Leader: Nikita Khrushchev
Geopolitical analyses and chronicles addressing the decisions, influence, and historical impact of Nikita Khrushchev.
Published Chronicles & Analyses
The Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989: The Collapse of the Iron Curtain
The historic scenes in November 1989 as citizens brought down the wall, marking the symbolic end of communist rule in Eastern Europe.
The Rise of Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985: Launching Glasnost and Perestroika
The election of the youngest General Secretary in Soviet history, his attempts to reform the rigid Soviet system, and the unexpected path to dissolution.
Nixon's Visit to China in 1972: The Birth of Triangular Diplomacy
How Richard Nixon's visit to Beijing shocked the world, isolated the Soviet Union, and laid the foundations for modern US-China relations.
The Sino-Soviet Border Conflict of 1969: Clashes on the Ussuri River
The peak of Sino-Soviet tensions: an armed border conflict on Zhenbao Island that almost led to a full-scale war between the two nuclear giants.
The Sino-Indian War of 1962: Clash on the Roof of the World
The brief but intense border conflict in the Himalayas that damaged relations between Asia's two giants and altered the balance of power.
The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962: Thirteen Days on the Brink of Apocalypse
How Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba brought the world to the edge of nuclear war and how secret diplomacy saved humanity.
The Belgrade Conference of 1961: Founding the Non-Aligned Movement
The historic summit in Belgrade where 25 nations offered an alternative to the bloc division of the world, creating the Non-Aligned Movement.
The Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961: The CIA's Cuban Debacle
The failed invasion of Cuba by US-backed exiles, which strengthened Castro's regime and pushed him directly into the Soviet sphere.
The Construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961: The Physical Division of Europe
The rising of the Berlin Wall to prevent East Germans from fleeing to the West and its role as the ultimate symbol of the Iron Curtain.
The Sino-Soviet Split: The Great Schism of the Communist World
How the two largest communist regimes in the world turned from close allies into bitter enemies and geopolitical rivals.
The Annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014: Redrawing European Borders
The appearance of 'little green men' in Crimea, the flash referendum, and the formal treaty absorbing the peninsula into the Russian Federation.
The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1958: Brinkmanship in East Asia
The PRC's artillery bombardment of Quemoy and Matsu islands and the nuclear threat that zaoštrila relations in East Asia.
Sputnik and the Dawn of the Space Race: Geopolitics Beyond Earth
How the launch of the first artificial satellite Sputnik-1 triggered a technological shock in America and started the Space Race.
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956: Soviet Tanks in Budapest
A popular uprising against Soviet control, the attempt to establish a multi-party democracy, and the brutal military response of the Red Army.
The Warsaw Pact of 1955: The Soviet Military Response to the West
The creation of the Eastern Bloc military alliance in response to the remilitarization of West Germany and its entry into NATO.
The First Chechen War 1994-1996: The Battle of Grozny and Russian Defeat
Yeltsin's decision to suppress Chechen independence by force, the disastrous losses in Grozny, and the humiliating Khasavyurt Accord.
The Death of Stalin and the Khrushchev Thaw in the Soviet Union
The end of Joseph Stalin's iron rule, the elimination of Beria, and the start of the de-Stalinization process under Nikita Khrushchev.
The Soviet-Yugoslav Split of 1948: How Tito Defied Stalin
An analysis of the biggest ideological and political earthquake in the communist world: how Yugoslavia said 'no' to Stalin and survived Soviet threats.