Nikita Khrushchev

About Nikita Khrushchev

The Soviet leader who attempted to de Staliize the USSR. Khrushchevs Secret Speech in 1956 denounced Stalins crimes, shocking the communist world. He put the first satellite and first human in space. Khrushchev faced the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the closest the world came to nuclear war. He banged his shoe on the desk at the UN. Khrushchev was ousted by his colleagues in 1964 and lived in forced retirement. He was the only Soviet leader to be deposed rather than die in office. His grandson later became a US citizen and historian.