Khrushchev at the United Nations Claims, “We Will Bury You!”
The phrase "We will bury you!" is famously linked to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's dramatic outburst at the United Nations General Assembly on October 12, 1960. This incident occurred during a period of heightened tensions in the Cold War, characterized by ideological clashes between the communist Soviet Union and capitalist Western nations, particularly the United States. Khrushchev's statement, made while he pounded his shoe on the desk, encapsulated the belief in the inevitable triumph of communism over capitalism, reflecting a core tenet of Marxist ideology.
Despite his confrontational rhetoric, Khrushchev's tenure was marked by a complex approach toward international relations, including efforts to pursue diplomatic engagement with the West. His actions at the UN highlighted the volatility of Cold War politics, where moments of aggression coexisted with attempts at cooperation. Khrushchev's leadership ultimately ended following the Cuban Missile Crisis, a significant event that brought the world close to nuclear conflict, illustrating the precarious balance between rivalry and dialogue during this era. This incident remains a vivid example of the tensions that defined the Cold War epoch and the personalities involved.
Khrushchev at the United Nations Claims, “We Will Bury You!”
Khrushchev at the United Nations Claims, “We Will Bury You!”
One of the more entertaining events of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, which lasted from the late 1940s until 1991 when the Soviet state collapsed, took place on October 12, 1960. It was on that date that the mercurial Soviet leader Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev took the United Nations General Assembly by surprise when during a heated discussion he took off one of his shoes and started pounding it on his desk, shouting, “We will bury you!” before the stunned delegates. He was referring to the Marxist belief that communism would eventually and inevitably triumph over and succeed capitalism, leaving Western countries such as the United States in the “dustbin of history.” Khrushchev's relationship with the United States was often contradictory, since despite this incident he also worked toward peaceful relations with the West, and yet he would eventually be removed from office by the senior Soviet hierarchy after nearly causing a nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis.