Western lifestyles penetrate the Soviet Union. Young people who begin wearing tight jeans and long hair are punished for imitating Western fashion. The new music, new dances and new portable radios continue to expose young Soviet citizens to Western culture. Though writers and artists grow bolder and begin to challenge the censors, the Party continues to maintain control. In 1962, Communist hard-liners persuade Khrushchev to visit an exhibition of modern art, hoping it will shock him into restoring tighter censorship.
Censors stifle free speech in other parts of the Soviet Empire.
Still facing a problem of food supply, Khrushchev orders the Soviet people to grow corn. But in 1963, the harvest fails. Wheat has to be imported from America. Soviets lose patience with Khrushchev. To many, his actions abroad seem clownish and irresponsible.