Russian Hospitality?Although he generally promoted peaceful coexistence with the West (while attacking Western involvement in Third World countries), Khrushchev furiously denounced the United Nations for preventing Russian intervention in the post-independence crisis in the Congo.
Shortly thereafter he sent Dag Hammarskjold, then UN secretary general, an invitation to a Soviet reception. Hammarskjold agreed to attend and was cordially greeted by the Russian leader.
Some time later, Khrushchev was asked why he had behaved so warmly toward the very man whom he had recently attacked so bitterly in public. "Do you know the tradition of the mountain people of the Caucasus in our country [the Cossacks]?" Khrushchev replied. "When an enemy is inside your home, sharing your bread and salt, you should always treat him with the greatest hospitality. But as soon as he steps outside the door, it is all right to slit his throat."
Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeyevich (1894-1971) Russian politician, first secretary of the Communist Party (1953-1957), premier of the Soviet Union (1958-84) [noted for his policy of de-Stalinization]
[Sources: M. Ringo Nobody Said it Better]More Nikita Khrushchev anecdotesRelated Anecdote Keywords:
Brutality Manners Russia Hospitality
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