Nikita Khrushchev

Leader of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 · Russia · Politicians · Lived 1894 to 1971 · aged 77

Nikita Khrushchev is read about 8,222 times a day, in 129 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 21 October 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 396 days, one point a day.

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He banged his shoe at the UN, launched Sputnik, and brought the world to the brink over Cuba - but the real shock was what he said about Stalin. Khrushchev tore down the myth of his predecessor and cracked open the Soviet system from within, a gamble that bought him power and eventually cost him everything.

Politicians Politician Politics 20th Century

A life in dates

2026The anniversary of their death, on 11 September.11 September 20261971Died11 September 19711964Hero of the People's Republic of BulgariaAwardOrder of Georgi DimitrovAwardOrder of LeninAwardOrder of the NileAwardShevchenko National PrizeAward1961Order of LeninAward1960Miner's Glory 1st classAward1959“I happened to read recently a remark by the American nuclear physicist W.”In their words18 September 1959Address to the United Nations, New York City (September 18, 1959), as reported by The New York Times (September 19, 1959), p. 8. TheRead the whole statement

1958Named Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSROffice27 March 1958 to 14 October 1964“A man emaciated by a grave illness is at first treated by doctors gradually. Food is administered to him in small doses. If more is administered to the patient, it might kill him.”In their wordsJanuary 1958Interview with Iverach McDonald, London Times (January 1958)Read the whole statement

1957Hero of Socialist LabourAwardTime Person of the YearAward1956“When it is a question of fighting against imperialism we can state with conviction that we are all Stalinists.”In their words31 December 1956Remark made at Kremlin New Year's Eve reception, December 31, 1956. Quoted in Khrushchev by Edward Crankshaw.Read the whole statement

“Finding a reason for an armed conflict now would be very easy, but finding a way to put an end to such a conflict would be very hard.”In their words24 October 1956October 24, October 24, 1956Read the whole statement

“Yes, today we have genuine Russian weather. Yesterday we had Swedish weather. I can't understand why your weather is so terrible.”In their words30 March 1956At a Swedish-Soviet summit which began on March 30, 1956, in Moscow. The stenographed discussion was later published by the SwedishRead the whole statement

1954Hero of Socialist LabourAward1953Named General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet UnionOffice14 September 1953 to 14 October 19641949Named First Secretary of the Moscow Communist PartyOffice24 January 1934 to 10 February 19381947Named First Secretary of the Communist Party of UkraineOffice27 January 1938 to 3 March 19471945Order of the Patriotic War, 1st classAward1944Order of LeninAward1943Order of Kutuzov, 1st classAward1938Named First Secretary of the Communist Party of UkraineOffice27 January 1938 to 3 March 19471935Order of LeninAward1934Named First Secretary of the Moscow Communist PartyOffice24 January 1934 to 10 February 19381894Born3 April 1894

Also in Deutsch

Photos 12

Khrushchev and his first wife Euphrasinia (Yefrosinia) in 1916

Khrushchev's second wife (though they only officially married in 1965) was Ukrainian-born Nina Petrovna Kukharchuk, whom he met in 1922. Photo taken in 1924

Lazar Kaganovich, one of the chief enforcers of Stalin's dictatorship and Khrushchev's main patron.

Khrushchev (second from right) poses for a photo alongside Joseph Stalin (far right) sometime during the 1930s.

Regional party leaders in 1935. In the front row sits Nikita Khrushchev (Moscow), Andrei Zhdanov (Leningrad), Lazar Kaganovich (Ukraine), Lavrentiy Beria (Georgia), and Nestor Lakoba (Abkhazia) (behind him stands Mir Jafar Baghirov).

In their own words 10

Nikita Khrushchev

10 statements, newest first

We have come to this town where lives the cream of American art.… But just now I was told that I could not go to Disneyland. I asked "Why not? What is it?
Sep 19, 1959, Remarks during a Hollywood luncheon (19 September 1959), quoted in New York Times (20 September 1959) "Text of Khrushchev Debate With, Own words
I happened to read recently a remark by the American nuclear physicist W.
Sep 18, 1959, Address to the United Nations, New York City (September 18, 1959), as reported by The New York Times (September 19, 1959), p. 8. The, Own words
A man emaciated by a grave illness is at first treated by doctors gradually. Food is administered to him in small doses. If more is administered to the patient, it might kill him.
Jan 1958, Interview with Iverach McDonald, London Times (January 1958), Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Hero of the Soviet Union1964

Order of Lenin1964

Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria1964

Order of Georgi Dimitrov1964

Order of the White Lion1964

Order of Karl Marx1964

Order of Sukhbaatar1964

Order of the Nile1964

Shevchenko National Prize1964

Commemorative Medal for the 20th Anniversary of Slovak National Uprising1964

Order of Lenin1961

Hero of Socialist Labour1961

Miner's Glory 1st class1960

Lenin Peace Prize1959

Medal "For Labour Valour"1959

Order of Lenin1957

Hero of Socialist Labour1957

Time Person of the Year1957

Order of Lenin1954

Hero of Socialist Labour1954

Order of Lenin1948

Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class1945

Order of Suvorov, 1st class1945

Order of Lenin1944

Order of Suvorov, 2nd class1943

Order of Kutuzov, 1st class1943

Order of the Red Banner of Labour1939

Order of Lenin1935

Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"

Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad"

Medal "For the Restoration of the Black Metallurgy Enterprises of the South"

Medal "For the Development of Virgin Lands"

Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"

Medal "To a Partisan of the Patriotic War", 1st class

Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin"

Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"

Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"

Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"

Medal "In Commemoration of the 800th Anniversary of Moscow"

Jubilee Medal Medal "In Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of Leningrad"

Family

Nikita Khrushchev

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About this person

Born in a Russian village in 1894, Khrushchev worked as a metal worker before rising through the party ranks under Lazar Kaganovich's patronage. During Stalin's rule he was an enthusiastic enforcer, approving thousands of arrests in the Great Purge and continuing the bloodletting when sent to govern Ukraine in 1938. He served as a commissar in World War II, proud of his role at Stalingrad, and became one of Stalin's close advisers in Moscow. When Stalin died on 5 March 1953, Khrushchev won the power struggle that followed and delivered his "Secret Speech" on 25 February 1956, denouncing the purges and opening a less repressive era. His domestic reforms mostly failed, especially in agriculture, and the Cold War turned white-hot under his watch - Sputnik in 1957 bought him glory, but the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 sealed his fate. On 14 October 1964 his rivals forced him out, and he spent his last years writing memoirs smuggled West before dying in 1971.

Country

Russia

In common with Nikita

Stan VanDerBeekAlso in Achooo Mr. Kerrooschev (1960)Pyotr LomakoBoth received Medal "For the Restoration of the Black Metallurgy Enterprises of the South"

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Peter the Great82.3

Alexei Navalny85.8

Dmitry Medvedev80.0

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