Communism

Cold War

Khrushchev, Nikita

Metal

Diameter: 4 in. (10.2 cm)

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza Collection

Nikita Khrushchev was Premier of the Soviet Union from 1958 to 1964 during the height of the Cold War. He came to power just as a period known as the "Red Scare" was ending in the United States. Through volatile political rhetoric, a number of government officials, particularly Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy, demonized Communists and used intimidation and gossip, though little evidence, to expose Communist and Communist sympathizers in the United States. The FBI also actively investigated alleged Communist inflitration in the United States. Anti-Communism and anti-Soviet sentiments were prevalent in American society throughout the 1950s and 1960s. - Stephen Fagin, Curator