ABSTRACT
The Cold War enemy was changing, but not, unfortunately, in a way that made life simpler for the democracies. The Soviets instituted reforms that may have averted a looming catastrophe, and while not saving them in the long run, made them a more formidable enemy for a time. Much of this was due to Nikita Khrushchev, the most unusual and most colorful of Soviet rulers. The victor, Khrushchev, was, rarely for a Communist leader, of working-class origin. From 1949 Khrushchev was the Moscow region Party Secretary and was also in charge of agriculture. Khrushchev's fundamental attitudes and those of most if not all of the Soviet leaders, had not changed a bit. His basic approach to foreign policy was unpromising. When Stalin died, the Soviets had few nuclear weapons and no assured, effective way to deliver them to North America. Their missile development program developed in a simpler way than the Americans', without the inter service clashes.
