Chapter 17 Summary

Khrushchev returns in mid-October to face an agricultural crisis. In August he had reported positively to the Presidium on Astrakhan harvests. In fact, Soviet agriculture is facing the worst year since Stalin's death. The Virgin Lands are particularly disappointing. Khrushchev has built considerable expectations and to energize agriculture, Khrushchev travels widely around the country, pouring out contempt on bumbling and corrupt functionaries. On March 31, 1961, Khrushchev proposes a 15-point program to revivify agriculture, which counts on miracles.

Khrushchev has nightmares about peace slipping through his hands over Berlin. He needs the West to recognize the East and to end the expense of propping up Ulbricht, who has grown more independent since the Paris debacle. Khrushchev counts on the new U.S. president. During the campaign, Khrushchev stays neutral, but is known to hate Nixon, a known quantity but also a McCarthyite cold warrior; he...