Fearful Brezhnev Shook in Ousting Khrushchev in ’64
Kremlin colleagues dragged a trembling Leonid I. Brezhnev to the telephone to make the call which led to him to topple Nikita S. Khrushchev as Soviet leader in 1964, according to a former KGB chief.
In an interview with the weekly Argumenti i Fakti published Friday Vladimir V. Semichastny, who headed the KGB state security service from 1961 to 1967 gave an intriguing insight into the coup that ousted Khrushchev, whose flamboyant behavior and reform schemes met with mounting criticism within the leadership.
“While Khrushchev was away on holiday in October, all the members of the Presidium (Politburo) of the (Communist Party) Central Committee got together at the Brezhnevs’ and it was decided to summon Khrushchev back from Pitsunda (on the Black Sea coast) to Moscow,” he said.
“We decided to telephone him. Who should do it? Brezhnev of course. It took us great effort to persuade him. We dragged him, almost by force, to the telephone.”
“His voice trembling, Brezhnev told Khrushchev the Presidium would meet the next day to discuss a range of questions concerning the seven-year plan.”
Khrushchev was not told the true purpose of the meeting. The deception continued until he was inside the Kremlin.
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