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Born in Kalinovka, Ukraine
Khrushchev had a humble background as the grandson of a serf and the son of a coal miner. He only had a brief formal education before going into politics. His farming background helped him to have increased interest when he visited the farms of the United States. -
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Khrushchev's Life
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Death of Joseph Stalin-slow rise to leadership
After the Death of Joseph Stalin, there was a council of people leading the country, in which Khrushchev was the unspoken leader. Soon after, Khruscheve became prime minister and head of the Communist Party. -
Kitchen Debates
This was a type of friendly banter between Nikita Khrushchev and Not-yet-president Nixon. It showed a mutual respect between the two countries, and a respect by Khrushchev towards Nixon. -
Khrushchev's Visit to the United States
On this day Khrushchev capped a 12-day visit to the US.He was the first Soviet Leader to travel to the United States, and this gesture showed a willingness to cooperate. In addition, Khrushchev was impressed by the benefits of capitalism and was actually inspired to try and make the USSR more right winged for this reason. He was particularly interested in the agriculture, some say because of his agricultural background. -
USSR Shoots Down U-2 Spy Plane
This event sparked further disagreements between the US and the USSR. Prior to this, it had looked like the cold war was starting to come to an end. After this, Khrushchev began to become harsh with the United States. -
Paris Summit Conference
This meeting had originally been planned to solve the "Berlin Question," but because of the recent spy plane issue failed. Khrushchev refused to cooperate until Eisenhower apologized for the incident, which he refused to do, and so the conference was disbanded. -
Beginning of Cuban Missile Crisis
Lasting 14 days, the Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the world came to a nuclear World War III. After this event, Khrushchev's popularity decreased greatly and he was soon removed from power. -
Nikita Khruschev is Removed from Power
After Khrushchev is removed from power he is replaced with Leonid Brezhnev. -
Nikita Khrushchev dies
Since Khrushchev had already ceased to be a political figure by this time, his death did not affect the progress of the Cold War in any way.
