Cuban Missile Crisis - Nikita Khrushev

 Khrushchev's enthusiasm for flashy gestures had not been liked by more conservative elements from the very start;     many Soviets were greatly embarrassed by his antics, such as banging a shoe on the podium during a speech to the UN General Assembly. There were elements in the Party who were actively looking for an opportunity to oust him. Their opportunity came with the Cuban Missile Crisis. In yet another case of showmanship that he was unable to back up with deeds, in 1962 Khrushchev deployed nuclear missiles in newly Communist Cuba, within easy striking distance of most major American population centers. Thanks to intelligence received from Oleg Penkovsky, a Soviet double agent, the United States was aware that the missiles were still only partially developed and did not pose an immediate threat. President John Kennedy called Khrushchev's bluff, and the latter was forced to remove the missiles from Cuba, with great loss of face both at home and abroad. Khrushchev never regained his prestige after the incident, and was quietly ousted two years later by opponents in the Politburo--significantly, with no bloodshed. He spent the rest of his life in peaceful retirement, and was the only Soviet leader not to be buried in the Kremlin wall after his death.

     I thought it would be helpful to give a little background on the man behind The Cuban Missile Crisis, President of Russia Nikita Khrushchev. I found the article on pbs.org, this is the link for his biography : http://www.pbs.org/redfiles/bios/all_bio_nikita_khrushchev.html. 

   This post and corresponding article are what I found most interesting about Nikita Khrushchev. Flashy gestures are how Khrushchev got his point across to his peers. His placement of the missiles in Cuba caused a very serious and frightening situation, as there had never been the threat of nuclear war.

Picture from bps.org/redfiles.bios.all_nikita_khrushchev.html.