Nikita Khrushchev was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1953 until 1964.

Unexpectedly coming to power after the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev inherited a country victorious in World War II and possibly on the road to world domination, but which had also been ripped apart by decades of terror and purges. Khrushchev, in an act of immense political courage, derided Stalinism and closed many of Stalin’s labour camps, undeniably making the Soviet Union a more tolerable place to live. Whilst the 1950s saw technological advances and foreign policy successes, Khrushchev’s detractors, always uneasy about destalinisation, gained greater traction as Khrushchev’s policies lost momentum in the early 60s, and they successfully deposed him in 1964. 

This fate puts Khrushchev in the company of a number of Russian leaders who also attempted to reform the state they inherited, but lost control of the situation and lost power. Granted, Khrushchev didn’t meet the same fate as the reformist Tsar Alexander II, who was assassinated in 1881, but his time in charge of the Soviet Union is generally regarded a truncated failure. In a time when a reactionary Russian leader is faltering, Khrushchev’s cautious reforming instincts might well resurface in modern Russia quite soon. That future reformer, be they young or old, close to Putin or unknown to him entirely, must learn the lessons of Khrushchev’s leadership, if he or she- probably he, if Russian leaders are anything to go by- is to be successful. 

My guest for this conversation is Alex Kokcharov, a London-based Risk analyst who covers events related to Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. We discussed Khrushchev’s sidestepping of Stalin’s purges in the 1930s- a fine achievement, considering the calibre of some of those who did not manage to do this- his experiences organising the Russian war effort at Stalingrad and Kursk, and whether Khrushchev’s approach to politics, more contemplative and compromising than his predecessor- prepared him well for his time at the top of the Soviet hierarchy.