Khrushchev's Abuse Of Power
Why was Khrushchev toppled from power in 1964?
Nikita Khrushchev, though not the most likely successor to Stalin, became the leader of the USSR in 1953 and was toppled from power in 1964 after a Coup in which his policies were attacked by his colleagues. They accused him of being contradictory towards Lenin’s teachings, especially in his agricultural and industrial policies, in being an unfitted leader and erratic in his approach, as well as being reckless over the Cuban Missiles Crisis and West Berlin and ignoring advice. The cause of Khrushchev’s downfall is a contentious issue among historians. Some historians such as Martin Page argue that it was as unhappiness among party hardliners with his reforms that led to him losing power. Upon …show more content…
Khrushchev was also very sympathetic towards the peasants and the workers as he himself had come from a poor background and worked as a railwayman and a miner, before joining the Communist Party. Thus, Khrushchev wanted to implement policies that would benefit the workers and the peasants.
Under this policy, the Stalinist political system was eliminated and Khrushchev imposed many reforms in its place. This caused a split in the Communist Party with the military and political elite highly objecting to these changes in system and thus opposed Khrushchev.
However, other historians such as Paul Du Quenoy argue that it was in fact the degrading of Soviet image worldwide that caused Khrushchev to be ousted. In the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, Khrushchev had ordered nuclear missiles to be placed on Cuba in order to counter those which the United States had placed on Turkey. However, when the United States discovered the missile bases which were being constructed, President Kennedy authorized a blockade on Cuba, preventing any missiles from being delivered. The standoff resulted in Khrushchev backing down and removing the missiles bases on Cuba. The perception was that Khrushchev had loss his battle of wits with Kennedy, causing a major humiliation …show more content…
In the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis, John Kennedy agreed to remove all the United States’ Jupiter missiles placed in Turkey, in exchange for Khrushchev removing all missiles in Cuba. However, the removal of the missiles from NATO bases in Turkey was kept secret from the public. Consequently, the Soviet Union was deemed to have lost the conflict. There was the perception that Khrushchev had been humiliated by Kennedy in the crisis between the two superpowers. The Soviet leadership took the Cuban outcome as "a blow to its prestige bordering on humiliation" and this led to the embarrassment of the Soviet leaders at both Khrushchev's incompetence for causing the crisis in the first place and his eventual concessions to the United States. Many in the Soviet leadership could not tolerate a leader who had lost his battle of wits against the United
Nikita Khrushchev, though not the most likely successor to Stalin, became the leader of the USSR in 1953 and was toppled from power in 1964 after a Coup in which his policies were attacked by his colleagues. They accused him of being contradictory towards Lenin’s teachings, especially in his agricultural and industrial policies, in being an unfitted leader and erratic in his approach, as well as being reckless over the Cuban Missiles Crisis and West Berlin and ignoring advice. The cause of Khrushchev’s downfall is a contentious issue among historians. Some historians such as Martin Page argue that it was as unhappiness among party hardliners with his reforms that led to him losing power. Upon …show more content…
Khrushchev was also very sympathetic towards the peasants and the workers as he himself had come from a poor background and worked as a railwayman and a miner, before joining the Communist Party. Thus, Khrushchev wanted to implement policies that would benefit the workers and the peasants.
Under this policy, the Stalinist political system was eliminated and Khrushchev imposed many reforms in its place. This caused a split in the Communist Party with the military and political elite highly objecting to these changes in system and thus opposed Khrushchev.
However, other historians such as Paul Du Quenoy argue that it was in fact the degrading of Soviet image worldwide that caused Khrushchev to be ousted. In the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, Khrushchev had ordered nuclear missiles to be placed on Cuba in order to counter those which the United States had placed on Turkey. However, when the United States discovered the missile bases which were being constructed, President Kennedy authorized a blockade on Cuba, preventing any missiles from being delivered. The standoff resulted in Khrushchev backing down and removing the missiles bases on Cuba. The perception was that Khrushchev had loss his battle of wits with Kennedy, causing a major humiliation …show more content…
In the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis, John Kennedy agreed to remove all the United States’ Jupiter missiles placed in Turkey, in exchange for Khrushchev removing all missiles in Cuba. However, the removal of the missiles from NATO bases in Turkey was kept secret from the public. Consequently, the Soviet Union was deemed to have lost the conflict. There was the perception that Khrushchev had been humiliated by Kennedy in the crisis between the two superpowers. The Soviet leadership took the Cuban outcome as "a blow to its prestige bordering on humiliation" and this led to the embarrassment of the Soviet leaders at both Khrushchev's incompetence for causing the crisis in the first place and his eventual concessions to the United States. Many in the Soviet leadership could not tolerate a leader who had lost his battle of wits against the United