The period, known as the “Khrushchev Thaw,”
during the 1950’s and the beginning of the 1960’s, was the most promising, open, and
prosperous time in Soviet history. It was Nikita Khrushchev who banished Stalin’s
reign of terror and improved people’s living standards. STRUGGLE FOR POWER
After Stalin’s death in 1953, a fierce fight for power began between his ministers, Lavrenty
Beria, Georgy Malenkov, and Nikita Khrushchev. Over the next few years, Khrushchev managed
to gain the upper hand, and he subdued his opponents. AGRICULTURAL REFORM
Khrushchev was a self-educated countryman, and he was eager to reform the agricultural
sector. The “Virgin Lands Campaign,” was initially
a great success. Peasants were encouraged to take up new farmlands
in Central Asia. The overall area of harvested land, indeed,
increased by 50% in the middle of the 1950’s. THAW
Khrushchev’s time is known as the “Thaw,” heralding a more relaxed atmosphere for everyday
life. It all began at the Twentieth Party Congress
in 1956. In Khrushchev's secret speech, he criticized
Stalin for his tyranny, thereby effectively ending Stalin’s cult of personality. A number of political prisoners were freed
from the Gulag camps and some of Stalin’s victims were rehabilitated. In 1956, the Soviet Union faced a popular
uprising, against Soviet hegemony, in Hungary. It was mercilessly put down with tanks, and
about 3,000 civilians lost their lives. Nevertheless, Khrushchev’s popularity grew
at home and abroad. In 1959 he was the first Soviet leader to
visit the United States. The Soviet Union overtook the United States
many times in the space race. In 1957 they sent the world's first satellite,
Sputnik 1, into orbit. Then, in 1961, Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin,
became the first man in space. Very optimistic plans were made for the future
at that time. Khrushchev advocated peaceful coexistence
with the United States, at the same time reassuring the Russian public that the Soviet Union would
soon surpass the United States economically, and attain true communism in the near future. CHINA, CUBA AND CORN
Khrushchev failed in three cases: China, Cuba, and corn. Differences of opinion arose between Krushchev
and the communist leader of China, Mao Zedong, who accused Khrushchev of pro-westernness. After the 1960’s, there was more competition
than cooperation between China and the Soviet Union. Also, Khrushchev’s plan of revolutionizing
Russian agriculture, with extensive corn growing, was a total failure. Most importantly, the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
delivered a decisive blow to Soviet prestige. In 1964, Khrushchev's more conservative party
members conspired against him. He had to step down, and the power was handed
to Leonid Brezhnev. Khrushchev lived quietly, as a pensioner,
until his death in 1971.