Students all around campus gathered to watch this famous son of former Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev speak about Russian-U.S. relations. Born in 1935, Sergei grew up during the tensions between Russia and the United Stated, often witnessing the effects of these pressures firsthand and through his father. During his speech, which was held in the Student Center Ballroom on April 4, Khrushchev recapped the events of the Cold War, emphasizing the importance of disintegrating blame concerning the situation. Instead, he offered the suggestion that the events of the Cold War, WWII, and any further conflict between our two countries resulted as a direct outcome of
confrontation. This word, along with its connotations and meanings, circulated through much of Khrushchev's presentation. At one point, the speaker compared the U.S. and Soviet Russia to two children, proud and unable to back down from an argument. In this way, he attempted to explain the escalating uncertainties felt by both countries, the fear emulated from lack of communication, and the blame placed by parties unwilling to blame themselves.
As much as he spoke about the relations between our country and his, Khrushchev spoke most about how these relations evolved over time. From the Churchill/ Nixon/ Stalin tensions to the meetings between John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev to determine decisions about nuclear warfare, Sergei Khrushchev observed the professionalism displayed by both sides, but also commented on the lack or regard for the commonwealth in many cases. This problem, he stated, was solved by the meeting between his father and JFK, in which nuclear capabilities were discussed. Although the U.S. housed hundreds of nuclear weapons, compared to the Soviet Unions six, neither side was willing to risk the casualties to their own sides that would result from both sides' deployment, proving respectable leaders, avoiding nuclear war, and reaching a common ground.
Perhaps one of the most eye-opening topics of the night proved to be the introduction to the Soviet side of things. While, in history books and lectures, we are taught the fear and anger instilled in every American, Sergei Khrushchev reflected these concepts into the emotions he and his fellow Russians also felt at the time. A huge worry, he stated, arose from the inability of the Soviet Union to be recognized by other states. The ambitions and political stances of the S.U. were disregarded to the point that the Soviet Union felt it necessary to challenge America; however, America's obvious nuclear superiority caused fear in the hearts of all Russians, mirroring that fear that arose in Americans during the same time.
Overall, Khrushchev's speech helped to unite the ideas, ambitions, and directions felt and taken by the United States and the Soviet Union beyond the events of the Cold War. Now, he argues, it is up to our future to reunite the countries themselves. We must not plan only for what we know, he says, but also for what we do not. We need each other, but we have our own interests. We must find the balance- the common ground.
Khrushchev referred to his 2006 book,
Nikita Khrushchev and the Creation of a Superpower, an account of his father's ambitions and memories during the late 1940's and beyond.
