5 H007-006 Russia: "1950s ... 1980s" ______10/29/2018

Name: ______DUE: TUE. 5 FEB 2013

Homework: KHRUSHCHEV & CUBA ... BREZHNEV Global History II
INSTRUCTIONS: Tonight the "Cold War" [1950s - - -> 1980s] continues with the Soviet Leadership from 1960 to 1985. We focus on Nikita Khrushchev & the Cuban Missile Crisis, Leonid Brezhnev & "detente", ... and the end of the "aging" Soviet leadership before a "youngster", Mikhail Gorbachev [Age 55] comes on the scene.
NikitaKHRUSHCHEV(1894-1971). Joseph Stalin, dictator of the Soviet Union for 29 years, died March 5, 1953. The next day the government radio announced that to "prevent panic" a collective leadership had been formed to rule the Soviet Union.NIKITA KHRUSHCHEVwas not mentioned in the bulletin. Yet within a few years he triumphed over his rivals to become sole dictator of the Soviet Union.

At Stalin's funeral services Khrushchev shared the platform with the Soviet Union's top leaders. He was, however, merely the chairman who introduced the members of the ruling committee. The most important offices went to Georgi M. Malenkov. The other members of the collective leadership were Lavrenti P. Beria, the head of the secret police, and Vyacheslav M. Molotov, who was Stalin's brilliant foreign minister.

Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev was bornApril 17, 1894, in a peasant's hut in the poverty-stricken village of Kalinovka, in southern Russia. Like his father, he became a coal miner. He joined the Communist party in 1918, during the civil war, and became an untiring organizer.

Khrushchev entered an industrial school in Moscow in 1929. In the mid-1930s he played a major part in carrying out Stalin's purges. In 1938 Stalin sent him back to the Ukraine to rid the party of anti-Stalinists. After the government had taken almost all the peasants' land, Khrushchev tried to deprive them of the small private plots they still held.

For the last 14 years of Stalin's rule, Khrushchev was party secretary of the Moscow region and a member of the Politburo (later Presidium), the highest organ of the Communist party. By the time Stalin died, many of Khrushchev's supporters had achieved important posts.

Rise to Power (An example of how it is done in a totalitarian government)

As you read in a handout last week, about a week after Stalin's death, Khrushchev took control of the party by slowly eliminating his rivals. He moved against Beria, head of the secret police. With the help of Marshal Georgi K. Zhukov he had Beria arrested in June 1953. In December Beria and many of his aides were executed. Meanwhile Khrushchev had been named first secretary, the acknowledged head of the Communist party.

In 1955 Khrushchev forced Malenkov to resign as premier, on the ground of "inexperience." The title of premier then was given to Marshal Nikolai Bulganin. At that time Marshal Zhukov replaced Bulganin as minister of defense.

The Plot Against Khrushchev

As first secretary, Khrushchev was not only the most powerful man in the Soviet Union but leader of the world Communist movement. In February 1956 he delivered his famous two-day "secret" speech (later released) before the 20th Communist Party Congress. In this speech Khrushchev denounced Stalin's rule, accusing the dead dictator of infamous crimes. The revelations shocked Communists throughout the world who had blindly followed Stalin's dictates.

Satellite countries, those in Eastern Europe, were encouraged by the speech to take a more independent line. The Poles rioted, and the Hungarians openly revolted. Stalinists in the Soviet government blamed Khrushchev. Khrushchev put down the revolt in Hungary with Stalinist terroristic methods and eased his stand on Stalinism.

In June 1957 Khrushchev's enemies gained the upper hand in the 11-member Presidium and voted secretly to oust Khrushchev as party secretary. Khrushchev refused to accept the decision and took the fight to the large Central Committee of the party. There, after two days of debate, his leadership was confirmed. Four members of the Presidium including Molotov and Malenkov were dropped and forced to confess their "mistakes." In October even Zhukov, who had helped Khrushchev defeat the conspiracy, was dropped from the Presidium. There remained, however, powerful Stalinist dissenters in both the government and the army. In March 1958 the "collective leadership" was ended when Khrushchev took over Bulganin's title as premier.

Correspondents from Western nations described Khrushchev as a man of enormous energy and drive, talkative, sociable, earthy, tough, and shrewd. With great self-confidence he took colossal gambles in both foreign and domestic policy. As a dictator he did not have to fear opposition from a parliament or criticism from the press. He could not, however, completely ignore the discontent of the Soviet people. His announced goals were to overtake the United States in productivity and to help spread Communism throughout the world.

At home Khrushchev continued to build up armaments and heavy industry, at the same time promising the people a huge expansion in consumer goods. In foreign affairs he was bold and unpredictable, making quick turnabouts that put other nations at a disadvantage. While talking peace, he made no concessions except when he was forced to withdraw missiles from Cuba in 1962 and when he agreed to the nuclear test ban treaty of 1963. In the early 1960s Khrushchev's de-Stalinization policy caused a rift with China that split the Communist world into two opposing camps.

Khrushchev set bold new economic goals for "overtaking the West" and the United States in particular. In 1954, under his supervision, vast new virgin lands were opened to cultivation, and the result was a dramatic increase in food production. Two outstanding harvests (1956, 1958) enabled him to push ahead with rapid industrial development, especially in the production of consumer goods. He also introduced a series of important administrative reforms. In 1957 he set up a new system of regional economic councils and invited debate and discussion on various economic, educational, and legal reforms. He also relaxed censorship somewhat, allowing some dissident intellectuals, like Aleksandr SOLZHENITSYN, to publish previously suppressed works. In 1962 he attempted to reorganize the entire party apparatus on the basis of the "production principle," dividing local committees into separate agricultural and industrial sections. Problems soon developed, however. The good harvest years were followed by bad ones, his administrative changes led to much confusion, and his policy of more open discussion provoked new opposition. Dissidence grew along with popular frustration, as expectations outstripped accomplishments.

In 1964 Khrushchev was removed from office. During his remaining years, he lived quietly. He died in a Moscow hospital on Sept. 11, 1971, following a heart attack.

THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the most important conflicts of the Cold War. The United States and the Soviet Union came close to starting the third world war in October, 1962. The reason was the presence of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba.

For a long time, the Soviets thought that they were years a head of the US in terms of intercontinental missiles. After all, they had put 'Sputnik' into orbit, well before the US had dreamt of such an act. Most of the Soviet organizations did not believe that there was a necessity to build more intercontinental missiles (i.e., they started to believe in their own propaganda). This laxity made it harder for the Soviets to understand and deal with the fact that they had been surpassed. As it was not possible to build more intercontinental missiles (economic reasons), a group within the newly created Strategic Rocket Forces proposed the using of Cuba as a missile site. Such a move was also backed by the Soviet premier Nikita S. Khrushchev who believed that the future of wars would involve strategic nuclear rockets. The Soviets, thus, decided to place medium- (MRBM) and intermediate-range ballistic (IRBM) missiles in Cuba (as well as other weapons). Forty-two MRBMs (300-1200 miles) and twenty-four IRBMs (1200-3500 miles) were sent to Cuba. Some 22,000 Soviet soldiers and technicians escorted these missiles to Cuba. The Soviets started the shipments in early 1962.

MaximumRange of Cuban Missiles .... SS-4 & SS-5

It was only on October 14, 1962 that the US discovered the presence of a ballistic missile on a launching site. On October 22, 1962 president Kennedy declared that the island of Cuba was under naval quarantine. It had not been easy to make this choice. The other choices had been surgical air strike and doing nothing. Surgical air strike had been ruled out because the US Air Force did not believe that it could guarantee success. Doing nothing was also dismissed as it would not go 'well' with US credibility (and there was no guarantee that the Soviets would not introduce more missiles to Cuba). Kennedy also announced that the US forces would confiscate "offensive weapons and associated material" entering the quarantined zone.

TIMELINE

Monday, October 15

A U-2 reconnaissance aircraft reveals several SS-4 nuclear missiles in Cuba.

Tuesday, October 16

Crisis begins President Kennedy convenes his Executive Committee to consider America's options.

Wednesday, October 17

President Kennedy meets with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrie Gromyko and advises him that America will not tolerate Soviet missiles in Cuba. Gromyko denies the presence of any Soviet weaponry in Cuba.

Thursday, October 18 & 20

The United States conducts a 1.59 Megaton yield Hydrogen bomb test.

Monday, October 22

President Kennedy addresses the American public and announces his plan to implement a naval blockade of Cuba. U.S. military alert is set at DEFCON 3 and Castro mobilizes all of Cuba's military forces.

High Altitude Russian Nuclear Test at Kapustin Yar Hydrogen Bomb on Rocket. Yield Approx. 300 Kilotons

Tuesday, October 23

Reconnaissance photos reveal that Soviet missiles are ready for launch.

McNamara, Kennedy review and discuss options of confrontation.

Wednesday, October 24

Soviet ships reach the quarantine line, but receive radio orders from Moscow to hold their positions.

Consideration of civil defense options and planning for possible Soviet responses in Berlin.

JFK concludes that if we invade in the next ten days, the missile base crews in Cuba will likely fire at least some of the missiles at US targets.

Detailed briefing on new reconnaissance photos from Cuba and discussion of the need to disperse planes at Florida bases in the event of attacks by MIGs based in Cuba.

McNamara talks of a very dangerous situation since ships approaching the quarantine line are being shadowed by a Soviet submarine.

Thursday, October 25

U.S. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson confronts the Soviets at the U.N. but they refuse to answer.
American military forces are instructed to set DEFCON 2 - the highest ever in U.S. history.

Friday, October 26

Khrushchev stating that the Soviets would remove their missiles if President Kennedy publicly guarantees the U.S. will not invade Cuba.

The CIA reports that the construction of the missile sites is continuing and accelerating. RFK meets secretly with Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin and agrees after a phone call to the president that the removal of US missiles from Turkey is negotiable as part of a comprehensive settlement.

Khrushchev receives a cable from Castro urging a nuclear first strike against the US in the event of an invasion of Cuba.

The United States conducts another IRBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) test in the Pacific.

Saturday, October 27

While one U-2 spy plane accidentally flies into Russia, another is shot down over Cuba. EX-COMM receives a second letter from Khrushchev stating that, in addition to a public promise not to invade Cuba, the U.S. remove its missiles from Turkey.

A U.S. B-52 Hydrogen bomb test is conducted in the Pacific.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28

The crisis is over. In a speech aired on Radio Moscow,Khrushchev announces the dismantling of Soviet missiles in Cuba and does not insist on his demands concerning the removal of U.S. missiles from Turkey.

High Altitude Russian Nuclear Test conducted at Kapustin Yar. Hydrogen Bomb on Rocket. Yield approx. 300 Kilotons.

Monday, October 29

JFK orders US ships to remain on the quarantine line and authorizes continuation of low-level reconnaissance flights.

Wednesday, November 21

Just over a month after the crisis began, JFK terminates the quarantine when Khrushchev agrees after several weeks of tense negotiations at the UN to withdraw Soviet IL-28 nuclear bombers from Cuba.

Many reasons have been given for why the Soviets decided to place the missiles on the island in the first place.. The more plausible ones are defending Cuba and missile balance. Missile power parity seems to be the real reason. A tiny section of the Soviet Armed Forces noticed that the US had surpassed them in terms of intercontinental missiles. They wanted to reach, at least, parity and had the firm backing of Khrushchev. As there was not enough resources (nor the support of the entire military institution) to build more intercontinental missiles, they decided to use the IRBMs and MRBMs. These missiles had a smaller range but using Cuba as a 'launcher' would have solved this problem. Also, they were much cheaper. Other possible reasons (such as cold war politics, i.e., credibility; bargaining barter, i.e., missiles in Turkey for those in Cuba; and a 'diversionary step,' i.e., get Berlin while Americans are involved in Cuba) have too many problems associated with them.

RESULTS: At the end of this 'adventure' nobody was happy: Fidel Castro was angry at the way the Soviets had retreated. One of the main reasons why Khrushchev fell from power in October 1964 is this crisis. The Soviets also realized that it was going to be hard to achieve parity with the US. Yet, the Soviet government did begin an extensive military expansion which was quite successful but the costs of the military expenditures meant that the Soviet economy was being crippled for good. The US understood that the Soviet danger was much closer to home, i.e. not some 'distant land.' The missiles were removed from Turkey but they became a side issue as the Soviets on October 28 had announced that they would withdraw their missiles based in Cuba without making any references to those in Turkey.

From the point of preventing a recurrence of such a conflict between the Soviets and the Americans, a hotline communications systems was established between the two capitals. This system was to enable faster and more direct exchange of messages in times of crisis. The next year, 1963, saw the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty being concluded between the two countries. It would not be farfetched to say that coming so close to a nuclear war during the Cuban crisis pushed the USSR and the US to conclude such a deal.

LeonidBREZHNEV, (1906-82).

Leonid Ilich Brezhnev was born on Dec. 19, 1906, in Kamenskoye (now Dneprodzerzhinsk) in the Ukraine. In 1923 he joined Komsomol, the Communist youth organization. His political career began when he joined the Communist party in 1931. A graduate of the Dneprodzerzhinsk Metallurgical Institute in 1935, he worked as an engineer and director of a technical school. He also held a number of local party posts. By 1939 he was the secretary of the regional party committee of Dnepropetrovsk.

He was a member Soviet army during World War II involved in making sure that the soldiers were GOOD communists and loyal to the Communist Party. Brezhnev rose to the rank of major general. After the war he became first secretary of the Central Committee of the Moldavian Communist party. Brezhnev was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union in 1950, and he became a member of the Central Committee of the Soviet Union's Communist party in 1952. Under Nikita Khrushchev, whose protege he became, Brezhnev took over the "virgin lands" project to develop Kazakhstan as an agricultural heartland. By 1960, as chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, he became titular head of the Soviet state.

Brezhnev became Khrushchev's assistant as second secretary of the Central Committee in July 1964. Shortly thereafter, however, he joined the coalition forcing Khrushchev out of power on Oct. 15, 1964, and he succeeded Khrushchev as head of the party's Central Committee. After a period of collective leadership with Premier Aleksei Kosygin and with Nikolai Podgorny, chairman of the Presidium, Brezhnev became the Soviet Union's general secretary in 1966.

In May 1976 Brezhnev became a marshal of the Soviet Union; except for Stalin, he was the only Communist party chairman also to hold the highest Soviet military rank. A year later he became chairman of the Supreme Soviet, the first leader to head both the Presidium and the Communist party. In 1979 Brezhnev received the Lenin prize for literature (later recalled). He died in Moscow on Nov. 10, l982.

Less than six years after the death of Leonid Brezhnev, his 18-year reign as Soviet leader was officially denounced as the era of stagnation. In the liberated atmosphere of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring), he was blamed for the shocking decline of the Soviet economy and for the rampant cronyism (nepotism) that had bloated the Communist party. At the annual party congress in mid-1988 Mikhail Gorbachev, who was the third of the former chairman's successors as general secretary, criticized the inflated cult of Brezhnev the great fighter for peace, the great Leninist, the great theorist, the hero of Soviet culture.