Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev was the most controversial politician in the Soviet Union. His political activities under Stalin did not differ in their cruelty from the activities of the leader he adored. However, Khrushchev's actions after the death of the leader and the debunking of his cult were accepted by society in two ways.
All his life Khrushchev fought against Stalinism with his own methods, removed the "iron" curtain and criticized what he saw. A bright political career turned into seven years of imprisonment. Even Khrushchev's grave is not in the Kremlin wall, like all iconic political leaders, but at the Novodevichy Cemetery.
Khrushchev's biography
Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev was born into a poor peasant family. From childhood, he worked, first as a simple miner in the Donbass, then as a mechanic, and later as a deputy director of a plant. His ability to work, love of life and active life position did not go unnoticed.
He came to power rather late, at the age of 35 he went to study at the Industrial Academy in Moscow. An ambitious simple man liked the leader of the peoples, friendship with Stalin's wife, Nadezhda, became a kind ofpolitical lift for him. Khrushchev was a loyal communist, with unconditional determination he went for everything that Stalin's policy offered in those years.
In the role of a simple Soviet hard worker, he unexpectedly turned out to be very close to unlimited power. After Stalin's death, he also unexpectedly became the new leader of the Land of Soviets. Stupid Khrushchev turned out to be a strong political opponent, a bold manipulator and a cunning politician.
Contradictory personality
The policy of the new party chairman was controversial. He tried to build communism, but not by communist methods. He released the repressed, but continued to arrest the innocent. He fought for agriculture, planting corn in places unsuitable for cultivation. He tried to provide the entire population with apartments by starting a large-scale construction project, but did not calculate the financial costs for the quality of these apartments. He got involved in the fight with America, recognizing its strength. He built the "Berlin Wall", and in politics he tore down the walls between Russia and the West. He despised the capitalists and sought to give his people the opportunity to live like them. He was evil and merciful, a jester and a cunning manipulator. No one took him seriously, but he took and became the unlimited leader of a huge country for 11 years.
Tombstone over the grave of N. S. Khrushchev very accurately expresses this contradictory nature of its owner.
Funeral
Khrushchev's death, like his life after the reign, was shrouded in mystery. He died on September 11, 1971 in the Kuntsevo hospital. Two days later hissecretly buried at the Novodevichy cemetery. Khrushchev's grave will be surrounded by soldiers who won't let anyone "extra" in to say goodbye to the former leader. No official will be at the funeral, only relatives and close friends. There will also be no rally in Moscow, which was previously awarded to all Soviet and party leaders. A small obituary in the newspaper, without a photo and extra words, without the signatures of members of the Politburo, few will notice.
Khrushchev's Grave
The former leader of the Soviet Union was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery by order of Brezhnev. The organization of the funeral was undertaken by a special commission in the Kremlin. Despite the fact that they tried not to advertise the death and funeral of the former Secretary General, and the cemetery was cordoned off by soldiers, there were many who wanted to get to the event.
Khrushchev's grave was desecrated more than once. There were many opponents of his political decisions. After the cemetery was closed. Then, former victims of Stalinist repressions, whom he released as soon as he received a high post, carried flowers to Khrushchev's grave. He will never be forgotten by his many relatives. Nikita Sergeevich has four children left.
Khrushchev's grave (photo below) is located on site 7, on the right side at the entrance to the newest part. Today everyone can come and pay tribute to the controversial leader.
Monument to E. Unknown
The monument on Khrushchev's grave was erected only in 1975. Although the sketch of the memorial, at the request of Khrushchev's son Sergei, was made by the Soviet sculptor Ernst Neizvestny significantlybefore. The authorities did not allow it to be installed. And only after numerous requests and calls to high-ranking officials, relatives finally managed to get permission to build it.
The monument itself is made of two irregularly shaped marble slabs. Slabs of white and black marble on Khrushchev's grave stand opposite each other. They personify the black Stalinist time and the bright future of the Khrushchev thaw. But the composition can also be considered as two sides of the contradictory personality of Nikita Sergeevich. In the center, the good-natured bronze head of Khrushchev is looking at us.
Next to Khrushchev's grave is also the grave of his son, Leonid Khrushchev, who died during the Great Patriotic War.
Conclusion
Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev lived a long and generally happy life. He went through a difficult political path and saw life from different angles. Growing up in poverty and having tasted all the fruits of unlimited power, he remained true to his ideals and always tried to help a simple Russian peasant. Experiencing the black Stalin era, he believed that he could create a bright communist future, where all people would be fed, there would always be plenty of food on the table, and each family would have its own home.
Monument on the grave of N. S. Khrushchev fully reflects these two sides of the controversial leader. E. Neizvestny, like no one else, managed to discern in the violent opponent of the modern avant-garde a real innovator of bold ideas. Once to smithereens who destroyed the exhibition of E. Unknown, Khrushchev did not even imagine that he would be able to capture his ambiguous offender in marble and bronze forever.
