The Ukraine is pretty much like Iowa. You're alluding to the Virgin Lands campaign, which mostly took place in central Asia. Khrushchev did more than anyone to improve living standards, infrastructure, and consumer goods in the USSR.I'm loathe to call Kruschev competent. He is likely to squander much of the windfall trying and failing to transform the Ukraine into Iowa, with the remainder going to the military, and space program.