Let’s Learn about the Cold War: Part 20 – Khrushchev Published Oct. 21, 2015 By Senior Airman Sean D. Smith Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- President John F. Kennedy's handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis is considered by many to be the defining moment of the Cold War, and the man Kennedy negotiated with was Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Khrushchev was born in 1894 to peasant parents in Kalinovka, Russia. He became a metal worker at a young age, and because of his status as a skilled laborer, was not conscripted to fight in World War I. After the Bolshevik Revolution, Khrushchev's career in politics began when he became a political commissar. Khrushchev built a warm relationship with Joseph Stalin, and his status and influence grew while he worked for the Communist Party. In 1934, Khrushchev became the First Secretary of Moscow oblast, and he supported Stalin's Great Purge, a campaign of political repression responsible for millions of deaths. During World War II, Khrushchev was at the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the bloodiest and most strategically significant engagements of the war. He went on to become one of Stalin's closest advisors. After Stalin's death in 1953, a drawn-out power struggle ensued, and Khrushchev ultimately came out on top. As the leader of the Soviet Union, Khrushchev implemented numerous progressive policies that were particularly liberal when compared to those of his immediate predecessor. Khrushchev effectively brought Stalinism to an end. While his domestic policy was intended to better the lives of the Soviet people, his foreign policy was aggressive, and successful in creating the impression of a technological gap between the Soviet Union and the West. Khrushchev got off to a strong start against Kennedy; the USSR achieved a massive victory with the first manned space flight just as the United States suffered a massive defeat at the Bay of Pigs. However, Khrushchev's influence began to weaken soon after. The resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis was seen as a Soviet defeat because details of the concessions on both sides were not publicly released. Khrushchev was already seen by many members of the Communist Party as a weak leader because of his less authoritarian approach to domestic policy. In 1964 Khrushchev was pushed out of office. He stepped down without resistance, saying,"I've done the main thing. Could anyone have dreamed of telling Stalin that he didn't suit us anymore and suggesting he retire? Not even a wet spot would have remained where he had been standing. Now everything is different. The fear is gone, and we can talk as equals. That is my contribution." Khrushchev's progressive accomplishments were mostly undone after his removal from office, as less liberal men took control of the USSR. At the time, John F. Kennedy had recently been assassinated, and there was a new American president. Next time: Lyndon B. Johnson