Nikita Khrushchev

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Nikita Khrushchev emerged as leader of the Soviet Communist Party after the death of Joseph Stalin. However, unlike his political mentor, Khrushchev promoted peaceful coexistence with the West during his years in power, but his ousting by rivals was partly due to his hostility towards neighbouring China.

First Secretary of the Communist party (1953 - 1964) and premier of the Soviet Union (1958 - 1964), Khrushchev sought to "de-Stalinise" the USSR, and after gaining control of the party, travelled to the West to show a Russian face that was friendly and humorous as well as wily and powerful. He attacked intolerance, brutality, and abuses of power, but lost credibility in the Soviet Union when he yielded to the US during the Cuban missile crisis.

Domestic agricultural failure, US successes in the race to conquer space, and conservative opposition to his economic reforms forced Khrushchev out of office in 1964. After his resignation he lived quietly, but just not long enough to see the fruits of some of his policies, or the tragic results of others.