15 Khrushchev's Foreign Policy

What shaped Khrushchev’s foreign policy approach?

Ideal foreign policy was a Marxist-Leninist view of international relations

BUT also shaped by his personality and cultural outlook

What was the USSR’s role in Chinese development between 1953-56?

Built over 200 factories worth $2 billion despite rebuilding its own economy

Why did the Sino-Soviet relations deteriorate under Khrushchev?

Soviet attitude alienated Mao as Khrushchev did not consult him on key issues such as de-Stalinisation and the 1956 Eastern European crises

How did Khrushchev respond to the 1956 Polish Crisis?

Allowed limited reforms and avoided military intervention, supporting a ‘Polish road to socialism’

Eventually Soviet leadership conceded militarily, and Khrushchev let Poland go

What was the context of the Hungarian Uprising in 1956? (domestic and international)

Conservative government collapsed under de-Stalinisaton

Radical reformist leader Imgre Nagy withdrew from the Warsaw Pact and enacted democratic reforms

Suez Crisis led to major change in international balance

When and what was the Suez Crisis, and how did it affect the international balance? (event, consequences)

1956

Triggered by Egypt nationalising Suez Canal, promoting military intervention by Britain, France and Israel

US and USSR opposed invasion, forcing Western withdrawal marking decline in British and French global influence and shfit towards a bipolar US-USSR dominated world order

How did the Suez Crisis affect foreign policy under Khrushchev? (three factors)

USSR used the crises to assert itself as a superpower

Justify Hungary intervention by diverting global attention

Emboldened Khrushchev to take a more aggressive stance in Cold War diplomacy esp in Eastern Europe

Why did the USSR invade Hungary in 1956? (immediate, underlying factors)

Imre Nagy’s rise to power undermined the previous Soviet puppet government

Soviets needed a display of power among the Suez Crisis, US attention was diverted to Suez Canal

What are the reasons Imre Nagy claims for the Hungarian Uprising in his Radio Address announcing the new government in October 1956?

Denies uprising is counter-revolutionary, not trying to restore capitalism

Asserts nationalist intentions

Low living standards and increasing nationalism were also underlying factors

Acknowledges how criminal elements and counter-revolutionaries have taken advantage of the chaos

What were the consequences of the Hungarian uprising in 1956? (four factors)

Full-scale fighting in Budapest

20,000 Hungarians killed

Imre Nagy imprisoned then executed

Sparked protests within the USSR

What does Janos Kadar claim in his Appeal to the Hungarian People in Nov 1956? (who he is, his claims)

Leader who replaced Nagy after Hungarian Revolution

Seen as a Soviet puppet

Claim the revolution had noble aims

Dissimilar to Nagy's claims, it was counter-revolutionary as it was hijacked by reactionary and fascist elements aiming to destroy socialism

Justifying Soviet intervention

What was the context of November 30th 1956? (event, implications)

Nov 30th 1956 - Students at Moscow State University posed a question after a Marxist-Leninist lecture:

How could a general strike occur (as part of wider Hungarian uprising) in a Soviet System that presented itself as free from class conflict?

Professor unable to answer - exposed the inability of Soviet ideology to address real political crises and contradictions within the socialist system

Revealed gap between theory and reality

What was significant about Nov 30th 1956, for students? (primary source, factors, concequences)

Described as ‘memorable’ or even ‘historic’ day for Russian students (Anonymous student report, Jan 1957)

Sparked debate among students, who began critically engaging with Soviet ideology, criticising some aspects

Students expelled for hooliganism and Marxist-Leninist lectures suspended

Similar debates occurred at other universities - reflective of increasing ideological confusion and unrest

How did the Soviet satellite states (Eastern bloc) react to the uprising? (reponse, implication)

Aligned with the Soviet stance by either condemning the uprising or remaining publicly silent

Dissatisfaction within Soviet rule existed across Eastern but fear of violent repression was powerful deterrent

What was the Western reaction to the uprising? (three factors incl primary source)

The failure of the Hungarian uprising was proof to the West that Eastern Europe was firmly within the Soviet sphere of influence

Showed sympathy and diplomatic condemnation but no military action, fearing broader conflict

West Germany's foreign minister discouraged other Eastern European states from taking ‘dramatic action’ to prevent ‘disastrous consequences’

Why was East Germany a concern for Khrushchev by the late 1950s? What did he accuse the US of during the Berlin Crisis (1958-61)? (two factors)

East Germany was economically lagging behind West Germany → losing skilled workers and professionals to the West

Accused US of violating Four Powers Agreement, which agreed to joint control of Berlin (located in East Germany) by integrating West Berlin with West Germany and militarising Western presence in Berlin

What was the Berlin Ultimatum in 1958, and what were its intentions and consequences?

Khrushchev gave 6 months to demilitarise West Berlin and make it a ‘free city’

Khrushchev used the ultimatum as leverage to initiate talks not as a genuine military threat

Led to a diplomatic deadlock between USSR and the West

What was the significance of the Camp David talks in 1959, and why did tension persist after the talks?

Khrushchev visited Eisenhower, gaining symbolic recognition of the USSR as a superpower and temporarily postponing the Berlin Crisis

Khrushchev had to balance détente with the US as well as pressures from East Germany communist to act decisively on Berlin

Why was the Berlin Wall built in 1961 and what was the symbolic impact?

Built by East Germany to stop the mass exodus from East to West

Reinforcing the division between capitalist and communist spheres

Visually represented the East-West divide but also revealed East Germany’s weakness as it could only keep people in through force

How did the US react to the Berlin Wall and how did this impression impact Khrushchev’s foreign policy?

Kennedy accepted its construction, which Khrushchev took as a sign of American weakness

This perceived weakness → overconfidence with his overreach in the Cuban Missile Crisis

What was the Cuban Missile Crisis 1962?

Cold War standoff between USSR and USa after Khrushchev placed nuclear missiled in Cuba near the US coast → international crisis

What were Khrushchev’s aims in Cuba? (missiles, personnel, goal)

Missiles placed in Cuba to protect Castro’s communist regime from suspected US invasion and counterbalance US missiles in Turkey; demonstrate power

40,000 Soviet personnel were also sent with submarines in Jul 1962

Sent to deter US attack on Cuba - no intentions for nuclear war

How did the US react to the Cuban Missile Crisis 1962?

Kennedy issued an ultimatum - placed US warships around Cuba creating a naval blockade

What was the outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis 1962, and why was it seen as a humiliation for the USSR?

Khrushchev backed down, publicly removed missiles and US secretly agreed to remove missiles in Turkey

Soviet missile withdrawal was public seen as a retreat and sign of weakness whilst the US concession was kept secret

What do historians debate about Khrushchev’s motives and what does the crisis reveal about his leadership?

Some argue it was to solve the German question (leverage in negotiations over Berlin) or challenge US dominance, but archives suggest the primary goal was to protect the Cuban revolution and support global communism

It revealed poor judgment and misunderstanding on nuclear brinkmanship, undermining Soviet prestige

What do Campbell Craig and Sergey Radchenko say impacted Khrushchev’s approach Cuban Missile Crisis 1962?

Once crisis Khrushchev’s top priority became avoiding nuclear war, offering concessions to Kennedy even if it meant eventual humiliation

What is nuclear brinkmanship?

Strategy of pushing a conflict to the edge of nuclear to pressure the opponent to concede

What was détente?

Détente policy referred to the easing of Cold War tensions and promoting peaceful coexistence between the Soviet Union and the West, esp the US

What significance did détente have in Khrushchev’s foreign policy?

Marked a shift from Stalinist confrontation to diplomacy, allowing Khrushchev to promote Soviet global legitimacy and reduce the risk of nuclear war, e.g. Camp David Summit 1959

BUT Berlin and Cuban Missile crises still revealed the policy’s limits

What was the significance of the Nuclear Arms Race on Khrushchev’s foreign policy approach with the West? (one event, key figure, implications)

1949 - first successful test of Soviet atomic bomb

Khrushchev saw a nuclear war as potential grounds for communist victory

Malenkov first to suggest in 1954 the fatality of nuclear war to humankind (later ousted for undermining Leninist foreign policy)

Fear of MAD (mutually assured destruction)

BUT Khrushchev later adopted his ideas, shifting towards a policy of détente by late 1955

What did Robert Jervis argue about nuclear deterrence?

Mutual vulnerability from nuclear weapons encouraged stability and peace

What did Kenneth Waltz argue about nuclear brinkmanship?

Leaders may escalate tensions but actual nuclear risk ultimately deters war