Sixty years ago this week Nikita Khrushchev took over as first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Bolstered by the growing Soviet economy and his faith in Communism, Khrushchev launched bold reforms at home, including de-Stalinization, the Virgin Lands agricultural program, the space program, and a cultural Thaw. Abroad, however, Khrushchev was tough -- ordering the construction of the Berlin Wall, ruthlessly suppressing the 1956 uprising in Hungary, and pushing the world to the brink of war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1964, he was ousted from power by Leonid Brezhnev. In perhaps the most telling sign of the changes he wrought since the days of Joseph Stalin, he was allowed to retire quietly and pen his memoirs until his death in 1971.
Nikita Khruschev's career highlights on the 60th anniversary of its beginning
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A file photo taken on July 27, 1959 shows U.S. Vice president Richard Nixon (L) being applauded by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (R) after he delivered a speech during a visit at the American National Exhibition, an event that gave many Russians their first glimpse of life in the capitalist West. One of the Cold War's fiercest clashes took place more than 50 years ago, but instead of a conflict in Africa or Asia, this battle of U.S. and Soviet Union might unfolded in a model kitchen. The so-called "kitchen debate" erupted on July 24, 1959, when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon got into an impromptu argument about the merits of their countries' economic systems.
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Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (2d R),was the first one ever to pay an official visit to the United States.Khrushchev (2d R), his wife Nina (L), U.S. President Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (R) and his wife, Mamie, (2dL) pose 16 September 1959 in Washington at the gala that was given in honour of Soviet guests.
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Despite all the efforts he made to pursue a policy of co-existence with the West, Khrushchev was not ready to ease the grip on Soviet Union satellite states in Easter Europe and in 1956 he ruthlessly suppressed the 1956 uprising in Hungary, 5 November 1956.
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Khrushchev's policy of peaceful coexistence with the West and his rejection of Stalinism led to a split with Communist China. In the picture - Khrushchev (R) chatting with the Chinese leader Mao Zedong during his August 1958 visit to China.