsible for the de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union, for backing the progress of the early Soviet space program, and for several relatively liberal reforms in areas of domestic policy. Khrushchev’s party colleagues removed him from power in 1964, replacing him with Leonid Brezhnev as First Secretary and Alexei Kosygin as Premier.
Originally published in 1961, “concerns what I call the Khrushchev phase, rather than the Khrushchev epoch. An “epoch” suggests something complete, with clearly-defined limits and contours, and sharply-marked characteristics. A “phase,” especially one still in progress, is something much more fluid. During these years, dominated by Khrushchev, the most changeable, most empirical and sometimes most unpredictable of Soviet leaders, Russia continues to be in a state of flux and transition.” (Author’s Note)
The book is a political and cultural analysis of Khrushchev’s Russia and its relations with the West, and particularly with the United States.
“From inside the Iron Curtain…a very human portrayal.”—The Times, London
