Do you know somebody who was alive during the Cuban Missile Crisis? Do they remember how it felt thinking that the world may end in a literal flash? At least one could duck and cover their way into a false sense of safety. In this 8th episode of our Russia series, we are going to wrap up the early years of the KGB and explore some of the cold war tension in Berlin; uprising in Hungary, KGB activities in the US Civil Rights Movement, and the first visit of a Russian leader to the US. Khrushchev toured across the United States, met real Americans, and we missed a golden opportunity for photos of Khrushchev in Mickey Mouse ears.
What were Khrushchev’s limits when it came to liberalizing the Soviet Union?
How did the US and USSR back away from the brink of nuclear war?
Why was Khruschev not allowed at Disneyland?
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Sources:
The Russian Secret Police by Ronald Hingley
Nikita Khrushchev – The Man Behind the Missile Crisis. Biographics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjGLD8bx7Qo&ab_channel=Biographics
Nikita Khrushchev. Spartacus Educational. https://spartacus-educational.com/RUSkhrushchev.htm
Taubman, William (2003), Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, W.W. Norton & Co., ISBN 978-0-393-32484-6
Khrushchev, Nikita (2004), Khrushchev, Sergei (ed.), Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev, Volume 1: Commissar, The Pennsylvania State University Press, ISBN 978-0-271-02332-8
Khrushchev, Nikita (2006), Khrushchev, Sergei (ed.), Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev, Volume 2: Reformer, The Pennsylvania State University Press, ISBN 978-0-271-02861-3
Khrushchev, Nikita (2007), Khrushchev, Sergei (ed.), Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev, Volume 3: Statesman, The Pennsylvania State University Press, ISBN 978-0-271-02935-1
The Structure of KGB - Cold War DOCUMENTARY. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeZZYRaGUXQ&t=471s&ab_channel=TheColdWar
1963 Fletcher Markle Interviews Walt Disney. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nMrLcmBCuI&ab_channel=onstageDisney
How KGB spies were trained | Jack Barsky and Lex Fridman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4oRBsGW_Tc&ab_channel=LexClips
Why People Betray Their Countries, According to an Israeli Expert. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2020-09-20/ty-article-magazine/.premium/why-whistleblowers-betray-their-countries-according-to-an-israeli-expert/0000017f-dc31-df62-a9ff-dcf752540000
Secrets Of War, The Cold War 05 Inside The KGB. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypuuxrxcVek&ab_channel=AnotherTv
KGB Assassinations. Spyscape. https://spyscape.com/article/the-13th-directorate-the-kgbs-top-secret-1960s-assassination-unit
Communist Control Techniques. An Analysis of the Methods Used by Communist State Police in the Arrest, Interrogation, and Indoctrination of Persons Regarded as “Enemies of the State.” National Security Archive. April 1956.
Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. https://okupacijasmuzejs.lv/en
The World Was Going Our Way: The KGB and the Battle for the Third World - Newly Revealed Secrets from the Mitrokhin Archive. Christopher Andrew. 2005.
Information about the Cooperation between the KGB of the USSR and the MfS of the DPR
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