Khrushchev was responsible for the partial de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union, for backing the progress of the early Soviet space program, and for several relatively liberal reforms in areas of domestic policy.
He apparently didn’t have much hatred towards the U.S. And it's leader back then (John F. Kennedy). Khrushchev broke down and sobbed in the Kremlin on hearing that JFK had been assassinated in Dallas.
He then cried again whilst signing the condolences book. He genuinely feared that without the President, the two superpowers would return to the brink of nuclear war.
