Khrushchev (1894-1971) was premier of the USSR between 1958 and 1964, and first secretary of the Communist party (1953-1964). John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) was the 35th president of the United States. Khrushchev and Kennedy met in Vienna in June 1961 but hopes of a rapprochement between the two powers were not realised. The following year Soviet missile bases were discovered in Cuba - a period of extreme tension ensued until the Soviets removed the installations. In 1963 a treaty prohibiting atmospheric nuclear testing was agreed. Kennedy was assassinated in November of that year, presumably by Lee Harvey Oswald, an American.
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