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Khrushchev: The Years in Power
A unique view of the Khrushchev period as seen by two prominent Soviet dissidents. This portrait by two noted Soviet authors and dissidents of Nikita S. Khrushchev's years in power reveals the former leader of the Soviet Union as a decisive, even impetuous, innovator, a side of him little known before in the West. Khrushchev emerges as a man impatient to destroy Stalinism, to remedy defects in the Soviet system, and to solve the problems of Soviet agriculture. As no other book before it, Khrushchev brings into focus the many sides of the shrewd and complex Soviet leader and the interrelation between Soviet politics and agricultural policy that brought about his removal from power.
198 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 29, 2019
"[Khrushchev's] tireless activity confirmed that it was possible to change Soviet society from the top, given support from below."
I distinctly remember one morning in October 1964: my mother woke me up when it was time to go to school - I was a high-school freshman - yet instead of saying "Time to wake up!" she said "There is no Khrushchev any more..." During breakfast we listened to the radio: the speaker announced that Nikita Khrushchev was removed from all his posts and Leonid Brezhnev assumed the position of the First Secretary of the Soviet communist party - the supreme authority in the Soviet Union. Many readers these days will not know what Soviet Union was - one of the only two superpowers of that time, whose military might was equal to that of the United States, and whose thermonuclear weapons could annihilate all life on Earth. Any change in Soviet leadership was a momentous event that could affect every person in any country.
Roy Medvedev's Khrushchev (1982) is a great biography of the man who was the leader of Soviet Union for 11 years (1953 - 1964). The author, a famous Russian historian and political writer, is the twin brother of Zhores Medvedev whose Andropov I reviewed here two months ago. I like this biography much more: it is more detailed and rich in synthetic depth, probably because of the eighteen-year break between Khrushchev's disappearance from public life and this book's publication: the passage of time created a historical perspective.
The biography tracks Khrushchev's life from his hard-working youth in fields and mines, through service and political work in the Red Army, a string of promotions in the party structure crowned by becoming a candidate member of the Politburo in 1938. The author confirms Khrushchev's participation in the terror of Stalin's years - in those years party bosses simply had to order torture and murder of thousands of people, otherwise they were tortured and murdered themselves on other party bosses' orders - but does not provide any details.
During World War II about 25 million Soviet people died: several million because of the utter stupidity of the Supreme Leader (Stalin) who believed in his own infallibility and omnipotence, and further several million died with the Stalin's sacred name on their lips. Krushchev distinguished himself during his military service for his Fatherland and his Supreme Leader. While the events surrounding Stalin's death in 1953 are well known the author offers a detailed account of the power struggle that ensued. Khrushchev emerges victorious, assumes the top position in the party, and in February of 1956 gives the famous "Secret Speech" where he denounces Stalin for the long decades of his reign of terror: for massive repressions, tortures, and murders. In consequence several millions of prisoners have been liberated and mass rehabilitations of murdered or imprisoned people took place.
The author then presents a detailed - and totally captivating - account of Khrushchev's remaining years in power, from 1956 to 1964: the highpoints are the crises in Poland, Hungary, and Suez Canal, Khrushchev's visit to the United States in 1959, the Berlin crisis of 1961, the Cuban crisis of 1962, and the growing tensions between Soviet Union and China. I am planning to soon read and review books on these three last topics so I am not discussing them here.
There are fascinating passages in the text, for example, the account of Khrushchev's visit to Washington D.C, New York, Hollywood, and Iowa. The reader will certainly enjoy the few pages dedicated to Khrushchev's reactions to abstract art.
The discontent rising in the Soviet society in 1963-1964, the scarcity of goods, stagnant incomes, and the average party members' dissatisfaction with Khrushchev's methods and lack of results of his leadership created an environment where other members of the Soviet leadership decided to take matters in their hands and relieved Khrushchev of all his duties on that fateful day in October 1964.
Roy Medvedev's book is a fascinating political biography: a very highly recommended work.
Four-and-a-quarter stars.
I distinctly remember one morning in October 1964: my mother woke me up when it was time to go to school - I was a high-school freshman - yet instead of saying "Time to wake up!" she said "There is no Khrushchev any more..." During breakfast we listened to the radio: the speaker announced that Nikita Khrushchev was removed from all his posts and Leonid Brezhnev assumed the position of the First Secretary of the Soviet communist party - the supreme authority in the Soviet Union. Many readers these days will not know what Soviet Union was - one of the only two superpowers of that time, whose military might was equal to that of the United States, and whose thermonuclear weapons could annihilate all life on Earth. Any change in Soviet leadership was a momentous event that could affect every person in any country.
Roy Medvedev's Khrushchev (1982) is a great biography of the man who was the leader of Soviet Union for 11 years (1953 - 1964). The author, a famous Russian historian and political writer, is the twin brother of Zhores Medvedev whose Andropov I reviewed here two months ago. I like this biography much more: it is more detailed and rich in synthetic depth, probably because of the eighteen-year break between Khrushchev's disappearance from public life and this book's publication: the passage of time created a historical perspective.
The biography tracks Khrushchev's life from his hard-working youth in fields and mines, through service and political work in the Red Army, a string of promotions in the party structure crowned by becoming a candidate member of the Politburo in 1938. The author confirms Khrushchev's participation in the terror of Stalin's years - in those years party bosses simply had to order torture and murder of thousands of people, otherwise they were tortured and murdered themselves on other party bosses' orders - but does not provide any details.
During World War II about 25 million Soviet people died: several million because of the utter stupidity of the Supreme Leader (Stalin) who believed in his own infallibility and omnipotence, and further several million died with the Stalin's sacred name on their lips. Krushchev distinguished himself during his military service for his Fatherland and his Supreme Leader. While the events surrounding Stalin's death in 1953 are well known the author offers a detailed account of the power struggle that ensued. Khrushchev emerges victorious, assumes the top position in the party, and in February of 1956 gives the famous "Secret Speech" where he denounces Stalin for the long decades of his reign of terror: for massive repressions, tortures, and murders. In consequence several millions of prisoners have been liberated and mass rehabilitations of murdered or imprisoned people took place.
The author then presents a detailed - and totally captivating - account of Khrushchev's remaining years in power, from 1956 to 1964: the highpoints are the crises in Poland, Hungary, and Suez Canal, Khrushchev's visit to the United States in 1959, the Berlin crisis of 1961, the Cuban crisis of 1962, and the growing tensions between Soviet Union and China. I am planning to soon read and review books on these three last topics so I am not discussing them here.
There are fascinating passages in the text, for example, the account of Khrushchev's visit to Washington D.C, New York, Hollywood, and Iowa. The reader will certainly enjoy the few pages dedicated to Khrushchev's reactions to abstract art.
The discontent rising in the Soviet society in 1963-1964, the scarcity of goods, stagnant incomes, and the average party members' dissatisfaction with Khrushchev's methods and lack of results of his leadership created an environment where other members of the Soviet leadership decided to take matters in their hands and relieved Khrushchev of all his duties on that fateful day in October 1964.
Roy Medvedev's book is a fascinating political biography: a very highly recommended work.
Four-and-a-quarter stars.
August 30, 2014
Quite an interesting read, was quite hard to understand at first (all the names) but it seemed relatively objective about Khrushchev and usually backed up statements with source and figures.
November 13, 2014
Roy Medvedev’s Khrushchev may not be the seminal or best-known biography of the Soviet leader, but it is one of the earliest and has considerable merit as a contemporary Soviet perspective. Although written by a dissident (with the aid of his exiled twin brother Zhores), this biography is not scathing or even particularly critical and undertakes a genuine attempt to engage its subject within the context of the circumstances that he faced. In fact, one might argue that the author could have been more critical, as he often glosses over, or even excuses, Khrushchev’s failings or mistakes and dismisses the leader’s role in controversial episodes, including several of Stalin’s atrocities. Nevertheless, these apologetic tendencies do not overwhelm the text and the author’s biases and voice remain mostly unseen. Medvedev’s softer approach, if anything, has the effect of humanizing Khrushchev, which was something that would have been unfamiliar and the time and perhaps still is today. Presenting its subject as a person rather than a politician is one of the strengths of this work as it challenged what was otherwise available in contemporary discourse.
Other than that, there is very little to say about Medvedev’s work. Overall it is an enjoyable and worthwhile read that has stuck with me since I finished it, but is not particularly appealing to either serious academic study or leisurely perusal. As one might suspect from the amount of time it took me to complete this book, it is not the type of work that makes one eager to return, but is suitable for periods of boredom such as airplane travel or time spent in a doctor’s waiting room. Moreover, as one would expect, it lacks much of the insight that has been provided by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the opening of the archives. Finally, perhaps due to the confluence of its subject and the lack of sources, it does tend to skim over some of the seminal events of Khrushchev’s tenure in office that were tangentially related to the leader, such as the launch of Sputnik and the space race in general. It would have been nice to hear more on Khrushchev’s influence on these events – or vice-versa – or at least for the book to have expanded critically on his relationship with these famous moments. Nonetheless, for the time it was an excellent (and rare) source of information and its style and content still hold up today. Most importantly, it is well written and can be engaging once one gets into the narrative, even if it easy to put down and rarely engenders a yearning to return to its pages. I would probably not classify this as a “must-read” for anyone, but someone with an interest in the subject matter should not hesitate to pick this up if they feel that they would enjoy it. Having read academic texts exclusively for the past 10 months or so, Khrushchev, as an important subject treated at a more accessible level, was an excellent bridge between the scholarly rigor of the past year and the more leisurely books of the summer.
Other than that, there is very little to say about Medvedev’s work. Overall it is an enjoyable and worthwhile read that has stuck with me since I finished it, but is not particularly appealing to either serious academic study or leisurely perusal. As one might suspect from the amount of time it took me to complete this book, it is not the type of work that makes one eager to return, but is suitable for periods of boredom such as airplane travel or time spent in a doctor’s waiting room. Moreover, as one would expect, it lacks much of the insight that has been provided by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the opening of the archives. Finally, perhaps due to the confluence of its subject and the lack of sources, it does tend to skim over some of the seminal events of Khrushchev’s tenure in office that were tangentially related to the leader, such as the launch of Sputnik and the space race in general. It would have been nice to hear more on Khrushchev’s influence on these events – or vice-versa – or at least for the book to have expanded critically on his relationship with these famous moments. Nonetheless, for the time it was an excellent (and rare) source of information and its style and content still hold up today. Most importantly, it is well written and can be engaging once one gets into the narrative, even if it easy to put down and rarely engenders a yearning to return to its pages. I would probably not classify this as a “must-read” for anyone, but someone with an interest in the subject matter should not hesitate to pick this up if they feel that they would enjoy it. Having read academic texts exclusively for the past 10 months or so, Khrushchev, as an important subject treated at a more accessible level, was an excellent bridge between the scholarly rigor of the past year and the more leisurely books of the summer.
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June 27, 2008Throughout my studies of Nationalism in the Soviet Union, it's pretty standard practice to say that it was a "bad" thing that Russian was foisted onto the nationalities as the language of business and education. This is the only book I've read, where, when these restrictions were loosened by Krushchev were loosened in the 60s, that universal Russian was a good thing. Pg. 145 - "For example, the relaxation of the single language...many scientific journals thorughout the Union Republics were published in ht elocal language...This meant a waste of scientific information - Russian scientists...could not avail themselves of information described in a technical or scientific article written in Ukrainian, not to mention Georgian or Estonian..."
The basic lesson of this book - Krushchev was well intentioned but impatient.
Another interesting point -the author's Roy and Zhores Medvedev, are brothers. At the time of publication in 1978, in the west, Zhores was living in exile in London, but Roy was still in the Soviet Union. In the preface, Zhores states that Roy has no knowledge of the final outcome of the piece, and cannot be held accountable for it. I assume he does this so that any repercussions for it cannot be brought upon Roy in the Soviet Union.
The basic lesson of this book - Krushchev was well intentioned but impatient.
Another interesting point -the author's Roy and Zhores Medvedev, are brothers. At the time of publication in 1978, in the west, Zhores was living in exile in London, but Roy was still in the Soviet Union. In the preface, Zhores states that Roy has no knowledge of the final outcome of the piece, and cannot be held accountable for it. I assume he does this so that any repercussions for it cannot be brought upon Roy in the Soviet Union.
September 5, 2010
A good book I am sure but I swear I do not remember reading it. So if nothing stands out the best I can do is a single star. I read this as part of a Russian history class at USM in 1981 or 1982
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews