Nikita Khrushchev

Nikita Khrushchev was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, as well as serving as Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. Khrushchev was born in 1894 in a village in western Russia and held various positions within the Soviet hierarchy under the sponsorship of Lazar Kaganovich. He originally supported Stalin's purges and approved many arrests during his political career. During what was known as the Great Patriotic War, Khrushchev served as an intermediary between Stalin and his generals. He was present at the defense of Stalingrad, a fact he took great pride in. After the war, he returned to Ukraine before being recalled to Moscow as one of Stalin's close advisers. Following Stalin's Death in 1953, Khrushchev emerged victorious in the subsequent power struggle in the Soviet Union. As leader, he sponsored the early Soviet space program, enacted reforms in domestic policy, and conducted successful negotiations with the U.S to reduce Cold War tensions. However, his tenure saw the tensest years of the Cold War, including the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Despite initial popularity and apparent successes, by the early 1960s Khrushchev's leadership began to wane due to policy failures and his mishandling of the Cuban Missile Crisis, leading to his eventual deposition in October 1964.