He is 72 now, a distinguished engineer and author who holds several advanced degrees and a senior fellowship at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. But 50 years ago, he had a singular vantage point on the Soviet Union's triumphant leap into space.
Sergei Khrushchev, then 22, was an engineering student who often traveled with his father, former Soviet Union premier Nikita Khrushchev.
In an interview at his office, he recalled that his countrymen were startled by the speed and intensity of the US response to the success of Sputnik.
"The US couldn't believe someone could be ahead of them in technology," Sergei Khrushchev said in fluent English tinged with a Russian accent. "It was shock and fear. We were surprised by the reaction."
It was not that the Soviets missed the importance of Sputnik, he said, "but it was seen as one more thing in Soviet technical progress, one more achievement."
"We had built the first nuclear power plant, our MiG fighters were breaking aviation records, we had launched a successful jet airliner," he continued. "It was one more thing for us and we were proud, but it was a shock in the United States."
The day after the launching, Pravda ran a small article on its front page describing the development in dry, clinical language, telling people how to listen to the new moon's signal and promising bigger and more capable scientific satellites. Elsewhere in the world, newspapers ran banner headlines and multiple articles speculating about what it meant for the future.
Once that reaction became clear, Sergei Khrushchev said, Soviet officials quickly decided to make the most of it.
"We must make a big noise about this," he said his father declared. "Yes, make a big noise."
The following day, Pravda devoted most of its front page to Sputnik, its banner headline reading, "World's First Artificial Satellite of Earth Created in Soviet Nation." The issue included congratulations from scientists in the West; a map showing the satellite's track over the Soviet Union and US cities and even poems with titles like Leap Into the Future.
Roald Sagdeev, a former director of the Soviet Institute for Space Research who is now a professor at the University of Maryland, said that even if the US had launched a satellite before the Soviets, there still would have been active competition in space because both powers had the rockets and visionary people to make it possible.
"But when Sputnik went up first," Sagdeev said, "there was this feeling of `My God, we are catching up with the United States! In a few years, maybe we will go ahead.' That hope meant a lot to the Soviet people."
Sergei Khrushchev is taller than his father, but when he turns, his profile bears a momentary resemblance to him. He recalled that his father, who had wanted to be an engineer before being swept into politics, had a keen interest in missiles and space.
In the 1950s, deeply concerned about an attack from the US, Nikita Khrushchev pressed his military to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach US soil.
Sergei Korolev, an engineer and management mastermind considered the father of the Soviet space program, was in charge of developing that nation's first ICBM, the R-7. A crucial moment in space history occurred on Feb. 27, 1956, when Nikita Khrushchev and an entourage -- including his son -- visited Korolev's offices and saw a full-scale model of the huge R-7 rocket.
As the impressed visitors were about to leave, Korolev asked Premier Khrushchev for a moment to discuss another project.
"Then Korolev took Father to a corner," Sergei Khrushchev said, "and showed him a model of a strange object that he said the R-7 could send into space and fly around the Earth like a small moon. He talked about how eventually these objects could go to the Moon and even send people into space."
Korolev said the feat could be done at little cost and would be a prestigious first for the Soviet Union.
"Father was very interested," Sergei Khrushchev said, "and had only one question: Would this hurt the ICBM program in any way or put it behind schedule? Korolev said no, and then he got the OK from Khrushchev to proceed."
That event led to the night of Oct. 4 the next year, when Nikita Khrushchev was visiting the Ukraine to witness military maneuvers, talk with local officials and discuss with some generals his plan to oust Soviet marshal Georgi Zhukov -- the World War II hero suspected of planning a coup.
It was late in the Mariinsky Palace, where the premier's party was staying, but Nikita Khrushchev stayed up talking to officials around a dinner table as he awaited a telephone call, which came shortly before midnight.
"Father came back from another room with a smile on his face and I knew then that Sputnik had been launched," Sergei Khrushchev said.
"`An outstanding event has happened,' Father announced. `Korolev has called me and reported that a little while ago the artificial satellite was put into orbit.'"
As Nikita Khrushchev talked about rockets and what the event meant, those in the room listened politely but with little interest, Sergei Khrushchev said.
The aide who had summoned Nikita Khrushchev for the phone call returned to the room and turned on a radio in a corner, setting it to the right frequency for the group to hear a few moments of the beeping of the satellite signal before the craft faded over the horizon.
"Father listened intently and happily," Sergei Khrushchev said. "When it was over, he ended the meeting and went to bed. It had been a good day."
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath