During which Cold War crisis did Khrushchev serve as the Soviet leader and authorize the erection of the Berlin Wall?

During which Cold War crisis did Khrushchev serve as the Soviet leader and authorize the erection of the Berlin Wall?

• A. The Suez Crisis
• B. The Yom Kippur War
• C. The Prague Spring
• D. The Cuban Missile Crisis

Answer: (D)

Khrushchev’s tenure in the Soviet Union saw several major Cold War confrontations, and his leadership shaped how the USSR responded to pressure from the United States. In 1961, he approved the construction of the Berlin Wall during the Berlin Crisis, a move meant to stop the mass exodus of East Germans to the West. A year later, in 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the superpowers to the brink of war over Soviet missiles in Cuba, a direct test of Khrushchev’s willingness to stand up to the United States. Among the options, the Cuban Missile Crisis is the crisis most closely tied to Khrushchev’s leadership and his most famous confrontation with the United States in this era, even though the Berlin Wall itself was built during the earlier Berlin Crisis.

Khrushchev’s tenure in the Soviet Union saw several major Cold War confrontations, and his leadership shaped how the USSR responded to pressure from the United States. In 1961, he approved the construction of the Berlin Wall during the Berlin Crisis, a move meant to stop the mass exodus of East Germans to the West. A year later, in 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the superpowers to the brink of war over Soviet missiles in Cuba, a direct test of Khrushchev’s willingness to stand up to the United States. Among the options, the Cuban Missile Crisis is the crisis most closely tied to Khrushchev’s leadership and his most famous confrontation with the United States in this era, even though the Berlin Wall itself was built during the earlier Berlin Crisis.