This film is a living history. Nikita Khrushchev’s closest family members and historians tell a story from the centre of power. This unique biography of a witness of the century comes alive in the shadow of the events he was part of.
Despite being an ardent Stalinist for many years, it was Nikita Khrushchev who put an end to his predecessor’s terror. Khrushchev remains a figure of contrasts, who sought a peaceful accommodation of the contending systems of global order, but brought the world to the edge of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He built the Berlin Wall. He was a reformer who was defeated both by the system and by himself. What remains is the memory of a shoe he pounded on a table during a UN General Assembly session.
Stalin’s terror, World War II, de-Stalinization and the gravest crises of the Cold War — all this is closely entwined with Nikita Khrushchev.
Up Next in Cold War
-
Tales of the Cold War
Some just counted tanks, others stole blueprints for bombs. The Cold War was the battleground for thousands of spies and spotters. Even the Allied Military Missions in Germany doubled as covert observers in the spying game. Whether military observers, spies or traitors – they all acted as supplie...
-
Mission Behind the Iron Curtain
During the Cold War, tensions between East and West mount alarmingly. In consequence, western intelligence services shift their focus on East Germany as the Warsaw Pact’s major deployment zone.
Nowhere else did western services get as close to Soviet military equipment. Their prime targets are m...
-
Inside Britain's Secret Nuclear Bunker
In the wake of the Second World War, Britain moved to cement itself as one of the world's main nuclear powers. The erection of a series of nuclear bunkers followed across the UK, tasked with protecting a fortunate few against any devastating nuclear attack. Sarah Agha explores Britain's secret nu...
12 Comments