The biography of the wife of this odious secretary general of the Soviet Union in sources on historiography is not so detailed and informative, so Nina Kukharchuk is mentioned only in the context of the personal life of Nikita Sergeevich. And at the same time, Khrushchev’s wife is a rather colorful figure who for many years provided a reliable rear to the Secretary General of a great country, supporting him in all endeavors. How did she manage to turn from a simple girl into the first lady of the USSR? Let's consider this question in more detail.
Years of childhood and youth
Nina Petrovna Kukharchuk (wife of Khrushchev) - a native of a settlement called Vasilev, located in the Kholmsky province of Ukraine. She was born on April 14, 1900 in an ordinary peasant family. Nina had a younger sister, Maria, who later married the famous writer Mikhail Sholokhov, and two older brothers.
Khrushchev's future wife will graduate from the village school at the age of twelve. Teachers noted the girl’s diligence and interest in science, therefore, they recommended that parents move further in this direction, but already in the city. Soon, Nina was already a student at one of the Odessa schools.
In the midst of the Civil War, Kukharchuk is imbued with "left" ideas and replenishes the ranks of the RCP (b). In Odessa, she (Khrushchev's future wife) is developing active underground activities.
In the winter of 1920, Nina Petrovna became a member of the newly created Galician Bureau. Working here, she gets acquainted with famous Ukrainian figures: Osip Bushkovanny and Taras Franco.
Soon, Nina Petrovna was transferred to the Polish front, where, at the risk of her own life, she was conducting propaganda work among the military.
Fateful acquaintance
In 1922, the future wife of Nikita Khrushchev receives an appointment to Moscow and on the road (in the region of Donetsk Yuzovka) she feels a serious malaise. She gets typhoid. The well-known Bolshevik Serafima Gopner takes care of her.
It is she who introduces the girl to a young man named Khrushchev, who was sent to party work in the Donetsk region. In fairness, Nikita Sergeevich liked a pretty Ukrainian with a round face and a short haircut. Sympathy was mutual. Their fates were similar: they both wanted to serve wholeheartedly the ideas of the Communist Party. Nikita Sergeevich then really needed a close friend. Khrushchev's first wife died in 1920, and he was left alone with two children. Soon, young people began to live together.
Model Soviet family
In the early 1930s, Nikita Sergeevich and Nina Petrovna moved to live in the capital. While her husband devoted all his time to party work, she was engaged in household work and raising children. In marriage with Khrushchev, three offspring were born: daughter Rada (1928), son Sergei (1935) and daughter Elena (1937). But Nina Petrovna protected the children of her husband from his first wife and surrounded her with care. But in education she was strict and demanding. Despite the fact that she made the impression of a woman-keeper of the hearth, in reality, everyday issues were not her element.
She herself did not like to clean, wash, cook, in contrast, for example, to the wife of Leonid Brezhnev. All the “rough” work was done by the housekeepers, who were changed like gloves. Nina Petrovna, however, successfully performed the role of administrator, scrupulously monitoring the quality of cleaning, cooking and washing. And if some commission was not done, then the dismissal followed immediately.
At the same time, the wife of the Secretary General never boasted that Nikita Sergeevich occupies high leadership positions in the state administration apparatus. She herself did not enjoy a privileged position, preferring to get to work by public transport.
During the war
The Khrushchev family was seriously worried about the death of his son Nikita Sergeyevich from his first marriage - Leonid. Another son, Sergei, was ill with tuberculosis. Well, Nikita Sergeyevich himself fought on the battlefields, freeing his homeland from the Nazi invaders.
He repeatedly visited Kiev, meeting with passers-by and convincing them that victory was inevitable.
Post-war years
In the late 1940s, Khrushchev continued his political career and in the Stalin team did not occupy the last place.
At this time, Nina Petrovna is actively in contact with writers, poets, actors of Ukraine. She wants the culture of this region to be re-developed, and asks her husband to pay attention to this. Nikita Sergeevich, accustomed to making concessions to his wife, is contributing to this in every way. After some time, the Ukrainian Republic becomes a leading region in a number of criteria.
First lady of the country
After the death of the “leader of the peoples”, power in the country passed into the hands of Nikita Khrushchev. To correspond to the elite status of the wife of the Secretary General, Nina Petrovna increases her level of education and begins to study foreign languages. In her youth, she already spoke excellent Polish. Now she decided to master the English language, and she succeeded. As it turned out, knowledge of a foreign language helped Nina Petrovna on business trips abroad.
Overseas visit
Khrushchev was the first of the Soviet leaders who dared to go with his family to a capitalist country in order to establish foreign economic relations.
Many historians remember the famous meeting of Nikita Sergeevich and American President Kennedy. It took place at Schönbrunn Palace. And, of course, the wife of Khrushchev and Kennedy Jacqueline first met at this event.
Two opposites
The press then discussed and compared for a long time the wives of the first persons of the USSR and the USA. And there was a reason for this. The fact is that externally the spouses of the leaders of two world powers turned out to be complete opposites. Nina Petrovna arrived at the meeting in a simple outfit, in which millions of Soviet women went. She should soon be 60 years old, she did not recognize any cosmetics, and, given her stout figure, the Western press christened her "grandmother." And Jacqueline Kennedy, by contrast, was a real fashionista with sophisticated and refined manners. She carefully monitored her figure and face.
It seemed to the journalists that Khrushchev’s wife and Jacqueline were unlikely to find a common topic of conversation. But what was the amazement of the public when Nina Petrovna showed the guests knowledge of a foreign language.
And the American president was pleasantly surprised that the first lady of the Soviet state is well versed in economic matters. One way or another, but the lifestyle that Khrushchev's wife and Jacqueline Kennedy led was heaven and earth, so they could not become close friends.
Ideological assistant and associate
The era of Khrushchev historians is estimated ambiguously. But he was able to strengthen the vertical of state power, to make the country powerful and strong in terms of defense capability. One trinity “Rockets. Space. Gagarin ”turned the USSR into a superpower. And, of course, the merit in this is not only Nikita Sergeevich, but also his faithful companion Nina Petrovna. If the Secretary General did not listen to her opinion, it is not known whether the country could have achieved all of the above.
After Khrushchev left the big politics, it turned out that Nina Petrovna lived 40 years together with Nikita Sergeyevich in a civil marriage. Only in old age did they correct this mistake.
The wife of Khrushchev, whose biography, of course, is of great interest to historians, survived the Secretary General for 13 years. She took seriously the departure from the life of Nikita Sergeevich. Nina Petrovna shared with him all sorrows and joys, helping him in everything that depended on her. She did not need anything, receiving a pension that was quite good by Soviet standards - 200 rubles. In recent years, the wife of the Secretary General has lived at a state dacha in Zhukovka. The daughter of Rada worked in the editorial office of the print publication Science and Life, and her son Sergei worked at the research institute.
Nina Petrovna died on August 13, 1984. The funeral ceremony was modest. The wife of Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev was buried in the Novodevichy cemetery of the capital.