Sergei Khrushchev, son of former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and senior fellow and professor at the Watson Institute of International Studies at Brown University, spoke via video conference to an audience of nearly 80 students, faculty and community members at Monroe Hall yesterday.
Khrushchev began the event, titled "Dilemmas and Legacies of the Cold War: Interpreting Twenty Years since the Fall of the Soviet Union," by recounting the recent political and cultural history of Russia.
He traced the development of communism as far back as Jesus Christ as an ideology and its growth in Russia before noting, when "you're creating [a] free society where everybody will be equal," you must suppress the freedoms of those who wish to be more than equal. "So in reality you have to build the police state," Khrushchev said.
He continued to speak about "the transformation of the society" after World War II, referencing the Cold War as a "natural transition" and providing an insider's look into his father's and other politicians' motivations, policies and reform attempts. Khrushchev talked openly about his father's 1956 "Secret Speech," in which the elder Khrushchev denounced Stalin and his "cult of personality."
"We thought about Stalin like a god," Krushchev said. "We believed in him like in god. And then somebody come and say he was not a god; he was a criminal ... The people are thinking they are insulted."
This first-hand knowledge about the Cold War and other 20th-century political developments was the most valuable part of the discussion, second-year College student Francesca Licari said.\n"He has an interesting insider perspective," Licari said. "Although it seemed to be more of a history discussion, it was interesting to hear his thoughts on the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is what I really wanted to hear about."
Khrushchev, a former missile engineer, went into further detail about his father's nuclear policy, which led to his eventual ousting as premier. "My father told me if we tried to compete with the United States as a military we would lose," Khrushchev said, adding that building a supply of missiles large enough to destroy American infrastructure would allow for reductions in military personnel. "Once [my father] started this reduction of the military ... all the generals were dissatisfied ... everybody was dissatisfied."
Khrushchev then referenced the Soviet Union's eventual collapse.
"The Soviet Union died from the natural causes," he said.
Turning to current events, Khrushchev said he believes Russia's future, while unclear, is likely not encouraging.
"Unfortunately, I am not very optimistic," Khrushchev said. "Russia is not a divided society. People are supporting one leader, thinking he will bring them prosperity."
-Katie Wampler contributed to this article.
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