Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev

Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeyevich (1894–1971), Soviet premier, 1958–64. As a loyal Stalinist during the great purges of the 1930s he managed the Communist Party in the Ukraine. During World War II he was a political adviser in the army, defending Stalingrad. When Josef Stalin died in Mar. 1953, Khrushchev became a member of the Soviet Union's “collective leadership,” taking over as first secretary of the Central Committee. His famous “secret speech” of 1956, attacking Stalin, inaugurated the policy of “de-Stalinization,” and by 1958 Khrushchev had made himself both premier and party head. During his rule Khrushchev traveled extensively, addressing the UN General Assembly in New York in 1959 on disarmament, and meeting with President Kennedy in Vienna in 1961. His main setback in foreign policy came in 1962, when the United States forced him to withdraw Soviet missiles secretly installed in Cuba. This crisis, his rift with the People's Republic of China, and repeated crop failures led to his removal from power.

See also: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.