Who Was Khrushchev To Blame For The Cold War?
Following World War II, tensions rose between the Soviet Union and the Western Allies. These tensions soon lapsed into a Cold War. Nikita Khrushchev emerged as leader of the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War following Joseph Stalin's death in 1953. On occasion, the new leader threatened to make this cold war a hot one and was even close to instigating a nuclear war. Due to Khrushchev's unpredictable nature, he was responsible for escalating the Cold War.
In 1956, Khrushchev delivered a report to the Twentieth Party of Congress in which he stated, "The Leninist principle of peaceful coexistence of states with different social systems has always been and remains the general line of our country's foreign policy."1 Khrushchev appeared …show more content…
On May 1, the Soviets shot down an American U-2 spy plane as it was conducting an espionage mission over Russia and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers. Khrushchev had acquired the wreckage of the plane and planned to reveal this information in a speech to the Supreme Soviet. However, in his speech, Khrushchev decided not to reveal all the information he had obtained. He even presented photographs of wreckage of an airplane that was not the U-2 that had been shot down. Since Khrushchev had not provided any human evidence, President Eisenhower decided to claim the U-2 was not being used for espionage. This proved to be a mistake when, in a later speech, Khrushchev supplied the actual photos of the wreckage as well as photos of the pilot, Powers, alive. Following this, Eisenhower did take responsibility for the plane and admitted it was used for espionage. These events greatly angered Khrushchev who looked foolish for trusting Eisenhower. Khrushchev stated that Powers would be put on trial, and he threatened to attack the bases where the U-2 spy planes were stationed. Khrushchev's response angered Americans and worsened the animosity between the
In 1956, Khrushchev delivered a report to the Twentieth Party of Congress in which he stated, "The Leninist principle of peaceful coexistence of states with different social systems has always been and remains the general line of our country's foreign policy."1 Khrushchev appeared …show more content…
On May 1, the Soviets shot down an American U-2 spy plane as it was conducting an espionage mission over Russia and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers. Khrushchev had acquired the wreckage of the plane and planned to reveal this information in a speech to the Supreme Soviet. However, in his speech, Khrushchev decided not to reveal all the information he had obtained. He even presented photographs of wreckage of an airplane that was not the U-2 that had been shot down. Since Khrushchev had not provided any human evidence, President Eisenhower decided to claim the U-2 was not being used for espionage. This proved to be a mistake when, in a later speech, Khrushchev supplied the actual photos of the wreckage as well as photos of the pilot, Powers, alive. Following this, Eisenhower did take responsibility for the plane and admitted it was used for espionage. These events greatly angered Khrushchev who looked foolish for trusting Eisenhower. Khrushchev stated that Powers would be put on trial, and he threatened to attack the bases where the U-2 spy planes were stationed. Khrushchev's response angered Americans and worsened the animosity between the