3 Soviet leaders who fought in World War II

Nikita Khrushchev in Stalingrad.

Having taken up the reins of the country in September 1953, Nikita Khrushchev remained in power for eleven years. His stint included such key events as the de-Stalinization, a partial liberalization of public life ("thaw") and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Khrushchev joined the highest political elite of the Soviet Union in the years before World War II, becoming First Secretar