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'''Nikita Khrushchev''' (1894 - 1971) was a Russian Communist who seized power as dictator over the [[Soviet Union]] when [[Joseph Stalin]] died in 1953, and lasted until he was ousted in 1964. It was the height of the [[Cold War]] between the Soviet bloc and the United States and its allies.  One of the most colorful world leaders of the 20th century, he always identified with the peasant--and indeed he was crude, unsophisticated, earthy, and brutal, as well as energetic, shrewd and determined.  He really did hammer his shoe on the table at the United Nations when he disagreed with a speaker.  He exposed and ended some of the arbitrary cruelty of Stalin in order to unleash what he thought was the scientific prowess of socialism, but apart from launching the world's first satellite into space, he never found the magic technological fix for Russia's ills, and instead came dangerously close to war with both the Americans and the Chinese.  His leadership of the Communist bloc in the [[Cold War]] was so dangerous he had to be removed by his subordinates.

'''Nikita Khrushchev''' (1894 - 1971) was a Russian Communist who seized power as dictator over the [[Soviet Union]] when [[Joseph Stalin]] died in 1953, and lasted until he was ousted in 1964. It was the height of the [[Cold War]] between the Soviet bloc and the United States and its allies.  One of the most colorful world leaders of the 20th century, he always identified with the peasant--and indeed he was crude, unsophisticated, earthy, and brutal, as well as energetic, shrewd and determined.  He really did hammer his shoe on the table at the United Nations when he disagreed with a speaker.  He exposed and ended some of the arbitrary cruelty of Stalin in order to unleash what he thought was the scientific prowess of socialism, but apart from launching the world's first satellite into space, he never found the magic technological fix for Russia's ills, and instead came dangerously close to war with both the Americans and the Chinese.  His leadership of the Communist bloc in the [[Cold War]] was so dangerous he had to be removed by his subordinates.

[[File:Khrush-1961.jpg|thumb|290px|Khrushchev liked to threaten and bully, often using "brinkmanship" (the threat of nuclear weapons); ''Time'' Sept. 8, 1961]]

[[File:Khrush-1961.jpg|thumb|290px|Khrushchev liked to threaten and bully, often using "brinkmanship" (the threat of nuclear weapons); ''Time'' Sept. 8, 1961]]

===Agricultural reform===

===Agricultural reform===

[[File:Red-farms.jpg|thumb|260px|Herblock laughs at the hair growers]]

[[File:Red-farms.jpg|thumb|260px|Herblock laughs at the hair growers]]

Khrushchev's favorite project was to till the virgin and long-fallow lands of Kazakhstan and nearby Soviet republics in order to increase the USSR's agricultural production, especially of grain. Despite his belief that scientific socialism could overcome all obstacles, the task proved far more immense and complex than the authorities had anticipated; the results were mostly failures, although some local achievements were attained.<ref> Taubman (2003) p 305-6</ref>

As soon as Stalin died the new premier Malenkov announced a sharp cut in taxes the farms had to pay, and an increase in the allowed size of private plots (which were far more productive than communal plots). The result was a doubling in a year of farm incomes, as peasants toasted to Malenkov's health with local moonshine. When Khrushchev elbowed Malenkov aside, he had to do even better for the peasants, while upgrading the volume and quality of food for the cities.<ref> Zubok (2007) p. 96-97</ref> Khrushchev's favorite project was to till the virgin and long-fallow lands of Kazakhstan and nearby Soviet republics in order to increase the USSR's agricultural production, especially of grain. Despite his belief that scientific socialism could overcome all obstacles, the task proved far more immense and complex than the authorities had anticipated; the results were mostly failures, although some local achievements were attained.<ref> Taubman (2003) p 305-6</ref>

===Industry===

===Industry===

The space industry demonstrated that modern management could be applied in Russia; it was much applauded but seldom emulated.  There was little reform in heavy industry. Instead of adopting modern principles of management as practiced in other industrialized countries, from the 1950s to the 1990s there was a continuation of the old Soviet pattern of inner-circle intrigues, shuffling the same old bureaucrats and functionaries around the same old posts and flailing around from one set of measures to another. The military carved out its own industrial sector, where productivity was somewhat higher.

The space industry demonstrated that modern management could be applied in Russia; it was much applauded but seldom emulated.  There was little reform in heavy industry. Instead of adopting modern principles of management as practiced in other industrialized countries, from the 1950s to the 1990s there was a continuation of the old Soviet pattern of inner-circle intrigues, shuffling the same old bureaucrats and functionaries around the same old posts and flailing around from one set of measures to another. The military carved out its own industrial sector, where productivity was somewhat higher.

==We will bury you==

==We will bury you==

 

On November 18, 1956 Khrushchev boasted to the West, "We will bury you".  Americans were outraged--was he promising a nuclear Pearl Harbor? He later said he meant it economically.<ref>http://www.bartleby.com/66/52/32552.html</ref>  He actually believed that it was possible to overtake the U.S. in the production of meat, butter and milk. What happened was that urbanization was bringing millions of peasants from jobs of low productivity on the farm to jobs of much better productivity in the cities, though still at levels well below western Europe and the U.S. The result was a temporary boost in very high growth rates that leveled off after so may people had quit the farms that food shortages loomed.  Khrushchev was a true believer in Communism; his son Sergei is now an American citizen.

On November 18, 1956 Khrushchev said, in regard to the West, "We will bury you".  This caused a great deal of consternation within the Western world during the time of the [[Cold War]] between the nuclear powers and the Soviet Union's recent stamping out of resistance in Hungary through military force. He later said he meant it economically.<ref>http://www.bartleby.com/66/52/32552.html</ref>  He actually believed that it was possible to overtake the U.S. in the production of meat, butter and milk. What happened was that urbanization was bringing millions of peasants from jobs of low productivity on the farm to jobs of much better productivity in the cities, though still at levels well below western Europe and the U.S. The result was a temporary boost in very high growth rates that leveled off after so may people had quit the farms that food shortages loomed.  Khrushchev was a true believer in Communism; his son Sergei is now an American citizen.

==Evaluation==

==Evaluation==

Historians are still puzzled about some basic questions. As William Taubman has asked, Foreword, many questions remain unanswered. "How did Khrushchev manage not only to survive Stalin but to succeed him? What led him to denounce his former master? How could a man of minimal formal education direct the affairs of a vast intercontinental empire in the nuclear age? Why did Khrushchev's attempt to ease East-West tensions result in two of the worst crises of the Cold War in Berlin and Cuba?"<ref> William Taubman. forward to Sergei N. Khrushchev, ''Nikita Khrushchev and the Creation of a Superpower'' (2000) </ref>  

Historians are still puzzled about some basic questions. As William Taubman has asked, Foreword, many questions remain unanswered. "How did Khrushchev manage not only to survive Stalin but to succeed him? What led him to denounce his former master? How could a man of minimal formal education direct the affairs of a vast intercontinental empire in the nuclear age? Why did Khrushchev's attempt to ease East-West tensions result in two of the worst crises of the Cold War in Berlin and Cuba?"<ref> William Taubman. forward to Sergei N. Khrushchev, ''Nikita Khrushchev and the Creation of a Superpower'' (2000) </ref>