Historical Figure
Nikita Khrushchev
1894–1971
Leader of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964
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Key Dates
Birth
1894 April 17, 1894 →Biography
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. As leader of the Soviet Union, he stunned the world by denouncing his predecessor Joseph Stalin, embarking on a campaign of de-Stalinization, and presiding over the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
Timeline
Nikita Khrushchev is elected first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
September 7 →Nikita Khrushchev is appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
September 13 →The XX Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union begins in Moscow. On the last night of the meeting, Premier Nikita Khrushchev condemns Joseph Stalin's crimes in a secret speech.
February 14 →In his speech On the Personality Cult and its Consequences, Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union denounces the cult of personality of Joseph Stalin.
February 25 →Soviet forces suppress mass demonstrations in the Georgian SSR, reacting to Nikita Khrushchev's de-Stalinization policy.
March 9 →At the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev have a "Kitchen Debate".
July 24 →Cold War: U-2 Crisis of 1960 - Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that his nation is holding American U-2 pilot Gary Powers.
May 7 →More from the Victorian Era
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