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{{short description|1959 series of exchanges between Nikita Khrushchev and Richard Nixon}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
[[File:Kitchen debate.jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|Soviet premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]] (left, foreground) and U.S. vice president [[Richard Nixon]] (right) debate the merits of [[communism]] versus [[capitalism]] in a model American kitchen at the [[American National Exhibition]] in Moscow (July 1959); photo by Thomas J. O'Halloran, Library of Congress collection]]
[[File:1959 Khrushchev, Nixon, Brezhnev.jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|U.S. vice president Nixon spars with Khrushchev before reporters and onlookers, including Politburo members Leonid Brezhnev, Anastas Mikoyan and [[Yekaterina Furtseva]] at the American National Exhibition at Sokolniki Park, in Moscow, 1959]]

The '''Kitchen Debate''' ({{langx|ru|Кухонные дебаты|translit=Kukhonnye debaty}}) was a series of impromptu exchanges through interpreters between U.S. vice president (later U.S. president) [[Richard Nixon]] and Soviet premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]], at the opening of the [[American National Exhibition]] at [[Sokolniki Park]] in [[Moscow]] on July 24, 1959.

An entire house was built for the exhibition which the American exhibitors claimed that anyone in the United States could afford. It was filled with labor-saving and recreational devices meant to represent the fruits of the capitalist American consumer market. The debate was recorded on color videotape, and Nixon made reference to this fact; it was subsequently broadcast in both countries.

==History==
In 1959, the [[Soviet Union]] and [[United States]] agreed to hold exhibits in each other's countries as a cultural exchange to promote understanding. This was a result of the [[Lacy-Zarubin Agreement|1958 U.S.–Soviet Cultural Agreement]]. The Soviet exhibit in [[New York City]] opened in June 1959, and Vice President Nixon was on hand the following month to open the U.S. exhibit in Moscow. Nixon took Soviet First Secretary [[Nikita Khrushchev]] on a tour of the exhibit. There were multiple displays and consumer goods provided by more than 450 American companies. The centerpiece of the exhibit was a [[geodesic dome]] that housed scientific and technical experiments in a {{convert|30,000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} facility. The Soviets purchased the dome at the end of the Moscow exhibition.<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal|last=Richmond|first=Yale|date=July 2009|title=The 1959 Kitchen Debate|journal=Montpelier|volume=54, 4|pages=42–47}}</ref>

[[William Safire]] was the exhibitor's press agent, and he recounted that the Kitchen Debate took place in a number of locations at the exhibition, but primarily in the kitchen of a suburban model house that was cut in half for easy viewing.<ref name="safire">Safire, William. [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/24/opinion/24safire.html "The Cold War's Hot Kitchen"], ''The New York Times'', Friday, July 24, 2009.</ref> This was only one of a series of four meetings that occurred between Nixon and Khrushchev during the 1959 exhibition. Nixon was accompanied by [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|President Eisenhower]]'s younger brother [[Milton S. Eisenhower]], then president of [[Johns Hopkins University]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Remembrances of the Great 'Kitchen Debate'|last=Mohr|first=Charles|date=July 25, 1984|work=New York Times}}</ref>

Khrushchev surprised Nixon during the first meeting in the [[Moscow Kremlin|Kremlin]] when he protested the [[Captive Nations|Captive Nations Resolution]] passed by the [[86th United States Congress|US Congress]], which condemned the Soviet Union for its "control" over the "captive" peoples of [[Eastern Bloc|Eastern Europe]] and called upon Americans to pray for those people. After protesting the actions of the U.S. Congress, he dismissed the new technology and declared that the Soviets would have all of the same things in a few years and then say "Bye bye" as they surpassed the U.S.<ref name="universal">{{cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G5I9h6CFaM|title=Nixon in USSR Opening US Fair, Clashes with Mr. K|agency=Universal International News|publisher=YouTube|date=July 1959}}</ref>

Khrushchev criticised the large range of American gadgets. In particular, Khrushchev saw that some of the gadgets were harder to use than the traditional way. One of these devices was a handheld lemon juicer for tea. He criticized the device, saying that it was much easier to squeeze the juice out by hand and the appliance was unnecessary. Khrushchev asked Nixon if this device was standard in American kitchens. Nixon admitted some of the products had not hit the U.S. market, and were prototypes.<ref>Larner, John W. "Judging the Kitchen Debate." ''OAH Magazine of History'' 2, no. 1 (1986): 25–27. Accessed November 14, 2020. {{JSTOR|25162497}}.</ref> Khrushchev satirically asked "Don't you have a machine that puts food into the mouth and pushes it down?", a reference to [[Charlie Chaplin]]'s 1936 film ''[[Modern Times (film)|Modern Times]]''.<ref name="Pilcher2008">{{cite book|author=Jeffrey M. Pilcher|title=Food in World History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G79YuDx3ORsC&pg=PA97|date=2008|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-38581-2|page=97}}</ref> Nixon responded that at least the competition was technological rather than military. Both men agreed that the United States and the Soviet Union should seek areas of agreement.<ref name="universal" />

The second visit occurred in a television studio inside the American exhibit. In the end, Khrushchev stated that everything that he had said in their debate should be translated into English and broadcast in the U.S. Nixon responded, "Certainly it will, and everything I say is to be translated into Russian and broadcast across the Soviet Union. That's a fair bargain." Khrushchev vigorously shook hands to this proposal.<ref name="universal" />

Nixon argued that the Americans built to take advantage of new techniques, while Khrushchev advocated for Communism by arguing that the Soviets built for future generations. Khrushchev stated, "This is what America is capable of, and how long has she existed? 300 years? 150 years of independence and this is her level. We haven't quite reached 42 years, and in another 7 years, we'll be at the level of America, and after that we'll go farther."<ref name="hunt">{{cite web |url=http://www.foia.cia.gov/sites/default/files/document_conversions/16/1959-07-24.pdf |title=Kitchen debate transcript |date=July 24, 1959 |website=www.foia.cia.gov |access-date=May 13, 2019 |archive-date=June 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603085919/http://www.foia.cia.gov/sites/default/files/document_conversions/16/1959-07-24.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Safire reported that [[Leonid Brezhnev]] was present and attempted to obstruct his photos.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Safir|title=William Safire Oral History Interview}}</ref>

The third visit occurred inside the kitchen on a cutaway model home that was furnished with a [[dishwasher]], [[refrigerator]], and [[Kitchen stove|range]]. It was designed to represent a $14,000 home that a typical American worker could afford ({{Inflation|US|14000|1959|r=-3|fmt=eq}}).<ref name="auto" />

== The role of women and the Kitchen Debate ==
During the third visit, in which Nixon and Khrushchev toured a model American kitchen, the two men began an unplanned debate. Nixon's opening argument to the Kitchen Debate rested on United States' appreciation for housewives; he stressed that offering women the opportunity to reside in a comfortable home, through having the appliances be directly-installed, was an example of American superiority.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021 |title=The Kitchen Debate |url=https://wams.nyhistory.org/growth-and-turmoil/cold-war-beginnings/the-kitchen-debate/ |access-date=January 5, 2024 |website=Women & the American Story – New-York Historical Society}}</ref> 

Whilst pointing to the dishwasher, Nixon emphasized on his strive to make life easier for women by way of the pre-installed units. Khrushchev replied, "Your capitalistic attitude toward women does not occur under Communism,"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=July 24, 1959 |title=The Kitchen Debate – transcript |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/1959-07-24.pdf |access-date=January 5, 2024 |website=Central Intelligence Agency (.gov)}}</ref> to which Nixon fired back, "I think that this attitude towards women is universal. What we want to do, is make life more easy for our housewives."<ref name=":0" />

==Television broadcast and American reaction==
The [[Big Three television networks|three major American television networks]] broadcast the Kitchen Debate on July 25, 1959. The Soviets subsequently protested, as Nixon and Khrushchev had agreed that the debate should be broadcast simultaneously in America and the Soviet Union, with the Soviets threatening to withhold the tape until they were ready to broadcast. The American networks, however, had felt that the delay would cause the news to lose its immediacy.<ref>Richard H. Shepard. "Debate Goes on TV over Soviet Protest", ''The New York Times'', July 26, 1959</ref> The debate was broadcast on [[Programme One|Moscow television]] on July 27, albeit late at night and with Nixon's remarks only partially translated.<ref>Associated Press. "Soviet TV Shows Tape of Debate". ''The New York Times'', July 28, 1959</ref>

American reaction was mixed. ''[[The New York Times]]'' called it "an exchange that emphasized the gulf between east and west but had little bearing on the substantive issue" and portrayed it as a political stunt.<ref>"News of the Week in Review", ''The New York Times'', July 26, 1959</ref> The paper also declared that public opinion seemed divided after the debates.<ref>"Moscow Debate Stirs U.S Public", ''The New York Times'', July 27, 1959</ref> [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]], on the other hand, praised Nixon, saying that he "managed in a unique way to personify a national character proud of peaceful accomplishment, sure of its way of life, confident of its power under threat."<ref>"Better to See Once", ''Time'', August 3, 1959</ref>

Nixon gained popularity because of the informal nature of the exchange, improving upon the lukewarm reception that he previously had with the American public.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kengor |first1=Paul |title=The Vice President, Secretary of State, and Foreign Policy |journal=Political Science Quarterly |date=2000 |volume=115 |issue=2 |pages=175–199 [184] |doi=10.2307/2657899|jstor=2657899 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mazlish |first1=Bruce |title=Toward a Psychohistorical Inquiry: The 'Real' Richard Nixon |journal=Journal of Interdisciplinary History |date=1970 |author-link1=Bruce Mazlish|volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=49–105 |doi=10.2307/202410|jstor=202410 |pmid=11635236 }}</ref> According to William Safire, he also impressed Khrushchev: "The shrewd Khrushchev came away from his personal duel of words with Nixon persuaded that the advocate of capitalism was not just tough-minded but strong-willed."<ref name="safire"/>

The trip raised Nixon's profile as a public statesman, greatly improving his chances of receiving the [[1960 Republican National Convention|Republican presidential nomination]] the following year.<ref>"Now the Summit", ''The New York Times'', August 3, 1959</ref> Khrushchev in a 1961 meeting with Nixon's opponent in the ensuing election, [[John F. Kennedy]], would joke that he had voted for Kennedy.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Taylor |first1=Adam |title=This Kremlin leader bragged about tipping a U.S. presidential election |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/06/this-kremlin-leader-bragged-about-tipping-a-u-s-presidential-election/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=July 12, 2022 |ref=Taylor}}</ref>

In the Kitchen Debate, Khrushchev claimed that Nixon's grandchildren would live under communism and Nixon claimed that Khrushchev's grandchildren would live in freedom. In a 1992 interview, Nixon commented that at the time of the debate, he was sure Khrushchev's claim was wrong, but Nixon was not sure that his own assertion was correct. Nixon said that events had proven that he was indeed right because Khrushchev's grandchildren (Khrushchev's son [[Sergei Khrushchev]] was a naturalized American citizen) now lived in freedom, referring to then recent [[collapse of the Soviet Union]].<ref>{{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2mhvEuGHLI|title=Richard Nixon on "Inside Washington"|date=April 6, 2015|access-date=May 25, 2020|time=4:20|publisher=Inside Washington, [[Seoul Broadcasting System]], [[Richard V. Allen]]|via=[[Richard Nixon Foundation]], [[YouTube]]}} March 30, 1992.</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[Six Crises]]''

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* Entire [https://www.c-span.org/program/international-telecasts/nixon-khrushchev-kitchen-debate/159414 color videotape recording with subtitles via C-SPAN] 
* The original color videotape recording, {{YouTube|D7HqOrAakco|Part 1}} and {{YouTube|z6RLCw1OZFw|Part 2}} <!-- uploaded by the copyright holder, Ampex Corporation, and therefore an allowable link -->
* A [https://web.archive.org/web/20121108155928/http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=176 condensed version] is available at TeachingAmericanHistory.org, a project of the Ashbrook Center at [[Ashland University]]
* A [http://www3.sympatico.ca/robsab/debate.html more complete version] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227165247/http://www3.sympatico.ca/robsab/debate.html |date=February 27, 2021 }} of the text is available.
* [http://cool.conservation-us.org/byorg/abbey/an/an21/an21-7/an21-708.html The Loss of Early Video Recordings] – Article about the missing Kitchen Debate videotape

{{Soviet Union–United States relations|state=collapsed}}
{{Cold War}}
{{Richard Nixon}}

[[Category:1959 in American politics]]
[[Category:1959 in international relations]]
[[Category:1959 in American television]]
[[Category:Nikita Khrushchev]]
[[Category:Political controversies in the United States]]
[[Category:Political controversies]]
[[Category:Richard Nixon]]
[[Category:Soviet Union–United States relations]]
[[Category:Political debates]]
[[Category:July 1959 in Europe]]
[[Category:1959 in Moscow]]
[[Category:1959 in Soviet television]]