Description

The definitive biography of the mercurial Soviet leader who succeeded and denounced Stalin Nikita Khrushchev was one of the most complex and important political figures of the twentieth century Ruler of the Soviet Union during the first decade after Stalins death Khrushchev left a contradictory stamp on his country and on the world His life and career mirror the Soviet experience revolution civil war famine collectivization industrialization terror world war cold war Stalinism postStalinism Complicit in terrible Stalinist crimes Khrushchev nevertheless retained his humanity his daring attempt to reform communism prepared the ground for its eventual collapse and his awkward efforts to ease the cold war triggered its most dangerous crises