Brief nikita khrushchev biography video

(1894-1971)

Who Was Nikita Khrushchev?

Nikita Khrushchev became Premier of the Soviet Union after Joseph Stalin's death in 1953.

In a 1956 "secret speech," he discussed Stalin's crimes for the first time, starting a process called "de-Stalinization." He also visited the West, putting a smiling face on his brand of "Reform Communism," though also known to have an abrasive persona.

Brief nikita khrushchev biography video

Khrushchev was one of the primary players in the Cuban Missile Crisis and oversaw the building of the Berlin Wall. After being pushed from power and retiring, he died several years later on September 11, 1971 in Moscow.

Early Years

Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev was born on April 15, 1894, in Kalinovka, Russia, near the Ukrainian border.

After a few years at the village school, Khrushchev found work in a factory at age fifteen. In 1918, he joined the Communist Party and fought in the Red Army during the Russian Revolution. After the war, he received a