Russian History - Khrushchev Thaw and Stagnation in USSR
In 1953 the death of Stalin put an end to the epoch of the cult of personality. Nikita Khrushchev was the country’s leader. The so-called Khrushchev Thaw made it possible to rehabilitate their well-known scientists and artists, the cultural life in the country was on the roll. In 1955 the first nuclear power station was put into operation, in 1957 the first Sputnik was launched, in 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first astronaut in the world. Khrushchev was followed by Leonid Brezhnev. That time is known as «Stagnation Epoch». Despite the economic reforms the country situation went worse.
