Nikita Khrushchev

Who was Nikita Khrushchev?

Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev was a Russian journalist whose grandfather and namesake, Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev, held the top leadership post of First Secretary of the Soviet Union's Communist Party from 1953 to 1964.

Five years after his birth in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, young Nikita's privileged position was drastically diminished as his grandfather was removed from power on October 14, 1964 and died in retirement seven years later. During the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, Nikita Khrushchev embarked upon a career as a journalist.

He succumbed to a stroke, aged 47. He was unmarried and had no children. He had complained back in 1999 that his career was badly damaged by his father's naturalization as a citizen of the United States. "My experience during the last few days has shown that there are people in Russia for whom the Cold War is still going on", he said at the time.