Essay On Nikita Khrushchev

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Coming from a peasant background, Nikita Khrushchev served as the head of the Ukrainian party organization in the midst of and following World War II. Subsequently, he found himself as a member of the Soviet political elite during the late Stalin period. Following the death of Stalin, a brewing rivalry between Malenkov and Khrushchev manifested itself. It resulted in Malenkov resigning as prime minister in February 1955. The resignation of Malenkov allowed Khrushchev to become the most important figure within the collective leadership. Though he was a supporter of Stalin during his tenure, Khrushchev further advanced his position within the party by denouncing Stalin's crimes. Khrushchev revealed that Stalin liquidated thousands of party members and military leaders, which contributed to the initial Soviet defeats in World War II. With these allegations, Khrushchev not only distanced himself from Stalin and from Stalin's associates, but he also questioned the dictator's use of terror as an instrument of policy. De-Stalinization encouraged many in artistic and intellectual circles to speak out against the abuses of the former regime. Although Khrushchev's tolerance for critical creative works varied during his tenure, the new cultural period, known as “the thaw", represented a clear break with the repression of the …show more content…

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. By 1964, Khrushchev’s blunders and perceived failures had alienated much of the party elite. Finally, he was ousted by opponents, led by his own protégé, Leonid

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