Changes

Stalin died in 1953, and Nikita Khrushchev replaced him as the dictator over the Soviet Union.  Khrushchev was an aggressive leader who had brutally carried out Stalin’s policies while Stalin was alive, but then denounced Stalin as soon as he died and tried to purge all memory of Stalin (“destalinization”).  However, Khrushchev was nearly as evil as Stalin was.  Khrushchev viciously repressed a freedom movement in Hungary in October 1956.  He ordered an invasion with Soviet tanks and arranged for the execution of the Hungarian leader Imre Nagy, who sought to hold free elections.  Khrushchev replaced him with a pro-Soviet puppet.  Thousands of Hungarian “freedom fighters” were slaughtered by the Soviets, and the Hungarian religious leader Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty (a high-ranking clergyman in the Catholic Church) had to flee to the United States embassy to survive.  The communist dictatorship installed by the Soviets prevented him from stepping foot outside of the embassy building for the next 15 years.  Imagine never once leaving your home for 15 years!

Stalin died in 1953, and Nikita Khrushchev replaced him as the dictator over the Soviet Union.  Khrushchev was an aggressive leader who had brutally carried out Stalin’s policies while Stalin was alive, but then denounced Stalin as soon as he died and tried to purge all memory of Stalin (“destalinization”).  However, Khrushchev was nearly as evil as Stalin was.  Khrushchev viciously repressed a freedom movement in Hungary in October 1956.  He ordered an invasion with Soviet tanks and arranged for the execution of the Hungarian leader Imre Nagy, who sought to hold free elections.  Khrushchev replaced him with a pro-Soviet puppet.  Thousands of Hungarian “freedom fighters” were slaughtered by the Soviets, and the Hungarian religious leader Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty (a high-ranking clergyman in the Catholic Church) had to flee to the United States embassy to survive.  The communist dictatorship installed by the Soviets prevented him from stepping foot outside of the embassy building for the next 15 years.  Imagine never once leaving your home for 15 years!

Khrushchev also ordered the building of the Berlin Wall and the placement of missiles in Cuba, which led to the Cuban Missile Crisis.  But Khrushchev’s confrontational personality was too much even for his fellow communists, as he would often interrupt speeches by others and act in other unpredictable ways.  Khrushchev could not get along with China, even though both were communist countries.  In 1960 Khrushchev stopped sharing atomic bomb secrets with China, and later there was even a little violence along their long border.

Khrushchev also ordered the building of the Berlin Wall and the placement of missiles in Cuba, which led to the Cuban Missile Crisis.  But Khrushchev’s confrontational personality was too much even for his fellow communists, as he would often interrupt speeches by others and act in other unpredictable ways.  Khrushchev could not get along with China, even though both were communist countries.  In 1960, Khrushchev stopped sharing atomic bomb secrets with China, and later there was even a little violence along their long border.

While Khrushchev was on vacation in 1964 a group led by Leonid Brezhnev arranged to strip him of power.  The group persuaded the Politburo, which governed the Communist Party, to replace Khrushchev with Brezhnev.  Khrushchev then lived out the remainder of life under the watch of the Soviet KGB, but he did manage to smuggle out his memoirs for publication in the West.

While Khrushchev was on vacation in 1964 a group led by Leonid Brezhnev arranged to strip him of power.  The group persuaded the Politburo, which governed the Communist Party, to replace Khrushchev with Brezhnev.  Khrushchev then lived out the remainder of life under the watch of the Soviet KGB, but he did manage to smuggle out his memoirs for publication in the West.