Files show JFK held in low regard in USSR

LONDON, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Newly released Kremlin documents show the late Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev held a rather low opinion of then-U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

Khrushchev used a derogatory phrase involving a female dog in describing Kennedy in May 1961, according to a report in the Times of London about the newly declassified Kremlin documents.

The Soviet president also called Kennedy "a little boy," adding he "can neither stand up to the American public nor can he lead them".

Khrushchev was infamous for his crude language and forthright views, the newspaper noted.

The Politburo minutes add insight into Cuban missile crisis. On Oct. 22, 1962, at the height of tensions over Cuba, the minutes show members of the Soviet leadership were expecting an order to attack the United States, but at the last minute Khrushchev put on the brakes.

"The thing is, we do not want to unleash a war. We wanted to scare, to rein in, America," Khrushchev said. "The tragedy is that they may attack and we will answer. It may end up in a huge war."