1954 transfer of Crimea Ukraine inexorably to Russia, "Eternally Together", as a poster commemorating the event of 1954 proclaimed. The transfer was described by some of the Supreme Soviet as a gift to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Treaty of Pereyaslav in 1654 when the Cossack Rada apparently decided to unify with Muscovy, putting in place the eventual acquisition of Ukraine by Russia. Other reasons given were the integration of the economies of Ukraine and Crimea and the idea that Crimea was a natural extension of the Ukrainian steppes. There was also a desire to repopulate parts of the Crimea which had suffered
Khrushchev Thaw 1956 speech, but stated that Khrushchev did not succeed in his reforms. Khrushchev Thaw The Khrushchev Thaw (or Khrushchev's Thaw; or simply "ottepel") refers to the period from the early 1950s to the early 1960s when repression and censorship in the Soviet Union were relaxed, and millions of Soviet political prisoners were released from Gulag labor camps due to Nikita Khrushchev's policies of de-Stalinization and peaceful coexistence with other nations. The Thaw became possible after the death of Joseph Stalin in March 1953. First Secretary Khrushchev denounced former General Secretary Stalin in "The Secret Speech" at the 20th Congress of