Khrushchev had a significant cultural identity with the Ukraine. I recall from my Russian History professor that Stalin treated him almost as a court jester and Ukrainian specimen, but a loyal Communist Ukrainian and a shrewd one at that. I had not realized that the Tatar identity of the Crimea had remained so thoroughly intact until Stalin's time, though I was aware of Stalin's massive use of internal relocation of ethnic minorities for political purposes. One tell of the Tatar identity of the Crimea was the name of the Russian noble from whom John Hughes bought the land he used to create his Russian steel empire: Sergei Kochubey. The 'bey' is the tell. Co-option of local elites was a standard policy of Russia under the Romanovs.  

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."