a Khrushchev. Khrushchev declared that the Cold War had to end, and be replaced by peaceful co-existence , and in 1956 he shocked the world by declaring that he wanted to destalinise the communist bloc, because Stalin had been a murderer and a tyrant.these two men, people hoped, could bring in a period of peace? In fact, the Cold War got worse. Khrushchev was still an ardent communist, and by peaceful co-existence it soon became clear that he meant peaceful competition . Khrushchev visited countries like Afghanistan and Burma and gave them economic aid if they supported Russia, and in 1955 he set up the Warsaw Pact (a military alliance of Communist countries) to rival NATO. Russia began an arms race (in 1953, Russia developed the hydrogen bomb) and a space race with America (in 1957 Russia launched Sputnik, the first satellite, and in 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first astronaut to orbit the earth). too were becoming more aggressive . Ameri ca joined the arms race with Russia - in 1955, NATO set up a West German Army of ВЅ million men (this led to the formation of the Warsaw Pact). The Americans used U2 planes to spy on Russia. Inside America, Senator McCarthy led a witch-hunt for Communists (eg Charlie Chaplin was accused of being a Communist). and Khrushchevand Hungary, 1956worsened the Cold War in another way, too. By criticising Stalin, he destabilised the Soviet-bloc governments Stalin had set up in eastern Europe. There were riots in Poland in 1956, and Khrushchev had to send in Russian troops to help the Polish government put them down.was to follow in Hungary. There, in October 1956, students rioted and smashed statues of Stalin, and Imre Nagy became Prime Minister. From 29 October to 3 November 1956, the new government brought in democracy, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. The Hungarians were encouraged by words of support from America. Finally, Nagy announced that Hungary was going to leave the Warsaw Pact. Khrushchev may have believed in peaceful co-existence, but he was not prepared to allow freedom to the Soviet bloc countries. At dawn on 4 November 1956, 1000 Russian tanks rolled into Budapest and re-established Soviet rule. At the time, it was thought that the Russian had killed 30,000 Hungarians, though it seems that a figure of 4000 is nearer the truth. Nevertheless, western Europe was horrified, and western leaders became even more determined to...
