Former Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev passed away on September 11, 1971 at 77 years old. He was a brave leader and politician whose iconic ideas and policies helped shape the geopolitical structure of the 20th century. Khrushchev, born in 1894 in Kalinovka, Ukraine, was a skilled orator and revolutionary who trained in law and was appointed as head of the Communist Party in the Ukraine in 1938. He rose to power following the death of Russian leader Joseph Stalin in 1953 and served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union until 1964. Khrushchev's rule was characterized by political and social reforms. He denounced the policies of Stalinism, took steps to ease censorship, and advocated for peaceful co-existence between the Soviet Union and the West. Most notably, he established a thaw in Soviet-American relations under the leadership of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Khrushchev was a leader who fostered innovation and progress, and whose charisma and ideas remain influential today. He is survived by his two children, his grandchildren, and by Soviet citizens whose lives were touched by his leadership.