Word: khrushchevism
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...stakes, of course, were far too high for so far-fetched a motive. Many Communists apparently do not believe the story themselves. "The Soviets here are depressed and quite sensitive," reports a U.S. newsman from Bonn. "When they tell you that Khrushchev withdrew because the U.S. guaranteed the continued existence of Castro, they look quickly at your eyes to see if you buy that one. They really prefer not to talk about...
...Unhappy Birthday. Khrushchev's real reasons were undoubtedly rooted in the severe problems Russia faces. With customary fanfare this week, Moscow celebrates the 45th anniversary of the Communist revolution. It is not a happy anniversary. In nearly half a century the country has made tremendous strides, to become one of the world's great industrial powers, but the life of the ordinary Russian is still drab and cramped. He dreams of material progress that is an everyday fact in the West, and it sometimes seems to him that it is easier for his country to orbit a cosmonaut...
...Aspect. The haste with which Khrushchev grasped the opportunity and mounted his Cuban missile program tends to confirm the Washington theory that he hoped to have the weapons ready for some fancy nuclear blackmail with the U.S. this fall. At an estimated cost of $1 billion, the missiles were relatively inexpensive, but once they were in place, Moscow might at last sign the long-threatened peace treaty with East Germany and order the West out of Berlin. Considered now, in the light of its failure, the plan suggests a certain Dr. No aspect of the mad scientist threatening to blow...
...Khrushchev must have considered the possibility of getting caught while the missiles were being installed, but apparently thought it worth the gamble. He evidently banked on U.S. acquiescence or, at least, confusion and hesitation. This was the major miscalculation. Only seven weeks ago he had boasted to Austria's Vice Chancellor, then visiting Moscow, that Russia would ignore any possible U.S. blockade of Cuba. But once he realized the possible cost of doing so, he acted with breathtaking speed...
...Khrushchev was obviously afraid that if he hesitated the U.S. would invade Cuba or destroy the bases; a backdown after such action would be far more humiliating than a retreat before. For years to come, political scientists will be studying and restudying the rapid exchange of messages between the Kremlin and the White House, as Khrushchev tried to forestall U.S. action and salvage what he could...