Nikita Sergeyevich Khruschev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khruschev, (1894-1971). Russian statesman. Born into a Ukrainian peasant family, he joined the Communist party in 1918. He became a member of the Politburo (the party’s policy-making committee) in 1939 and was made first secretary of the party following Stalin’s death in 1953. Over the next few years he followed a policy of `destalinization’, launching an attack on the reputation of the dead leader and releasing many of his victims. In 1958 he became premier. Although he maintained peaceful relations with the West he caused a serious rift with China leading to his enforced resignation in 1964. Kierkegaard, Soren (1813-55). Danish religious philosopher. He studied theology and philosophy at Copenhagen and then spent several years in Berlin, where he wrote Either/Or (1843). Like most of his works, it was published under a pseudonym. Kierkegaard believed that the proof of God’s existence could be found in man’s personal relationship with Him, rather than in the Bible. Volumes such as The Concept of Dread (1844) have been regarded as the basis of modern existentialist philosophy.
