Khrushchev and the first Russian spring : the era of Khrushchev through the eyes of his advisor

The road to glastnost and perestroika began with Nikita Khrushchev. It was his 1956 "secret speech" to the Twentieth Party Congress that, for the first time, publicly acknowledged the horrors of Stalinism and sparked the dismantling of the stultifying Stalin regime. One of Khrushchev's closest advisors has now written the true story of his rule. 12 pages of halftones. "The road to glasnost and perestroika begins with Khrushchev. It was his "secret speech" to the Twentieth Party Congress in 1956 which for the first time publicly acknowledged the horrors of Stalinism and began the dismantling of the stultifying Stalin cult." "One of Khrushchev's closest advisers, Fedor Burlatsky, whose relationship with Khrushchev was similar to Ted Sorensen's with President Kennedy, has now written the true story of the Khrushchev years, as he saw them from the inside. Here are his personal recollections of Khrushchev, whom he accompanied on six visits abroad, of Andropov with whom he worked very closely, of Suslov, Kosygin, Shelepin and other figures of the time, of meetings with Tito, Kadar and Mao Tse-tung, and of advisers in the corridors of power in the Kremlin and the highest offices of the Soviet state. He vividly describes the dramatic struggle for and against reform, and provides a unique window onto Soviet Russia's past, present and future." "For twenty years Khrushchev's name was almost taboo and his achievement unrecorded. Burlatsky, writing as only an insider could, shows how the semi-literate peasant reached the pinnacle of power and paved the way for the new Soviet Union."--BOOK JACKET One of Khrushchev's closest advisors reveals the inside story of how the road to glasnost and perestroika began with Khrushchev's 1956 "secret speech" to the Twentieth Party Congress, which sparked the dismantling of Stalinism.