Nikita Kruschev 1963
Moscow1
USSR
December 1963
Snovim Godom Tavarich
Unfortunately, I began this year in low spirits as the events in Cuba last autumn were still causing some in the corridors of the Kremlin to say that I had lost my touch. My reforms of the party and agriculture probably also gave them cause for concern. To improve my mood I wrote a long letter to Fidel who agreed in turn to visit us in April, but more of that later.
I am still ambivalent about much of what is called “art” these days and, despite my approval for “One day in the life of Ivan Denisovitch”, I found myself getting into an argument and haranguing the so called intelligentsia again in March. What do they know of art from their position in the bottom of a toilet bowl?
Fidel arrived ten days after my 69th birthday on the twenty fifth of April and spent six weeks with us. As well as inspecting all kinds of military installations he was atop the mausoleum for the May Day parade. We decided to award him the “Hero of the Soviet Union” but Leonid pinned it on in the wrong place so I had to re do it myself – typical of things around here. Before he left I told him “If we were cowards why did we deploy missiles in Cuba?” and I think he left satisfied that we saved his small Island from a US invasion.
In June, around the tenth anniversary of arresting Beria, we had a family photograph taken, which I have enclosed. My daughter Rada and her husband Aleksei Adhzubei’s three boys are growing up so fast – they are the three in the centre and little Nikita Kruschev (Sergei and Galina’s son) is the one on the right.
Following President Kennedy’s speech in which he praised our people’s many achievements we suggested an arms control agreement, which was concluded in July. So no more air, underwater or space H-bomb tests, (I believe my work underground for the Vohzd building the Moscow metro maybe useful after all). I had hoped John would come himself but he sent Rusk who was not at all keen on a further non-aggression pact. Mao and his men were pretty pissed off about the agreement, as they obviously want nuclear weapons of their own. Deng Xiaoping and Kang Seng were particularly vindictive and to show my displeasure I told Nina Petrovna to take them off our New Year card list.
Also this summer I ordered some big increases in the use of fertilisers. I still recall my trip to Iowa in ‘ 59and Roswell Garst’s farm. How differently they use technology to improve yields. Unfortunately the drought in August and September decreased the harvest even further in the virgin lands- I fear I will have to get more involved in matters agrarian again.
September marked the tenth anniversary of being made first secretary and we celebrated at our place near the Lenin hills with Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Sergo Mikoyan and Mikhail Suslov. It is always good to have your friends around you on these occasions.
I had always liked Kennedy as he was a man one could do business with; also his rival for the next election Barry Goldwater was a reactionary troublemaker. You can imagine my horror when the recently installed hot line rang to inform me of his assassination on November 22nd. I admit I wept and wrote to Jackie to express my personal sorrow along with our official letter of condolence. Naturally we also quickly ascertained that Lee Harvey Oswald was not one of ours despite his three years in Russia.
The year ended with yet another interminable internal review of Sino-soviet relations. I told them “It is up to you to decide whether I stay in post or not” and received a ringing endorsement of my premiership and policies. I think I have a few more years in me to move towards our goal of true communism by the 1980’s
Best wishes for the New Year
Nikita Sergeivich Khrushchev
USSR
December 1963
Snovim Godom Tavarich
Unfortunately, I began this year in low spirits as the events in Cuba last autumn were still causing some in the corridors of the Kremlin to say that I had lost my touch. My reforms of the party and agriculture probably also gave them cause for concern. To improve my mood I wrote a long letter to Fidel who agreed in turn to visit us in April, but more of that later.
I am still ambivalent about much of what is called “art” these days and, despite my approval for “One day in the life of Ivan Denisovitch”, I found myself getting into an argument and haranguing the so called intelligentsia again in March. What do they know of art from their position in the bottom of a toilet bowl?
Fidel arrived ten days after my 69th birthday on the twenty fifth of April and spent six weeks with us. As well as inspecting all kinds of military installations he was atop the mausoleum for the May Day parade. We decided to award him the “Hero of the Soviet Union” but Leonid pinned it on in the wrong place so I had to re do it myself – typical of things around here. Before he left I told him “If we were cowards why did we deploy missiles in Cuba?” and I think he left satisfied that we saved his small Island from a US invasion.
In June, around the tenth anniversary of arresting Beria, we had a family photograph taken, which I have enclosed. My daughter Rada and her husband Aleksei Adhzubei’s three boys are growing up so fast – they are the three in the centre and little Nikita Kruschev (Sergei and Galina’s son) is the one on the right.
Following President Kennedy’s speech in which he praised our people’s many achievements we suggested an arms control agreement, which was concluded in July. So no more air, underwater or space H-bomb tests, (I believe my work underground for the Vohzd building the Moscow metro maybe useful after all). I had hoped John would come himself but he sent Rusk who was not at all keen on a further non-aggression pact. Mao and his men were pretty pissed off about the agreement, as they obviously want nuclear weapons of their own. Deng Xiaoping and Kang Seng were particularly vindictive and to show my displeasure I told Nina Petrovna to take them off our New Year card list.
Also this summer I ordered some big increases in the use of fertilisers. I still recall my trip to Iowa in ‘ 59and Roswell Garst’s farm. How differently they use technology to improve yields. Unfortunately the drought in August and September decreased the harvest even further in the virgin lands- I fear I will have to get more involved in matters agrarian again.
September marked the tenth anniversary of being made first secretary and we celebrated at our place near the Lenin hills with Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Sergo Mikoyan and Mikhail Suslov. It is always good to have your friends around you on these occasions.
I had always liked Kennedy as he was a man one could do business with; also his rival for the next election Barry Goldwater was a reactionary troublemaker. You can imagine my horror when the recently installed hot line rang to inform me of his assassination on November 22nd. I admit I wept and wrote to Jackie to express my personal sorrow along with our official letter of condolence. Naturally we also quickly ascertained that Lee Harvey Oswald was not one of ours despite his three years in Russia.
The year ended with yet another interminable internal review of Sino-soviet relations. I told them “It is up to you to decide whether I stay in post or not” and received a ringing endorsement of my premiership and policies. I think I have a few more years in me to move towards our goal of true communism by the 1980’s
Best wishes for the New Year
Nikita Sergeivich Khrushchev
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