Sergei Khrushchev
Sergei Nikitich Khrushchev (; 2 July 1935 – 18 June 2020) was a Russian engineer and the second son of the Cold War-era Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev with his wife Nina Petrovna Khrushcheva. He moved to the United States in 1991 and was a naturalized American citizen. He was a jury member of the Rainer Hildebrandt international human rights award. Career. Khrushchev held several advanced engineering degrees. From the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, he earned his doctoral degree, and he earned a Ph.D. from the Moscow Technical University. In addition, he earned an M.A. degree with distinction  from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute. He also held an "occasional" professorship at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, meaning he was not a full-time professor (though he was for some time), but did teach there fairly often. Prior to emigrating from the Soviet Union to the United States in 1991, Khrushchev worked in various high-level engineering positions. From 1968 to 1991, he served at the Control Computer Institute in Moscow, where he rose from section head to first deputy director in charge of research. From the years 1958 to 1968, Dr. Khrushchev worked as an  engineer, then later as a deputy section head in charge of guidance systems for missile and space design. In this capacity, he worked on cruise missiles for submarine craft, military and research spacecraft, moon vehicles, and the Proton space booster. He often spoke to American audiences to share his memories of the "other" side of the Cold War. He told "Scientific American" that he had tried to see the Apollo 11 moon landing through a telescope from Ukraine with a KGB officer. Khrushchev served as an advisor to The Cold War Museum. He was a Senior Fellow at the Watson  Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University. Personal life. On 12 July 1999, Khrushchev and his wife, Valentina, became naturalized citizens of the United States. His son from a previous marriage, Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev, a Russian journalist, died on 22 February 2007, aged 47, from a stroke. He had another son, whose name is also Sergei (aka Khru) who during his time at the Moscow State University (1991–1996) was considered the most intelligent student. Several pop-songs were dedicated to him by his fellow students and peers. Death. Khrushchev died on 18 June 2020, at his home in  Cranston, Rhode Island, two weeks before his 85th birthday. His wife, Valentina Golenko, called the police to report an emergency, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of death, as certified by the Rhode Island medical examiner's office, was a gunshot wound to the head. The police said there were no signs of foul play, and the investigation by the police into his death was closed with no criminal charges filed.