History of the Soviet Union (1953–1964) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids 1953–1964
The USSR: the maximum extent of the Soviet sphere of influence, after the Cuban Revolution (1959) and before the Sino-Soviet split (1961).
Preceded by	History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953)
Including	Cold War
Followed by	History of the Soviet Union (1964–1982)
Leader(s)	Georgy Malenkov Nikita Khrushchev

This period in the Soviet Union (USSR) lasted for eleven years. It began after the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953 and ended when Nikita Khrushchev was removed from power in 1964. During these years, the country's politics were mostly shaped by the Cold War. This was a big competition between the United States and the USSR. Both wanted their ideas about how society and the economy should work to spread around the world. They also wanted to protect the areas they already controlled or influenced. Even though the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) later rejected Stalin's harsh methods, some of his political style remained. The leader of the CPSU, called the General Secretary, still held a lot of power, though it was less than before.

Politics

Stalin's Legacy

After Stalin died in March 1953, Nikita Khrushchev became the First Secretary of the Communist Party. Georgy Malenkov became the Premier, like a prime minister. But for a short time, Lavrentiy Beria, who used to lead the secret police, was a very important figure.

Stalin left the Soviet Union in a difficult situation. Millions of people were in prisons and labor camps. Art and science had to follow strict government rules. Farming was not doing well. The country had much less livestock than it did in 1928. People had low living standards, and there were few goods to buy. The Soviet Union was also quite alone in the world. Many countries in Eastern Europe were controlled by the Soviet military. Soon after Stalin's death, protests broke out in some of these countries. China respected the Soviet leader, but they had disagreements that would soon become bigger problems. The United States had military bases and nuclear bombers surrounding the Soviet Union. American planes often flew over Soviet land to spy. Even though the Soviets shot down many planes, it caused a lot of fear.

Americans were very worried about the Soviet military, especially their nuclear weapons. But these fears were often much bigger than the reality. The Soviet Union's main long-range bomber was a copy of an American plane. It could only reach the United States on a one-way trip. The Soviet nuclear weapon supply was also very small.

Beria's New Ideas

Changes at Home

As Deputy Premier, Lavrentiy Beria started a time of some freedom, even though he had been part of Stalin's harsh rule. He ordered the release of some political prisoners. He also told the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), the secret police, to re-examine false accusations, like the "Doctors' Plot." Beria then suggested taking away some of the MVD's power and stopping the use of forced labor on building projects. He announced that over a million non-political prisoners would be freed. He also ordered an end to physical and mental abuse of prisoners. Beria, who was Georgian, also stopped the policy of forcing non-Russian people to act like Russians in Soviet republics.

The leaders also started allowing some criticism of Stalin. They said his one-man rule went against the ideas of Vladimir Lenin. The fear of war that marked Stalin's last years was reduced. Government workers and factory managers were allowed to wear regular clothes instead of military-style uniforms. Countries like Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were given hope for more independence, similar to other Soviet-controlled countries in Europe.

Foreign Policy Changes

Beria also focused on foreign policy. A secret letter found after his death suggested improving relations with Titoist Yugoslavia. He also criticized how the Soviets handled Eastern Europe and its "mini-Stalins," like Mátyás Rákosi in Hungary. East Germany was in a difficult spot in 1953. Its leader, Walter Ulbricht, tried to use Stalin's harsh methods, which caused many people to leave for the West. Beria suggested giving up on East Germany completely, saying it had "no purpose." He brought back Stalin's old idea from 1946 to create a united, neutral Germany.

Opposition to Beria

Beria showed a lot of disrespect for the other leaders in the Politburo. He let them know that they were involved in Stalin's crimes. However, it wasn't just different ideas that turned them against Beria. Khrushchev was worried about abandoning East Germany and allowing capitalism there. But this alone was not enough to plan Beria's downfall. The Politburo soon started to block Beria's reforms. One idea, to limit prison sentences from the MVD to 10 years, was seen as a trick by Khrushchev. He said Beria wanted to keep people in camps forever. Vyacheslav Molotov strongly opposed giving up East Germany and found an unexpected ally in Khrushchev.

By late June, the leaders decided that Beria had to be removed. They arrested him on June 26 with the help of the army. At the end of the year, he was executed after a trial. He was accused of spying for the West and trying to bring back capitalism. The secret police were disarmed and reorganized into the KGB. This made sure they were fully controlled by the Communist Party and could never again cause mass terror.

Collective Leadership

After Beria was removed, Georgy Malenkov was seen as the most important leader in the Politburo. Malenkov was interested in arts and ideas. He did not like bloodshed or state terror. He called for more support for private farms and more freedom for artists. He also criticized the false science of biologist Trofim Lysenko. In a speech in November 1953, Malenkov spoke out against corruption in the government. He also changed how the Soviets viewed the outside world. He said that disagreements with the United States could be solved peacefully. He believed that a nuclear war would destroy everyone involved.

At the same time, Nikita Khrushchev also became a key figure. Khrushchev suggested bigger changes for farming. He still supported collective farms and Lysenko's ideas, though. In a 1955 speech, he said Soviet farming needed a boost. He also started allowing ordinary people to walk around the Kremlin, which had been closed for over 20 years.

Stalin's reputation began to fade. His 75th birthday in December 1954 and the second anniversary of his death in March 1955 were celebrated widely. But his 76th birthday was barely mentioned.

The new leaders offered a major amnesty for some prisoners. They also announced price cuts and eased rules on private farms. This period, known as De-Stalinisation, would end the use of large-scale forced labor in the economy.

Conflicts Among Leaders

During this time of shared leadership, Khrushchev slowly gained more power, while Malenkov's power decreased. Malenkov was criticized for his economic ideas and for wanting the Communist Party to be less involved in daily state matters. Molotov said Malenkov's warning about nuclear war was "nonsense." He believed that capitalism would naturally collapse, as Karl Marx had taught. Khrushchev accused Malenkov of supporting Beria's plan to give up East Germany.

Khrushchev also had disagreements with Molotov. Molotov started criticizing some of Khrushchev's ideas. Khrushchev accused Molotov of being out of touch, never visiting farms or factories. Molotov attacked Khrushchev's farming ideas and his plans to build cheap apartments in Moscow. Khrushchev also wanted to improve relations with Yugoslavia. Molotov had strongly caused the split with Yugoslavia and continued to call its leader, Tito, a fascist. A 1955 visit by Khrushchev to Yugoslavia helped mend relations. But Molotov refused to change his mind. Khrushchev also blamed Molotov for the Soviet Union's isolation from the world. He even admitted in a speech that the Soviets were involved in starting the Korean War.

The 20th Party Congress

On February 25, 1956, at a private meeting of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party, Khrushchev surprised everyone. He gave a speech called On the Cult of Personality and its Consequences. In it, he criticized Stalin's harsh rule and the way he was worshipped. He also spoke about the crimes committed by Stalin's close friends. Khrushchev also said that a war between capitalist and communist countries was no longer unavoidable. He suggested competing with the West instead of being openly hostile. He believed capitalism would fall apart on its own, and world socialism would win peacefully. But, he added, if capitalists wanted war, the Soviet Union would fight back.

De-Stalinisation

The 20th Congress had a huge impact on Soviet politics. Khrushchev's speech weakened the power of his rivals who still supported Stalin's ideas. This greatly increased Khrushchev's own power. After this, Khrushchev eased rules and freed over a million prisoners from the Gulag (labor camps). His condemnation of Stalin shocked communists worldwide. The speech caused a "revolution" in how people in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe viewed Communist rule. It helped break down the fear and blind belief that had been present.

Among Soviet Thinkers

Many Soviet thinkers felt that Khrushchev and other leaders had helped Stalin commit his crimes. They asked why it took three years to condemn him. They also noted that Khrushchev mostly criticized what happened to Party members. He ignored much bigger terrible events, like the Holodomor (a famine) and mass deportations from the Baltic States. These events were not allowed to be mentioned in the Soviet press until the late 1980s. In his speech, Khrushchev tried to explain why he and his colleagues had not spoken out against Stalin. He said they feared being destroyed if they did not obey him.

Pro-Stalin Protests

In Stalin's home country of Georgia, large crowds of people who supported Stalin protested in the streets of Tbilisi. They even demanded that Georgia leave the USSR. Army troops had to be called in to restore order. This resulted in 20 deaths, 60 injuries, and many arrests.

Rehabilitations

By late 1955, thousands of political prisoners had been freed. But Soviet prisons and labor camps still held many inmates. No effort was made to investigate the Moscow Trials (famous show trials) or clear the names of their victims. Eventually, hundreds of thousands of Stalin's victims were cleared. But the party officials removed in the Moscow Trials were not. Khrushchev ordered an investigation into the trials of Mikhail Tukhachevsky and other army officers. The committee found that the charges against them were false. Their names were cleared in early 1957. However, another investigation into the trials of Grigory Zinoviev, Lev Kamenev, and Nikolai Bukharin said they had engaged in "anti-Soviet activity." They were not cleared. After Khrushchev defeated the "anti-party group" in 1957, he promised to reopen these cases. But he never did. This was partly because he himself had celebrated the removal of these old Bolsheviks during the purges.

Renaming Places

As part of de-Stalinisation, Khrushchev started renaming many towns, cities, factories, and farms. These places had been named after Stalin and his helpers. Most notably, Stalingrad, the site of a huge World War II battle, was renamed Volgograd in 1961.

Khrushchev Gains Power

Defeating the Anti-Party Group

In 1957, Khrushchev defeated a group of Stalin supporters who tried to regain power. This group was called the "Anti-Party Group." This event showed a new way of doing politics in the Soviet Union. The strongest attack on the Stalinists came from defense minister Georgy Zhukov. The message to the plotters was clear. However, none of the "anti-party group" were killed or arrested. Khrushchev removed them cleverly. Georgy Malenkov was sent to manage a power station in Kazakhstan. Vyacheslav Molotov, a strong Stalin supporter, became ambassador to Mongolia.

Later, Molotov was moved to Vienna to work for the International Atomic Energy Commission. This was because the Kremlin wanted to keep him away from China. Molotov was becoming too friendly with the Chinese Communist Party leaders who opposed Khrushchev. Molotov kept criticizing Khrushchev whenever he could. In 1960, he wrote about his memories of Lenin, suggesting he was closer to the true ideas of Marxism–Leninism. In 1961, just before a big Party meeting, Molotov strongly criticized Khrushchev's party plans. For this, he was expelled from the party.

China reacted negatively to Khrushchev's attack on the "anti-party group." The Chinese newspaper People's Daily asked, "How can [Molotov], one of the founders of the CPSU, be a member of an anti-party group?"

Like Molotov, Foreign Minister Dmitri Shepilov was also removed. He was sent to manage an economics institute. Later, when he was chosen as a delegate for a party conference, Khrushchev's deputy Leonid Brezhnev stepped in and had Shepilov removed from the list. Shepilov and his wife were forced to move from their Moscow apartment to a smaller one. He was also removed from the Soviet Academy of Sciences and then expelled from the party. Kliment Voroshilov held a ceremonial title as head of state. He retired in 1960 due to his age and health. Nikolai Bulganin ended up managing an economic council. Lazar Kaganovich was also removed. He was sent to manage a potash factory before being expelled from the party in 1962, along with Molotov.

Even though Zhukov strongly supported Khrushchev during the removal of Beria and the anti-party group, he was too popular for Khrushchev's comfort. So, he was also removed. While attacking Molotov, Malenkov, and Kaganovich, Zhukov also hinted that Khrushchev himself was involved in the purges of the 1930s, which was true. While Zhukov was visiting Albania in October 1957, Khrushchev planned his downfall. When Zhukov returned to Moscow, he was accused of trying to remove the military from party control. He was also accused of creating a cult of personality around himself and planning a coup. Several Soviet generals accused Zhukov of being overly proud and tyrannical during World War II. Zhukov was removed from his post as defense minister and forced to retire from the military due to his "advanced age" (he was 62). Marshal Rodin Malinovsky took his place.

Becoming Premier

Khrushchev was elected Premier on March 27, 1958. This helped him gain more power. This was the final step in moving from shared leadership after Stalin to Khrushchev being the main leader. He was now the top authority in the Soviet Union. However, he never had the absolute power that Stalin did.

The 21st Party Congress

In 1959, from January 27 to February 5, the 21st Congress of the Communist Party took place. It was an "Extraordinary" Congress. It was timed so Khrushchev could strengthen his power over rivals after the "anti-party group" tried to remove him in 1957. During this congress, an unusual Seven-Year Plan was adopted. It replaced the previous plan that had been adopted in 1956. The Seven-Year Plan itself would be cut short two years before it was finished. It then became known as the seventh five-year plan.

The 22nd Party Congress

The 22nd Congress of the Communist Party, held from October 17-21, 1961, was the peak of Khrushchev's power. Even then, there were already growing doubts about his policies. But the real opposition to him had not yet appeared. He enjoyed the praise of the Party members as he read his reports, which lasted a total of ten hours. Khrushchev declared that within ten years, Soviet people would have the same living standards as the United States and Western Europe. Also, the 22nd Congress saw new attacks on Stalin. This led to the expulsion of remaining old Party members like Molotov and Kaganovich from the party. Stalin's preserved body, which was next to Lenin's in Red Square, was immediately removed. It was reburied in the Kremlin Wall.

Khrushchev Voted Out

In October 1964, while Khrushchev was on vacation in Crimea, the Presidium (a top leadership group) voted him out of office. They did not let him present his case to the Central Committee. He retired as a private citizen. An article in the newspaper Pravda criticized him for "hare-brained schemes, half-baked conclusions, hasty decisions, and actions divorced from reality."

Khrushchev's Reforms

During his time as leader, Khrushchev tried to make changes in many areas.

The Khrushchev Thaw

Khrushchev started "The Thaw." This was a big change in political, cultural, and economic life in the Soviet Union. It included some openness and contact with other countries. New social and economic policies focused more on everyday goods. This allowed living standards to improve a lot while the economy still grew quickly. Censorship was also relaxed. Some subtle criticisms of Soviet society were allowed. Artists were not expected to create only works with government-approved political messages. Still, artists were careful not to get into trouble. However, Khrushchev also brought back strong campaigns against religion, closing many places of worship.

Impact on Eastern Europe

This loosening of controls also greatly affected other socialist countries in Central Europe. Many of them disliked Soviet influence. Riots broke out in Poland in the summer of 1956. This led to responses from Polish national forces. A political change soon followed, bringing Władysław Gomułka to power in October. This almost caused a Soviet invasion when Polish Communists elected him without asking the Kremlin first. But in the end, Khrushchev backed down because Gomułka was very popular. Poland remained a member of the Warsaw Pact (a military alliance formed a year earlier). In return, the Soviet Union rarely interfered in Poland's internal affairs. Khrushchev also started reaching out to newly independent countries in Asia and Africa. This was very different from Stalin's foreign policy, which focused mainly on Europe. In September 1959, Khrushchev became the first Soviet leader to visit the US.

In November 1956, the Hungarian Revolution was brutally put down by Soviet troops. About 2,500–3,000 Hungarian rebels and 700 Soviet troops were killed. Thousands more were wounded, and nearly a quarter million people left the country as refugees. The Hungarian uprising was a blow to communists in the West. Many who had supported the Soviet Union began to criticize it after the Soviet suppression of the uprising.

Agriculture

In the early 1950s, Khrushchev had supported private farms as part of the shared leadership. This leadership had brought important new ideas to Soviet agriculture. It encouraged farmers to grow more on their private plots. It also increased payments for crops grown on collective farms and invested more in agriculture.

However, starting in the late 1950s, Khrushchev spoke about communal farming as the future. After he defeated his rivals and secured his position, he focused on economic reforms, especially in farming. He said, "If a capitalist farmer needed eight kilos of grain to produce one kilo of meat, he would lose his pants. Yet if a state farm director here does the same, he manages to keep his pants. Why? Because no one will hold him accountable for it."

Khrushchev's government got rid of the Machine Tractor Stations. These were rural agencies that provided farming equipment. They made the stations sell their equipment directly to farmers. But farmers ended up with huge debts buying the equipment. It was also used less effectively than before.

American Farming and Maize

Khrushchev continued to believe in the ideas of biologist Trofim Lysenko, a leftover from the Stalin era. However, the Soviet leader looked to the United States for inspiration. As early as the 1940s, he had promoted using American farming techniques. He even got seeds from the US, especially from an Iowa farmer named Roswell Garst. Garst believed that good trade relations with Moscow would ease tensions between the superpowers. This led to Khrushchev's famous interest in growing maize (corn). But most of the Soviet Union, outside of Ukraine, did not have the right climate. Also, much of the equipment and knowledge used by American farmers, like proper use of fertilizer and pesticides, was in short supply. While the idea of Khrushchev being obsessed with corn was exaggerated, he did suggest many unrealistic ideas, such as planting corn in Siberia.

Virgin Lands Campaign

During the Virgin Lands Campaign in the mid-1950s, large areas of land in Kazakhstan and nearby parts of Russia were opened for farming. These new farmlands were prone to droughts. But in some years, they produced excellent harvests. However, later farming reforms by Khrushchev did not work well. His plans for growing corn and increasing meat and dairy production failed. His reorganization of collective farms into larger units caused confusion in the countryside.

Industry

In 1957, Khrushchev made a political move to weaken the central government. He got rid of the industrial ministries in Moscow. He replaced them with regional economic councils called sovnarkhozes.

He wanted these councils to respond better to local needs. But decentralizing industry led to problems and inefficiency. Connected to this was Khrushchev's decision in 1962 to organize party groups based on economic sectors, not administrative areas. This split the party into industrial and agricultural sections at the local level. This added to the confusion and upset many party officials. A sign of the country's economic problems was the abandonment of Khrushchev's special seven-year economic plan (1959–65) in 1963, two years before it was supposed to finish.

Military

Khrushchev greatly reduced Soviet defense spending and the size of the regular army. He called the army "metal eaters" and said, "If you let the army have their way, they will eat up the country's entire resources and still claim it's not enough." Several warships being built were scrapped because Khrushchev thought they were useless. Plans for long-range bombers were also canceled. Orders for fighter planes slowed down, and several military airfields were turned into civilian ones. Although he upset the Soviet military, he insisted that the country could not match the United States in regular military power. He believed that the nuclear weapons were enough to deter attacks. There were also practical reasons for this. The low birth rate of the 1940s meant there were fewer men of military age.

The size of the Soviet military was reduced by nearly 2 million men between 1955 and 1957. Further cuts followed in 1958 and 1960. These troop cuts were not well planned. Many soldiers and officers were left without jobs or homes. Discontent began to grow in the military.

Despite Khrushchev's boasts about Soviet missile capabilities, they were mostly exaggerated. The R-7 ICBM, used to launch Sputnik, was almost useless as a practical missile. Soviet missiles were launched from above-ground pads, which were completely exposed to enemy attack. When Khrushchev suggested putting them in underground silos, Soviet rocket engineers said it couldn't be done. Then he found an article in an American technical journal describing the use of silos for missiles. He scolded the engineers for not paying attention to American developments. When the first Soviet silo launch happened in September 1959, Khrushchev saw it as a personal victory.

Science and Technology

Help to developing countries and scientific research, especially in space technology and weapons, kept the Soviet Union as one of the world's two major powers. The Soviet Union launched the first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, which orbited the Earth in 1957. The Soviets also sent the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961.

Foreign Relations

Yugoslavia and Eastern Europe

Khrushchev tried to improve relations with Tito's Yugoslavia. He visited Belgrade in May 1955. However, the Yugoslavian leader was not convinced when Khrushchev tried to blame Beria for the break between their countries. Khrushchev kept trying and urged other Eastern European countries to restore ties with Yugoslavia. He also disbanded the Cominform, which had been used to pressure Yugoslavia. The trip was returned by a visit from Josip Broz Tito to Moscow in May 1956. He received a grand welcome, and huge crowds were sent to greet him. The Politburo members tried to outdo each other in pleasing Tito and apologizing for Stalin. But the visit did not change Tito's foreign policy. He still refused to join the Soviet bloc, give up his non-aligned stance, or cut off economic and military ties with the West. Worse, Tito started offering his non-aligned socialism to other countries, especially Poland and Hungary.

After Hungarian leader Imre Nagy briefly took shelter in the Yugoslavian embassy in Budapest during the events of October 1956, Tito stayed out of the Soviet suppression of the Hungarian revolt. Soviet-Yugoslav relations then weakened. Tito refused to attend the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution in November 1957. He continued to actively promote his non-aligned stance at the Yugoslavian Communist Party's congress the following March. Khrushchev refused to send any delegates to the congress. He also approved a long criticism of it in Pravda. Accusing Tito of being a traitor like Imre Nagy, Khrushchev ordered the execution of the Hungarian leader, who had been imprisoned for several months.

The uprisings in Poland and Hungary in 1956 happened at the same time Khrushchev softened his anti-Stalin stance. He told guests at the Chinese embassy in Moscow that "Stalinism is inseparable from Marxism." This brought new protests from different parts of Soviet society. Besides the usual complaints from intellectuals, there were student demonstrations. Reports also came of portraits of Soviet leaders in factories being damaged or torn down. Despite the small scale of this public disagreement, the Central Committee quickly approved harsh measures. Several hundred people were arrested in early 1957 and sentenced to several years in labor camps.

East Germany

East Germany continued to be a difficult situation. Khrushchev had hoped to get Western countries to recognize East Germany. But this made things worse. Many East German citizens, mostly young, healthy adults, kept leaving for West Germany. This drained East Germany's workforce. East German leader Walter Ulbricht asked for Soviet guest workers to make up for the labor shortage. This worried Khrushchev because it reminded him of the use of Soviet slave laborers by Nazi Germany during World War II. On top of this, West German citizens were traveling to the East to buy cheap goods subsidized by Moscow. This further increased the debt East Germany owed to the USSR.

The problem of signing a peace treaty with West Germany was huge and very difficult. Signing a peace treaty would likely lead to West Germany stopping trade with East Germany. This would require the Soviet Union to double its aid, which Moscow could not afford.

China

Khrushchev had problems with China when he suggested a joint Soviet-Chinese fleet in the Pacific. This fleet would counter the US Seventh Fleet. The Soviet ambassador to China, Pavel Yudin, was rejected by Mao Zedong in July 1958. Mao demanded to speak to Khrushchev in person, so Khrushchev flew to Beijing. The meeting was no more successful. Mao continued to reject the idea of a joint fleet. He also refused to allow Soviet Navy warships to dock at Chinese ports in peacetime. He saw operating joint radar stations as an attack on Chinese control. Shortly after Khrushchev went home, the Chinese army shelled islands in the Formosa Strait. This brought the US Seventh Fleet to the area in a major show of force. Moscow reluctantly supported the Chinese shelling. After American threats, Mao told a shocked Andrei Gromyko that he was willing to start a nuclear war with the imperialist powers.

After this, Soviet-Chinese relations were calm for six months. But they worsened again in the summer of 1959. Khrushchev criticized China's Great Leap Forward. He also remained neutral during a Chinese border conflict with India. On August 20, Moscow told Beijing they would not give them a sample atomic bomb. When Khrushchev went to Beijing in late September, right after his US trip, he received a cold welcome. He further upset the Chinese with his warm stories about Americans and Eisenhower. A suggestion by Khrushchev to free American pilots captured by China during the Korean War was rejected. China also rejected his criticism of their recent actions in the Formosa Strait and on the Indian border. The talks ended after only three days, and Khrushchev went home feeling sad.

United States

Khrushchev Visits the US

In September 1959, Khrushchev became the first Russian head of state to visit the United States. This important trip was made on the new Tu-114 long-range airliner. This was despite it still being an experimental aircraft. The Soviet Union did not have any other plane that could fly nonstop across the Atlantic. The 13-day trip included meetings with American businessmen, labor leaders, Hollywood actors, and a visit to Roswell Garst's farm in Iowa. Khrushchev was openly upset when he was told he could not visit Disneyland. This was because it was too difficult to guarantee his safety there.

1960 US Presidential Election

Khrushchev eagerly awaited the results of the 1960 United States presidential election. He preferred Kennedy over Richard Nixon, whom he saw as a strong anti-communist. He openly celebrated Kennedy's victory on November 8. In truth, Khrushchev's opinion of Kennedy was mixed. He knew that the new president came from a wealthy background and was educated at Harvard. On the other hand, Kennedy was the youngest elected US president at 43. He gave the impression of being inexperienced, like "a boy wearing his father's pants." Khrushchev thought he could take advantage of this and dominate him. However, if Kennedy was that weak, there was a chance he could just be a puppet of "reactionary" forces and the US military-industrial complex. Almost immediately after the polls closed on Election Day, Khrushchev tried to bombard the president-elect with proposals. He hoped for improved US-Soviet relations, specifically going back to the friendly diplomacy of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's time. However, Khrushchev was told he was acting too quickly. A formal meeting with Kennedy would not be possible until he took office in January, and even then, arranging such a meeting would take time.

Kennedy Era

Khrushchev was pleased by Kennedy's inaugural address on January 20, 1961. He immediately offered to release American pilots shot down over the Soviet Union as a friendly gesture. Kennedy, in turn, ordered a halt to US Postal Service censorship of Soviet publications. He lifted a ban on importing Soviet crab meat. He also told military officials to use less harsh anti-Soviet language in their speeches.

In a report on January 6, Khrushchev spoke about a world conference of 81 communist parties in Moscow the previous fall. He stated that socialism would eventually triumph over capitalism. But at the same time, a major conflict between the great powers, like the two world wars, was now unthinkable in the age of nuclear weapons. He also stated that local wars must be avoided. This was because they could turn into major wars, as happened with World War I. The only acceptable conflicts, as Khrushchev saw it, were anti-colonial wars of national liberation, like Algeria's war of independence against France.

While Eisenhower would likely have dismissed this speech as Soviet boasting, the inexperienced Kennedy became nervous. He took it as a call to arms by Moscow. In his first State of the Union address on January 30, he warned that "No one should think that either the Soviet Union or China has given up their desire for world domination, ambitions they forcefully restated only a short time ago. On the contrary, our aim is to show that aggression and subversion on their part is not an acceptable means to achieve these aims." These remarks were followed two days later by the first test launch of a Minuteman ICBM.

Khrushchev's initial hopes for Kennedy slowly faded over the next few months. When Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba was killed, Khrushchev blamed it on Western colonial forces. Khrushchev's boasts about Soviet missile forces gave John F. Kennedy a key issue to use against Richard Nixon in the 1960 U.S. presidential election—the so-called 'missile gap'. But all of Khrushchev's attempts to build a strong personal relationship with the new president failed. His usual mix of boasting, miscalculations, and mishaps led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. After the Berlin and Cuba crises, tensions between the two superpowers decreased.

Khrushchev openly cried when he heard the news of Kennedy's assassination in November 1963. He feared that the new US president, Lyndon Johnson, would be more aggressive against the Soviet Union. Johnson turned out to be more in favor of reducing tensions than Khrushchev had thought. However, he ended up focusing more on his domestic programs and the Vietnam War than on superpower relations.

Economy

1953-1955

Since Stalin's death, Soviet farming output had improved noticeably. Gains in meat, dairy, and grain output were around 130-150%. This led Khrushchev to make overly confident predictions about catching up to American farm production. These predictions later became a subject of jokes.

1956-1958

Alexsei Larionov, a local party leader, tried to triple meat production in his province. This was because overall Soviet meat output for 1958 had been low. The plan involved setting unrealistic goals and frantically slaughtering every animal in the province, including dairy cows. When the goals still could not be met, farmers tried to steal livestock from neighboring provinces. These provinces took steps to protect their own farms, like police roadblocks. The farmers resorted to stealing cattle at night. Larionov, growing more desperate, made taxes payable in meat. In the end, his province produced only 30,000 tons of meat for 1959, when they had promised 180,000 tons.

1959-1964

The harvest for 1960 was the worst since Stalin's death. The Virgin Lands were especially disappointing. During the fall and winter of 1960–61, Khrushchev started a strong campaign to improve farming problems. Most of this involved criticizing poor farm managers and promoting Lysenko's false scientific ideas. He overlooked the real problem, which was the basic flaws of collective farming.

The harvest for 1961 was disappointing. Farming output was only 0.7% higher than 1960, and meat production was actually less than the previous two years. Discontent began to grow. In response, Khrushchev continued to offer new ideas to improve farm output. He also criticized inefficient farming practices. Farmers complained that they lacked enough money for tools and equipment. But Khrushchev said he had no extra money for agriculture. His only solution was to add even more bureaucracy to the farming sector.

Price increases for meat and dairy in the spring of 1962, combined with efforts to convince factory workers to work harder for the same or less pay, led to a growing disaster. The price increases took effect on June 1. They were immediately met with strikes and protests in several cities. The biggest and most serious was in the city of Novocherkassk. Workers went on strike to protest rising living costs and poor working conditions. The next day, workers marched to the central square. Army units fired on them, killing 23 people. Another 116 protesters were arrested. 14 were tried for "anti-Soviet agitation," and seven of them were sentenced to death. The other seven received 10–15 years in prison. Smaller riots in other cities were also put down, with several deaths. Khrushchev gave a speech the same day, partly apologizing for the price increases. But he insisted he had no choice. He never fully came to terms with the Novocherkassk massacre and did not mention it in his memoirs.

During 1963, Khrushchev became increasingly frustrated by his inability to fix the ongoing problems in Soviet agriculture. He accused farmers of wasting fertilizer. He added that a farmer in the United States would go out of business if he did the same. He also complained about aging farm managers who should have retired but continued to hold their jobs. A drought affected a large part of the west-central USSR during the fall months. Overall, the 1963 harvest was a complete failure, with only 107 million tons of grain produced. Serious consideration was given to rationing food. Khrushchev could offer no solutions other than empty slogans and criticizing incompetent managers. After initially resisting the idea of importing grain from overseas, he finally gave in. This was after he learned that Soviet grain stocks were almost gone.