Cuba conflict. Caribbean Crisis - Briefly

Photos of Soviet missiles stationed on the island. The White House discussed the "powerful" option for solving the problem, and his supporters convinced Kennedy to start a massive bombardment of Cuba as soon as possible, followed by landing of sea and air assault forces on the island.

critical phase. World on the brink of nuclear war

As Commander-in-Chief, President John F. Kennedy, under pressure from the military, ordered DEFCON-2 to put the U.S. Armed Forces on "Combat Readiness #2". This meant that his next order would begin full-scale hostilities or war with the USSR and its allies. On the evening of October 22, the President of the United States made a televised "Address to the American People." He stated that 250,000 ground troops, 90,000 marines and paratroopers are being prepared for the invasion of Cuba, an air force strike group capable of making 2,000 sorties on the day of the invasion, the navy is pulling up to the island more than 100 ships of various destination.

Panic began among the civilian population of the United States: people urgently bought food and bottled water, went on vacation and left American cities with their families. In rural areas, residents equipped basements and cellars in case of an atomic war, stocking food, water and basic necessities. Many American families left their homes and moved into basements, cellars and hastily made dugouts and dugouts. Schools, colleges and universities routinely conducted exercises on the topic: "How to behave in the event of an atomic explosion."

The Pentagon created a "ring" of blockade around the island of Cuba, which was formed by 25 destroyers, 2 cruisers, aircraft carriers, submarines and auxiliary vessels. Aircraft were constantly loitering in the air, including bombers with atomic bombs on board. American high-altitude U-2 reconnaissance aircraft continuously carried out photographic reconnaissance of the island and the adjacent waters of the Atlantic Ocean. All Soviet ships were escorted by surface ships, submarines and subjected to systematic overflights by helicopters and aircraft of the air force.

Such US actions did not go unnoticed by Soviet intelligence. Already on October 21, the GRU officer, the military attaché in Washington, at a meeting with Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin, announced that the units of the US armed forces stationed in the southern and southwestern states were put on high alert. Neither the attaché nor the ambassador were informed that the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces had deployed ballistic and tactical missiles and atomic warheads for them in Cuba.

From the evening of October 22, all members of the Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union were transferred to the “barracks position” and were in the Kremlin in Moscow without a break.

With the sanction of Nikita Khrushchev and by order of the Minister of Defense, the Armed Forces of the USSR were also put on full combat readiness: the servicemen were raised on alert, regular weapons and ammunition were issued, equipment and weapons were brought to combat positions and dispersed, nuclear warheads were attached to missiles and torpedoes , atomic bombs were suspended from aircraft, atomic shells were taken out of warehouses to artillery positions in the Western direction. The USSR Navy began tracking American submarines and aircraft carrier formations in the waters of the World Ocean adjacent to the territory of the USSR. According to the plans developed earlier by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR, atomic strike forces - bombers and submarines with atomic weapons on board - were advanced to the shores of the United States. All formations of the Strategic Missile Forces were put on high alert to immediately deliver an atomic strike against predetermined targets in the United States, large American military bases, sea and land groups located in other countries. The strike forces of the armored forces, motorized infantry units and aviation of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany were to carry out an offensive from the territory of the GDR to West Berlin with the aim of occupying it within 2-4 hours.

Cuban Revolution

During the Cold War, the confrontation between the two superpowers, the USSR and the USA, was expressed not only in a direct military threat and an arms race, but also in the desire to expand their zones of influence. The Soviet Union sought to organize and support the so-called "liberation" socialist revolutions in various parts of the world. In pro-Western countries, support was provided to "people's liberation movements" of various kinds, often with weapons and sending military specialists, instructors and limited military contingents. In the event of the victory of the "revolution", the country became a "member of the socialist camp", military bases were built there, and significant resources were invested. The help of the Soviet Union was often gratuitous, which caused additional sympathy for him from the poorest countries in Africa and Latin America.

The United States, in turn, followed similar tactics, also stimulating "revolutions" to establish democracy and supporting pro-American regimes. Usually, the preponderance of forces was on the side of the United States - they were supported by Western Europe, Turkey, some Asian and African countries, such as South Africa.

Initially, after the victory of the revolution in Cuba in 1959, its leader Fidel Castro did not have close relations with the Soviet Union. During his fight against the regime of Fulgencio Batista in the 1950s, Castro approached Moscow several times for military assistance, but was refused. Moscow was skeptical about the leader of the Cuban revolutionaries and about the very prospects of a revolution in Cuba, believing that the influence of the United States was too great there. Fidel made his first foreign visit after the victory of the revolution to the United States, but President Eisenhower refused to meet with him, citing his employment. After this demonstration of an arrogant attitude towards Cuba, F. Castro carried out measures directed against the dominance of the Americans. Thus, the telephone and electric companies, oil refineries, 36 largest sugar factories owned by US citizens were nationalized; the former owners were offered the corresponding packages of securities. All branches of North American banks owned by US citizens were also nationalized. In response, the United States stopped supplying oil to Cuba and buying its sugar. Such steps put Cuba in a very difficult position. By that time, the Cuban government had already established diplomatic relations with the USSR, and it turned to Moscow for help. In response to a request, the USSR sent oil tankers and organized the purchase of Cuban sugar and raw sugar. Experts from various sectors of the national economy of the USSR went to Cuba on long business trips to create similar industries, as well as office work on the Island of Freedom. Soviet specialists built various facilities, for example, according to a special project, they made steam power plants with boilers using “sugar cane waste” fuel.

As an illustration, we can recall why one of the types of Cuban mineral water is called Tipaborjomi. Before the arrival of L. I. Brezhnev, another well was drilled, and a new drink was presented to the distinguished guest. He tried it and said: “Like Borjomi”. That is, similar to such water from Georgia.

It can be considered that Cuba was the first country to choose the communist path without significant military or political interference from the USSR. In this capacity, she was deeply symbolic for Soviet leaders, especially for Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev, who considered the defense of the island critical to the international reputation of the USSR and communist ideology.

Khrushchev probably believed that placing missiles in Cuba would protect the island from a second American invasion, which he considered inevitable after the failure of the landing attempt in the Bay of Pigs. The militarily significant deployment of a critical weapon in Cuba would also demonstrate the importance of the Soviet-Cuban alliance to Fidel Castro, who demanded material confirmation of Soviet support for the island.

US missile positions in Turkey

Number of US and USSR nuclear warheads without deployed

By 1960, the US had a significant advantage in strategic nuclear forces. For comparison: the Americans were armed with about 6,000 warheads, and in the USSR there were only about 300. By 1962, the United States was armed with more than 1,300 bombers capable of delivering about 3,000 nuclear charges to the USSR. In addition, 183 Atlas and Titan ICBMs were in service with the United States. (English) Russian and 144 Polaris missiles on nine George Washington and Ethen Allen-class nuclear submarines. The Soviet Union was able to deliver about 300 warheads to the United States, mainly with the help of strategic aviation and R-7 and R-16 ICBMs, which had a low degree of combat readiness and the high cost of creating launch complexes, which did not allow for large-scale deployment of these systems.

It was supposed to send a group of Soviet troops to Liberty Island, which should concentrate around five divisions of nuclear missiles (three R-12s and two R-14s). In addition to missiles, the group also included 1 Mi-4 helicopter regiment, 4 motorized rifle regiments, two tank battalions, a MiG-21 squadron, 42 Il-28 light bombers, 2 units of cruise missiles with 12 Kt nuclear warheads with a range of 160 km, several batteries of anti-aircraft guns, as well as 12 S-75 installations (144 missiles). Each motorized rifle regiment consisted of 2,500 men, and the tank battalions were equipped with the latest T-55 tanks. It is worth noting that the Group of Soviet Forces in Cuba (GSVK) became the first army group in the history of the USSR, which included ballistic missiles.

In addition, an impressive grouping of the Navy was also heading to Cuba: 2 cruisers, 4 destroyers, 12 Komar missile boats, 11 submarines (7 of them with nuclear missiles). In total, 50,874 military personnel were planned to be sent to the island. Later, on July 7, Khrushchev decided to appoint Issa Pliev as commander of the group.

After listening to Malinovsky's report, the Presidium of the Central Committee voted unanimously in favor of carrying out the operation.

Operation Anadyr

After landing at an air base in south Florida, Heizer handed the film to the CIA. On October 15, CIA analysts determined that the photographs were of Soviet R-12 medium-range ballistic missiles ("SS-4" according to NATO classification). In the evening of the same day, this information was brought to the attention of the top military leadership of the United States. On the morning of October 16 at 8:45 a.m., the photographs were shown to the president. After that, on the orders of Kennedy, flights over Cuba became 90 times more frequent: from two times a month to six times a day.

US reaction

Development of possible countermeasures

After receiving photographs showing Soviet missile bases in Cuba, President Kennedy called a special group of advisers to a secret meeting at the White House. This 14-member group, which later became known as the "Executive Committee" (EXCOMM (English) Russian ), consisted of members of the US National Security Council and several specially invited advisers. Soon, the committee offered the president three possible options for resolving the situation: destroy the missiles with pinpoint strikes, conduct a full-scale military operation in Cuba, or impose a naval blockade of the island.

An immediate bombing attack was rejected out of hand, as was an appeal to the UN that promised a long delay. The real options considered by the committee were only military measures. Diplomatic, barely touched upon on the first day of the work, were immediately rejected - even before the main discussion began. As a result, the choice was reduced to a naval blockade and an ultimatum, or to a full-scale invasion.

However, on October 19, another U-2 flight revealed several more mounted missile sites, an Ilyushin Il-28 squadron off the northern coast of Cuba, and a battalion of cruise missiles aimed at Florida.

The decision to impose a blockade was made at the final vote on the evening of October 20: President Kennedy himself, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and US Ambassador to the UN Adlai Stevenson voted for the blockade.

Quarantine

There were many problems with the naval blockade. There was a question of legality - as Fidel Castro pointed out, there was nothing illegal about planting rockets. They were certainly a threat to the US, but similar missiles were deployed in Europe aimed at the USSR: sixty Thor missiles in four squadrons near Nottingham in the UK; thirty medium-range Jupiter rockets in two squadrons near Gioia del Colle in Italy; and fifteen Jupiter missiles in one squadron near Izmir in Turkey. Then there was the problem of the Soviet reaction to the blockade - would an armed conflict begin with an escalation of response?

President Kennedy addressed the American public (and the Soviet government) in an October 22 televised speech. He confirmed the presence of missiles in Cuba and declared a naval blockade of 500 nautical miles (926 km) of quarantine around the coast of Cuba, warning that the armed forces were "ready for any eventuality" and condemning the Soviet Union for "secrecy and misleading." Kennedy noted that any missile launch from Cuban territory against any of the American allies in the Western Hemisphere would be regarded as an act of war against the United States.

The Americans had strong support from their European allies. The Organization of American States also voted unanimously in favor of a resolution in support of the lockdown. Nikita Khrushchev declared that the blockade was illegal and that any ship under the Soviet flag would ignore it. He threatened that if the Soviet ships were attacked by the Americans, a retaliatory strike would follow immediately.

However, the blockade went into effect on 24 October at 10:00 am. 180 ships of the US Navy surrounded Cuba with clear orders not to open fire on Soviet ships in any case without a personal order from the president. By this time, 30 ships and vessels were going to Cuba, including Aleksandrovsk with a cargo of nuclear warheads and 4 ships carrying missiles for two IRBM divisions. In addition, 4 diesel submarines were approaching the Island of Freedom, accompanying the ships. On board the "Alexandrovsk" were 24 warheads for the IRBM and 44 for cruise missiles. Khrushchev decided that the submarines and four ships with R-14 missiles - Artemyevsk, Nikolaev, Dubna and Divnogorsk - should continue on their previous course. In an effort to minimize the possibility of a collision of Soviet ships with American ones, the Soviet leadership decided to deploy the rest of the ships that did not have time to reach Cuba home.

Meanwhile, in response to Khrushchev's message, the Kremlin received a letter from Kennedy, in which he pointed out that "the Soviet side violated its promises regarding Cuba and misled him." This time, Khrushchev decided not to go for a confrontation and began to look for possible ways out of the current situation. He announced to the members of the Presidium that "it is impossible to store missiles in Cuba without going to war with the United States." At the meeting, it was decided to offer the Americans to dismantle the missiles in exchange for US guarantees to stop trying to change the state regime in Cuba. Brezhnev, Kosygin, Kozlov, Mikoyan, Ponomarev and Suslov supported Khrushchev. Gromyko and Malinovsky abstained from voting. After the meeting, Khrushchev suddenly turned to the members of the Presidium: “Comrades, let's go to the Bolshoi Theater in the evening. Our people and foreigners will see us, maybe this will calm them down.

Khrushchev's second letter

The arsenal of ICBMs was supplemented by the PGM-19 Jupiter IRBM, with a radius of 2400 km. 30 of these missiles were deployed in northern Italy and 15 in Turkey. Also, 60 PGM-17 Thor missiles were deployed in the UK, with similar characteristics.

The basis of the offensive power of the Air Force, in addition to ICBMs, was a huge fleet of strategic bombers - more than 800 B-52 and B-36 intercontinental bombers, over 2000 B-47 strategic bombers and about 150 supersonic B-58s.

To equip them, there was an arsenal of more than 547 AGM-28 Hound Dog supersonic missiles with a radius of up to 1200 km and free-falling nuclear bombs. US Air Force positions in Northern Canada and Greenland allowed for transpolar attacks against deep Soviet rear areas with minimal Soviet opposition.

It was 5 pm in Moscow when a tropical storm raged in Cuba. One of the air defense units received a message that an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft was seen approaching Guantanamo Bay. The chief of staff of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division, Captain Antonets, called Pliev's headquarters for instructions, but he was not there. Major General Leonid Garbuz, deputy commander of the GSVK for combat training, ordered the captain to wait for Pliev to appear. A few minutes later, Antonets called the headquarters again - no one picked up the phone. When U-2 was already over Cuba, Garbuz himself ran to the headquarters and, without waiting for Pliev, gave the order to destroy the plane. According to other sources, the order to destroy the reconnaissance aircraft could have been given by Pliev's deputy for air defense, Lieutenant General of Aviation Stepan Grechko or the commander of the 27th Air Defense Division, Colonel Georgy Voronkov. The launch took place at 10:22 local time. U-2 pilot Major Rudolf Anderson was killed. Around this time, another U-2 was almost intercepted over Siberia, as General Curtis LeMay (English) Russian , chief of staff of the US Air Force, disregarded the order of the US President to stop all flights over Soviet territory.

A few hours later, two US Navy RF-8A Crusader photographic reconnaissance aircraft were fired upon by anti-aircraft guns while flying over Cuba at low altitude. One of them was damaged, but the pair returned safely to base.

Kennedy's military advisers tried to persuade the president to order an invasion of Cuba before Monday, "before it was too late." Kennedy no longer categorically rejected such a development of the situation. However, he did not leave hope for a peaceful resolution. It is generally accepted that "Black Saturday" October 27 is the day when the world was closest to a global nuclear war.

Permission

The dismantling of Soviet rocket launchers, their loading onto ships and their withdrawal from Cuba took 3 weeks. Convinced that the Soviet Union had removed the missiles, President Kennedy on November 20 gave the order to end the blockade of Cuba.
A few months later, American Jupiter missiles were also withdrawn from Turkey as "obsolete" (the US Air Force did not object to the decommissioning of these IRBMs, since by this time the US Navy had already deployed much more forward-based Polaris SLBMs, which made Jupiter » obsolete).

Consequences

The peaceful resolution of the crisis did not satisfy everyone. Khrushchev's removal a few years later can be partly attributed to irritation in the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU regarding concessions to the United States made by Khrushchev and his inept leadership that led to the crisis.

The Cuban communist leadership regarded the compromise as a betrayal by the Soviet Union, since the decision that ended the crisis was made solely by Khrushchev and Kennedy.

Some US military leaders were also dissatisfied with the result. So the commander of the US Air Force, General Lemay (English) Russian called the refusal to attack Cuba "the worst defeat in our history".

At the end of the crisis, analysts from the Soviet and American intelligence agencies proposed establishing a direct telephone line between Washington and Moscow (the so-called “red telephone”), so that in case of crisis, the leaders of the superpowers would have the opportunity to immediately contact each other, and not use the telegraph.

Historical meaning

The crisis was a turning point in the nuclear race and the Cold War. The beginning of the détente of international tension was laid. In Western countries, an anti-war movement began, which peaked in the 1960s and 1970s. In the USSR, voices also began to be heard calling for limiting the nuclear arms race and strengthening the role of society in political decision-making.

It is impossible to state unequivocally whether the removal of missiles from Cuba was a victory or defeat for the Soviet Union. On the one hand, the plan conceived by Khrushchev in May 1962 was not carried through to the end, and Soviet missiles could no longer ensure the security of Cuba. On the other hand, Khrushchev obtained from the US leadership guarantees of non-aggression on Cuba, which, despite Castro's fears, have been observed and are observed to this day. A few months later, American missiles in Turkey, which, according to Khrushchev, provoked him to deploy weapons in Cuba, were also dismantled. In the end, thanks to technological progress in rocket science, there was no need to deploy nuclear weapons in Cuba and in the Western Hemisphere in general, since after a few years the Soviet Union already had enough intercontinental missiles capable of reaching any city and military facility in the United States directly from the territory of the USSR.

Nikita Khrushchev himself, in his memoirs, assessed the outcome of the crisis as follows: “Now many years have passed, and this is already the domain of history. And I am proud that we have shown courage and foresight. And I think we won."

We, comrades, have supplied missiles, medium-range missiles in Cuba. Why did we put them up, what made us put them up? We argued that the Americans cannot stand Cuba, they say it directly, that they can devour Cuba. I spoke with the military, with Marshal Malinovsky. I asked: if we were in the place of America, we took a course to break such a state as Cuba, how much would we need, knowing our means? - A maximum of three days, and they would wash their hands. Comrades, this must be taken into account, because it is America that also has these opportunities. Therefore, we believed that Cuba could be saved only by placing missiles in Cuba. Then you touch it, so the hedgehog will curl up in a ball, and you won’t sit down. (Laughter) Apparently, they tried it once. (Laughter) These missiles are like hedgehog needles, they burn. When we made a decision, we discussed it for a long time and did not immediately make a decision, we postponed it twice, and then made a decision. We knew that if we set it up, and they would definitely find out, it would shock them. It's no joke to say that a crocodile has a knife under its belly! [...] As a result of the correspondence, we wrested a statement from the President of the United States that he, too, was not thinking of invading. Then we considered it possible to make a statement that we then also consider it possible to remove our missiles and Il-28. Was it a concession? Was. We gave in. Was there a concession from America? Was a public word given not to intrude? Was. So who gave in and who didn't? We never said that we would invade another country. America said that she would not tolerate a revolutionary Castro regime in Cuba, and then she refused. This means that it is clear that the other side has assumed an obligation that it did not recognize before the installation of our missiles in Cuba. So? VOICES: Yes. (Applause.) KHRUSHCHEV: There are smart people now, but there are always more smart people when the danger is over than at the moment of danger. (Laughter in the audience.) [...] And if we hadn't given in, maybe America would have given in more? May be so. But it could have been like a children's story when two goats met on the crossbar in front of the abyss. They showed goat wisdom, and both fell into the abyss. That's the problem.

Epilogue

Caribbean crisis in art

• Thirteen Days is a film by Roger Donaldson. Roger Donaldson ) (2000)
• "Fog of War" The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara ) is a film by Eroll Maurice. Errol Morris ) (2003).
• In 2004, the Japanese company Konami released the cult video game Metal Gear Solid 3, which was set against the backdrop of the Caribbean Crisis.
• "Prayers" () for baritone and chamber orchestra by the composer Luigi Dallapiccola. The score is defiantly dated to the day of Kennedy's address to the people.

• In light of these events, it was sometimes joked in the Soviet Union that the name of the island of Cuba stands for "Communism off the coast of America."

see also

• Black Saturday (1962)
• Rocket PGM-19 Jupiter, Jupiter
• Rocket R-12 (SS-4)
• Rocket R-14 (SS-5)

Notes

1. Kennedy Robert Thirteen Days: A memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis. - W.W. Norton & Company, 1971. - P. 14. - ISBN 0-393-09896-6
2. Table of US Strategic Bomber Forces. Archive of Nuclear Data(2002). Archived from the original on August 28, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
3. Table of US ICBM Forces. Archive of Nuclear Data(2002). Archived
4. Table of US Ballistic Missile Submarine Forces. Archive of Nuclear Data(2002). Archived from the original on August 28, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
5. “Operation Anadyr: Figures and Facts”, Zerkalo Nedelya, No. 41 (416) October 26 - November 1, 2002
6. A. Fursenko. "Mad Risk", p. 255
7. A. Fursenko "Mad Risk", p. 256
8. Marshal Baghramyan. Love in the line of fire
9. Interview with Sidney Graybeal - 1/29/98 // The National Security Archive of the George Washington University
10. A. Fursenko, Mad Risk, p. 299
11. The Cuban Crisis: A Historical Perspective (Discussion) Hosted by James Blight, Philip Brenner, Julia Sweig, Svetlana Savranskaya and Graham Allison
12. Soviet Analysis of the Strategic Situation in Cuba October 22, 1962
13. A. A. Gromyko - "Memorable", book 1
14. K. Tariverdiev. Caribbean Crisis
15. The "Cuban Missile Crisis, October 18-29, 1962" from History and Politics Out Loud
16. Cuba and the United States: A Chronological History by Jane Franklin, 420 pages, 1997, Ocean Press
17. N. S. Khrushchev. Memories. Page 490
18. SM-65 Atlas - United States Nuclear Forces
19. David K. Stumpf: "Titan II: A History of a Cold War Missile Program", Univ. of Arkansas, 2000
20. Anatoly Dokuchaev But Kennedy suspected Khrushchev... Who ordered the shooting down of an American spy plane over Cuba? . "Independent Military Review" (August 18, 2000). Archived from the original on August 28, 2011. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
21. THIRTEEN DAYS. Robert McNamara responds to your questions (March 2001)
22. In particular, Academician A. D. Sakharov, one of the developers of Soviet nuclear weapons, made such a statement Reflections on progress, peaceful coexistence and intellectual freedom
23. Nikita Khrushchev - Voice from the past. Part 2.
24. final speech by N.S. Khrushchev at the plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU on November 23, 1962.
25. (English)
26. SOVIETS CLOSE TO USING A-BOMB IN 1962 CRISIS, FORUM IS TOLD

Literature

• Lavrenov S.A., Popov I.M. The Soviet Union in local wars and conflicts. - M .: Astrel, 2003. - S. 213-289. - ISBN 5-271-05709-7
• Manoilin V.I. Basing of the Navy of the USSR. St. Petersburg: Neva Publishing House, 2004. - 320 p. - ISBN 5-7654-3446-0
• Mikoyan S. A. Anatomy of the Caribbean Crisis. , Academia Publishing, 2006. ISBN 5-87444-242-1
• Okorokov A.V. USSR in the struggle for world domination. Moscow: Yauza: Eksmo, 2009. - 448 p. - ISBN 978-5-699-37381-9
• The feat of P.L. "Strategic nuclear weapons of Russia", M.: IzdAT, 1998
• Feklisov A.S. Caribbean nuclear missile crisis / Kennedy and Soviet agents. Moscow: Eksmo: Algorithm, 2001. - 304 p. Cc. 234-263. - ISBN 978-5-699-46002-1
• Fursenko A., Naftali T. Mad Risk, publishing house ROSSPEN, 2006
• Allison, Graham and Zelikow, P. Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York: Longman, 1999.
• Blight, James G., and David A. Welch. On the Brink: Americans and Soviets Reexamine the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York: Hill and Wang, 1989.
• Brugioni, Dino A. Eyeball to Eyeball: The Inside Story of the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York: Random House, 1991.
• Divine, Robert A. The Cuban Missile Crisis. New York: M. Wiener Pub., 1988.
• Fursenko, Aleksandr, and Naftali, Timothy; One Hell of a Gamble - Khrushchev, Castro and Kennedy 1958-1964; W.W. Norton (New York 1998)
• Giglio, James N. The Presidency of John F. Kennedy. Lawrence, Kansas, 1991.
• Gonzalez, Servando The Nuclear Deception: Nikita Khrushchev and the Cuban Missile Crisis; IntelliBooks, 2002 ISBN 0-9711391-5-6
• Kennedy, Robert F. Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis; ISBN 0-393-31834-6
• May, Ernest R., and Philip D. Zelikow., eds. The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis. Concise Edition. New York: W.W. Norton, 2001.
• Nuti, Leopoldo (ed.) I "Missili di Ottobre": La Storiografia Americana e la Crisi Cubana dell'Ottobre 1962 Milano: LED, 1994.
• Thompson, Robert S. The Missile of October: The Declassified Story of John F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• Diez Acosta, Tombs. October 1962: The "Missile" Crisis As Seen From Cuba. Pathfinder Press, New York, 2002.

Links

• Memoirs of Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev about the Cuban Missile Crisis
• Photocopy of the first page of a letter from N. S. Khrushchev to President Kennedy on October 24, 1962. Storage of the National Library of Congress USA.
• Appeal of N. S. Khrushchev to D. F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis. 10/27/1962 and D. Kennedy's answer to N. S. Khrushchev. October 28, 1962
• Caribbean crisis . Essay by M. Statkevich 2004
• Caribbean crisis: turning point. Behind the scenes of history. Article by I. Khlebnikov in the journal Obozrevatel.
• Lavrenov S. Ya, Popov I. M. The Soviet Union in local wars and conflicts. Caribbean crisis: the world is on the brink of disaster

Soviet-American relations developed extremely unevenly in the middle and second half of the 1950s. In 1959, Khrushchev, who showed a genuine interest in the United States, visited this country on a rather lengthy visit. One of the components of his schedule was a speech at a meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York. Here he put forward a broad program of general and complete disarmament. This program, of course, looked utopian, but at the same time it provided for a number of initial steps that could reduce the intensity of international tension: the elimination of military bases on foreign territory, the conclusion of a non-aggression pact between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, etc. The propaganda response from Khrushchev's speech was weighty and forced the United States to sign a joint resolution with the USSR on the need to make efforts for general disarmament, adopted by the UN General Assembly. Khrushchev spoke at a session of the UN General Assembly in the fall of 1960 - now not as part of a visit to the United States, but as the head of the Soviet delegation to the UN. The problems of disarmament and support for the national liberation movement sounded in his first place. The dangerous backwardness of the USSR in the production of nuclear weapons forced the Soviet leader to make loud and even extravagant statements (which concerned primarily Western representatives) about the superiority of the USSR in missiles. In the heat of the controversy, despite the fact that he was in the UN building, Khrushchev even pounded his shoe on the table.

A return visit by US President D. Eisenhower to the USSR was being prepared, but fell through due to an incident with an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft shot down over Soviet territory. American planes had previously repeatedly violated the airspace of the USSR, and, having an advantage in speed and altitude, evaded the pursuit of Soviet interceptors and anti-aircraft missiles. But on May 1, 1960, the American pilot F. Powers was not lucky. In the Sverdlovsk region, where he managed to fly, there were already new modernized missiles. Being shot down, Powers, contrary to instructions, did not commit suicide, but surrendered. The testimony of the American pilot was made public and a trial took place over him. President Eisenhower refused to apologize to the USSR for this flight, which spoiled his relationship with the Soviet leader. Two years later, Powers, who was serving his sentence, was exchanged for Soviet intelligence officer R. Abel, convicted in the USA.

FROM THE SPEECH OF N.S. Khrushchev at the meeting of the UN General Assembly. October 11, 1960

“I declare, gentlemen, that the time will come when you will understand the need for disarmament. The people will throw out those who put obstacles on the way to peace and mutual understanding... You, the people of the socialist world, will not be intimidated by you! Our economy is flourishing, our technology is on the rise, the people are united. Do you want to impose on us an arms race? We do not want it, but we are not afraid. We will beat you! We have put the production of missiles on the conveyor. Recently I was at a factory and saw how rockets come out there, like sausages from a machine gun. Rocket after rocket comes out of our factory lines. Someone wants to try how we stand on the ground? You tried us and we beat you. I mean, they defeated those who went to war against us in the first years after the October Revolution ... Some gentlemen will now begin to crack that Khrushchev is threatening someone. No, Khrushchev does not threaten, but actually predicts the future for you. If you do not understand the real situation ... if there is no disarmament, then there will be an arms race, and any arms race will eventually lead to a military denouement. If the war starts, then we will not count many of those sitting here ...

What else to add?

For the time being, not all the peoples of Asia and the peoples of Africa, who have recently liberated themselves from colonial oppression, have realized their strength, are still following their hangmen-colonizers of yesterday. But today it is so, and tomorrow it will not be; this will not happen, the peoples will rise up, straighten their backs and want to be the real masters of the situation ... "

BERLIN WALL

The construction of the famous Berlin Wall served as a prologue to the exacerbation of the crisis in the Caribbean. In the geopolitical confrontation between the USSR and the West, the German question continued to occupy one of the main places. Particular attention was focused on the status of West Berlin. East Berlin became the capital of the GDR. The western part of the city, where the US, British and French troops were located, formally had a special status, but clearly gravitated towards the Federal Republic of Germany. Khrushchev proposed convening a conference of the great powers to declare West Berlin a demilitarized zone. But after the incident with the U-2 aircraft, consultations on this issue ceased.

Meanwhile, the competent market policy of the authorities of West Berlin, their support from the FRG, as well as solid cash injections from the United States and other countries, made it possible to dramatically increase the standard of living of West Berliners compared to residents of the eastern sector. Such a contrast, along with open borders between parts of the city, stimulated emigration from East Berlin, which hurt the economy of the GDR. NATO also used this situation for an active ideological attack on the socialist system.

In August 1961, the leadership of the Department of Internal Affairs, in accordance with the decision taken in Moscow, called on the GDR to take measures against the policy of West Berlin. The subsequent actions of the German communists came as a complete surprise to the West. Ordinary members of the party created a living ring of wills of the border between sectors. Simultaneously, the rapid construction of a 45-kilometer concrete wall with checkpoints began. After 10 days, the wall was ready and immediately became a symbol of the Cold War.

Simultaneously with the construction of the wall, transport communications between parts of the city were interrupted, and the border guards of the GDR were ordered to open fire on the defectors. During the years of the wall's existence, dozens of people who tried to overcome it were killed and injured. The wall stood until November 9, 1989, when, in the light of perestroika that began in the USSR and political transformations in Eastern Europe, the new government of the GDR announced an unhindered transition from East to West Berlin and back. The official dismantling took place in January 1990.

CARIBBEAN CRISIS

The confrontation between the Soviet and Western blocs approached its most dangerous line during the so-called. The Caribbean (Missile) Crisis in the autumn of 1962. A significant part of humanity was then on the verge of death, and before the start of the war, in figurative terms, there was the same distance as from the palm of an officer to a button on a rocket launcher.

In 1959, the pro-American regime was overthrown in Cuba, and pro-communist forces led by Fidel Castro came to power in the country. The communist state in the traditional zone of US interests (in fact, at their side) was not just a blow, but simply a shock to the political elite in Washington. A nightmare was becoming a reality: the Soviets were at the gates of Florida. In order to overthrow Castro, the US Central Intelligence Agency immediately began preparing a subversive action. In April 1961, a landing party consisting of Cuban emigrants landed in the Bay of Pigs, but was quickly defeated. Castro sought closer rapprochement with Moscow. This was required by the task of defending the "Island of Freedom" from a new attack. In turn, Moscow was interested in creating a military base in Cuba as opposed to NATO bases around the borders of the USSR. The fact is that Turkey already had American nuclear missiles that could reach the vital centers of the Soviet Union in just a few minutes, while Soviet missiles needed almost half an hour to hit the US. Such a gap in time could be fatal. The creation of the Soviet base began in the spring of 1962, and soon a secret transfer of medium-range missiles began there. Despite the clandestine nature of the operation (which was codenamed "Anadyr"), the Americans found out about what was on board the Soviet ships going to Cuba.

On September 4, 1962, President John F. Kennedy declared that the United States would under no circumstances tolerate Soviet nuclear missiles 150 kilometers from its coast. Khrushchev declared that only research equipment was being installed in Cuba. But on October 14, an American reconnaissance aircraft photographed the missile launch pads from the air. The US military proposed to immediately bomb the Soviet missiles from the air and launch an invasion of the island by the Marine Corps. Such actions led to the inevitable war with the Soviet Union in the victorious outcome of which Kennedy was not sure. Therefore, he decided to take a tough stance, but not to resort to military attack. In an address to the nation, he said that the United States was beginning a naval blockade of Cuba, demanding that the USSR immediately remove its missiles from there. Khrushchev soon realized that Kennedy would stand his ground to the end and on October 26 sent a message to the president recognizing the presence of powerful Soviet weapons in Cuba. But at the same time, Khrushchev tried to convince Kennedy that the USSR was not going to attack America. The position of the White House remained the same - the immediate withdrawal of missiles.

October 27 was the most critical day of the crisis. Then a Soviet anti-aircraft missile shot down one of the many US reconnaissance aircraft over the island. Its pilot is dead. The situation escalated to the limit, and the US President decided two days later to start bombing Soviet missile bases and start landing on Cuba. In those days, many Americans, frightened by the prospect of nuclear war, left large cities and dug bomb shelters on their own. However, all this time, unofficial contacts were maintained between Moscow and Washington, the parties considered various proposals in order to move away from the dangerous line. On October 28, the Soviet leadership decided to accept the American condition, which was that the USSR withdraws its missiles from Cuba, after which the United States lifts the blockade of the island. Kennedy pledged not to attack "Liberty Island". In addition, an agreement was reached on the withdrawal of American missiles from Turkey. In plain text, the Soviet message was delivered to the President of the United States.

After October 28, the Soviet Union withdrew its missiles and bombers from Cuba, and the United States lifted the naval blockade of the island. International tension subsided, but the Cuban leaders did not like this "concession" to the United States. Officially remaining in the Soviet position, Castro criticized the actions of Moscow, and especially Khrushchev. On the whole, the Cuban crisis showed the great powers that the continuation of the arms race and abrupt actions in the international arena could turn the world into the abyss of a global and all-destroying war. And, paradoxically, with the overcoming of the Cuban crisis, an impetus was given to detente: each of the adversaries realized that the opposing side was striving to avoid a nuclear war. The US and the USSR became more aware of the limits of acceptable confrontation in the Cold War, the need to seek a compromise on issues of bilateral relations. For N.S. Khrushchev, the Caribbean crisis also did not pass without a trace. His concessions were seen by many as a sign of weakness, further undermining the authority of the Soviet leader among the Kremlin leadership.

APPEAL N.S. Khrushchev to D.F. KENNEDY October 27, 1962

“Dear Mr. President.

I read with great satisfaction your reply to Mr. Ran about taking measures to exclude contact between our ships and thereby avoid irreparable fatal consequences. This sensible step on your part strengthens me in the fact that you show concern for the preservation of the world, which I note with satisfaction.

You want to secure your country, and this is understandable. All countries want to protect themselves. But how can we, the Soviet Union, our government evaluate your actions, which are expressed in the fact that you surrounded the Soviet Union with military bases, located military bases literally around our country. They placed their missile weapons there. This is not a secret. American responsible figures defiantly declare this. Your missiles are located in England, are located in Italy and are aimed against us. Your missiles are located in Turkey.

You are worried about Cuba. You say that it worries you because it is 90 miles by sea from the coast of the United States of America. But Türkiye is next to us, our sentries are walking around and looking at one another. Why do you think that you have the right to demand security for your country and the removal of those weapons that you call offensive, but you do not recognize this right for us.

After all, you have deployed destructive missile weapons, which you call offensive, in Turkey, literally at our side. How then does the recognition of our militarily equal opportunities fit in with similar unequal relations between our great states. It's impossible to reconcile.

Therefore, I am making a proposal: we agree to withdraw from Cuba what you consider to be offensive weapons. We agree to implement this and declare this obligation to the UN. Your representatives will make a statement that the United States, for its part, taking into account the anxiety and concern of the Soviet state, will withdraw its similar funds from Turkey. Let's agree on how long it takes for you and us to do this. And after that, the authorized representatives of the UN Security Council could monitor the implementation of the obligations taken on the spot.”

ANSWER D. KENNEDY N.S. KHRUSHCHEV. October 28, 1962

“I applaud Chairman Khrushchev's state-wise decision to stop building bases in Cuba, dismantle offensive weapons and return them to the Soviet Union under UN supervision. This is an important and constructive contribution to peace.

We will be in contact with the Secretary General of the United Nations on reciprocal measures to ensure peace in the Caribbean.

I sincerely hope that the governments of the world in dealing with the Cuban crisis can turn their attention to the urgent need to end the arms race and reduce international tensions. This applies both to the fact that the countries of the Warsaw Pact and NATO confront each other militarily, and other situations in other parts of the globe, where tension leads to a fruitless diversion of resources to the creation of weapons of war.

“The events of the October days of 1962 are the first and, fortunately, the only thermonuclear crisis, which was a “moment of fear and insight” when N.S. Khrushchev, John F. Kennedy, F. Castro and all of humanity felt they were in “the same boat” that found themselves in the epicenter of the nuclear abyss.”

At the same time, this war was far from homogeneous: it was a series of crises, local military conflicts, revolutions and coups, as well as the normalization of relations and even their “thaw”. One of the most "hot" stages of the Cold War was the Cuban Missile Crisis, a crisis when the whole world froze, preparing for the worst.

Background and causes of the Caribbean Crisis

In 1952, military commander F. Batista came to power in Cuba as a result of a military coup. This coup caused widespread indignation among the Cuban youth and the progressive part of the population. Fidel Castro became the leader of the opposition to Batista, who already on July 26, 1953, took up arms against the dictatorship. However, this uprising (on this day the rebels stormed the barracks of Moncada) was unsuccessful, and Castro, along with his surviving supporters, went to jail. Only thanks to a powerful socio-political movement in the country, the rebels were amnestied already in 1955.

After that, F. Castro and his supporters launched a full-scale guerrilla war against government troops. Their tactics soon began to bear fruit, and in 1957 the troops of F. Batista suffered a series of serious defeats in the countryside. At the same time, general indignation at the policies of the Cuban dictator also grew. All these processes resulted in a revolution, which, as expected, ended with the victory of the rebels in January 1959. Fidel Castro became the de facto ruler of Cuba.

At first, the new Cuban government sought to find a common language with the formidable northern neighbor, but then US President D. Eisenhower did not even deign to host F. Castro. It also became clear that the ideological differences between the US and Cuba could not allow them to fully converge. The USSR seemed to be the most attractive ally of F. Castro.

Having established diplomatic relations with Cuba, the Soviet leadership established trade with the country and provided it with enormous assistance. Dozens of Soviet specialists, hundreds of parts and other critical cargoes were sent to the island. Relations between the countries quickly became friendly.

Operation Anadyr

Another of the main causes of the Cuban Missile Crisis was by no means the revolution in Cuba and not the situation associated with these events. Türkiye joined NATO in 1952. Since 1943, this state has had a pro-American orientation, connected, among other things, with the neighborhood of the USSR, with which the country did not have the best relations.

In 1961, the deployment of American medium-range ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads began in Turkey. This decision of the American leadership was dictated by a number of circumstances such as a higher speed of approach of such missiles to targets, as well as the possibility of pressure on the Soviet leadership due to the even more clearly marked American nuclear superiority. The deployment of nuclear missiles in Turkey seriously upset the balance of power in the region, putting the Soviet leadership in an almost hopeless situation. It was then that it was decided to use the new bridgehead almost at the side of the United States.

The Soviet leadership turned to F. Castro with a proposal to deploy 40 Soviet ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads in Cuba and soon received a positive response. The General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces began the development of the Anadyr operation. The purpose of this operation was to deploy Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, as well as a military contingent of about 10 thousand people and an aviation group (helicopter, attack and fighter aircraft).

In the summer of 1962, Operation Anadyr began. It was preceded by a powerful set of camouflage measures. So, often the captains of transport ships did not know what kind of cargo they were transporting, not to mention the personnel, who did not even know where the transfer was being made. For camouflage, minor cargoes were stored in many ports of the Soviet Union. In August, the first Soviet transports arrived in Cuba, and in the autumn the installation of ballistic missiles began.

Beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis

In the early autumn of 1962, when it became clear to the American leadership that there were Soviet missile bases in Cuba, the White House had three options for action. These options are: the destruction of bases through pinpoint strikes, the invasion of Cuba, or the imposition of a naval blockade of the island. The first option had to be abandoned.

In order to prepare for the invasion of the island, American troops began to be transferred to Florida, where they were concentrated. However, putting Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba on full alert also made the option of a full-scale invasion very risky. There was a naval blockade.

Based on all the data, having weighed all the pros and cons, the United States already in mid-October announced the introduction of quarantine against Cuba. This wording was introduced because the announcement of the blockade would be an act of war, and the United States was its instigators and aggressors, since the deployment of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba was not a violation of any international treaties. But, following its long-standing logic, where "the strong is always right," the United States continued to provoke a military conflict.

The introduction of quarantine, which began on October 24 at 10:00, provided only a complete cessation of arms supplies to Cuba. As part of this operation, the US Navy surrounded Cuba and began patrolling coastal waters, while receiving instructions not to open fire on Soviet ships in any case. At that time, about 30 Soviet ships were heading towards Cuba, carrying, among other things, nuclear warheads. It was decided to send some of these forces back to avoid conflict with the United States.

Development of the crisis

By October 24, the situation around Cuba began to heat up. On this day, Khrushchev received a telegram from the President of the United States. In it, Kennedy demanded to observe the quarantine of Cuba and "keep prudence." Khrushchev responded to the telegram quite sharply and negatively. The next day, at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, a scandal broke out caused by a skirmish between Soviet and American representatives.

Nevertheless, both the Soviet and the American leadership clearly understood that it was completely pointless for both sides to escalate the conflict. Thus, the Soviet government decided to take a course towards the normalization of relations with the United States and diplomatic negotiations. Khrushchev personally wrote a letter on October 26 addressed to the American leadership, in which he proposed to withdraw Soviet missiles from Cuba in exchange for lifting the quarantine, refusing to invade the island by the United States, and withdrawing American missiles from Turkey.

On October 27, the Cuban leadership became aware of the new conditions of the Soviet leadership for resolving the crisis. The island was preparing for a possible American invasion, which, according to available data, was to begin within the next three days. An additional alarm was caused by the flight of an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft over the island. Thanks to the Soviet S-75 anti-aircraft missile systems, the plane was shot down, and the pilot (Rudolf Anderson) died. On the same day, another American aircraft flew over the USSR (over Chukotka). However, in this case, everything went without casualties: the interception and escort of the aircraft by Soviet fighters.

The nervous atmosphere that reigned in the American leadership was growing. President Kennedy was categorically advised by the military to launch a military operation against Cuba in order to neutralize Soviet missiles on the island as quickly as possible. However, such a decision would unconditionally lead to a large-scale conflict and a response from the USSR, if not in Cuba, then in another region. Nobody needed a full-scale war.

Conflict resolution and aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis

In the course of negotiations between the US President's brother Robert Kennedy and Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin, general principles were formulated on the basis of which it was envisaged to resolve the crisis. These principles formed the basis of a message from John F. Kennedy sent to the Kremlin on October 28, 1962. This message offered the Soviet leadership to withdraw Soviet missiles from Cuba in exchange for guarantees of non-aggression from the United States and the lifting of the island's quarantine. Regarding American missiles in Turkey, it was indicated that this issue also has the prospect of being resolved. The Soviet leadership, after some deliberation, responded positively to J. Kennedy's message, and on the same day, the dismantling of Soviet nuclear missiles began in Cuba.

The last Soviet missiles from Cuba were taken out 3 weeks later, and already on November 20, J. Kennedy announced the end of Cuba's quarantine. Also, soon American ballistic missiles were withdrawn from Turkey.

The Caribbean crisis was resolved quite successfully for the whole world, but not everyone was satisfied with the current state of affairs. So, both in the USSR and in the USA, high-ranking and influential persons were under the governments, interested in the escalation of the conflict and, as a result, very disappointed with its detente. There are a number of versions that it was thanks to their assistance that John F. Kennedy was assassinated (November 23, 1963) and N. S. Khrushchev was deposed (in 1964).

The result of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 was an international detente, which was expressed in the improvement of relations between the US and the USSR, as well as in the creation of a number of anti-war movements around the world. This process took place in both countries and became a kind of symbol of the 70s of the XX century. Its logical conclusion was the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan and a new round of growing tensions in relations between the USA and the USSR.

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The Caribbean Crisis is an extremely tense clash between the Soviet Union and the United States on October 16-28, 1962, which arose as a result of the Soviet deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba in October 1962. The Cubans call it the "October Crisis" and in the US the "Cuban Missile Crisis".

In 1961, the United States deployed PGM-19 Jupiter medium-range missiles in Turkey, which threatened cities in the western part of the Soviet Union, including Moscow and major industrial centers. They could reach objects on the territory of the USSR in 5-10 minutes, while Soviet intercontinental missiles reached the United States in only 25 minutes. Therefore, the USSR decided to take advantage of the opportunity when the Cuban leadership of Fidel Castro turned to it with a request for protection, which the Americans tried to overthrow with help " Operations in the Bay of Pigs"(1961). Khrushchev decided to install in Cuba - close to the United States (90 miles from Florida) - Soviet medium-range missiles R-12 and R-14, capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

Caribbean crisis. video film

The operation to transfer military personnel, equipment and missiles to Cuba was called "Anadyr". In order to keep it as secret as possible, military exercises started in the USSR were announced. During the day, skis and winter clothes were loaded in military units - ostensibly for delivery to Chukotka. Part of the rocket men sailed to Cuba under the guise of "specialists in agriculture", on civilian ships that carried tractors and combines. No one on the ship knew where they were going. Even captains were ordered to open secret packages only in a prescribed square of the sea.

The missiles were delivered to Cuba and their installation began there. The Caribbean crisis opened on October 14, 1962, when an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, during one of its regular overflights of Cuba, discovered Soviet R-12 missiles near the village of San Cristobal. President of the U.S.A John Kennedy immediately created a special "Executive Committee", which discussed ways to solve the problem. At first, the committee acted in secret, but on October 22, Kennedy addressed the people, announcing the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba, which almost caused a panic in the United States. On October 24, the US government imposed a "quarantine" (blockade) on Cuba. On the same day, five Soviet ships came close to the blockade zone and stopped.

Khrushchev began to deny the presence of Soviet nuclear weapons on the island, but on October 25 photographs of the missiles were shown at a meeting of the UN Security Council. The Kremlin said at the time that the missiles were installed in Cuba to "deter" the United States. The "Executive Committee" discussed the use of force to solve the problem. His supporters urged Kennedy to start bombing Cuba. However, another overflight of the U-2 showed that several Soviet missiles were already ready for launch and an attack on the island would inevitably cause a war.

Kennedy offered the Soviet Union to dismantle the installed missiles and deploy the ships going to Cuba in exchange for US guarantees not to overthrow the Fidel Castro regime. Khrushchev set an additional condition: to remove American missiles from Turkey. These points were agreed upon just a few hours before the possible outbreak of war, with the proviso that the withdrawal of Soviet missiles from Cuba would be done openly, and that of American missiles from Turkey would be secret.

On October 28, the dismantling of Soviet missiles began, ending in a few weeks. On November 20, the blockade of Cuba was lifted, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, which had brought humanity to the brink of nuclear annihilation, ended. After him, a permanent “hot” line began to work between the White House and the Kremlin in case of an unforeseen aggravation in the future.

In the early 1960s Cuba has become an arena of rivalry between the great powers. The American government was quite alarmed at the prospect of having a communist state at its side. The revolutionary center that arose in Cuba represented a certain threat to American influence in Latin America. At the same time, the USSR was interested in turning Cuba into its ally in the fight against the United States.

USSR support

All the actions of the United States directed against Cuba were skillfully used by the Soviet government in their own interests. Thus, the economic blockade organized by the USA led to the fact that the Soviet Union began to supply oil to Cuba. The USSR and the countries of the socialist camp bought Cuban sugar, supplied the population of the island with everything necessary. This allowed the revolutionary regime to survive. In April 1961, the US attempt by Cuban emigrants to intervene on the island ended in the defeat of the landing force. It was after these events that F. Castro began to call the Cuban revolution socialist.

Deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba

The economic, political and military pressure of the United States on the rebellious island led to a further tightening of the revolutionary regime. Under these conditions, the Cuban authorities decided to strengthen the country's defense capability with the help of the USSR. The Soviet government, under a secret agreement with the Cuban leadership in the summer and autumn of 1962, deployed medium-range nuclear missiles in Cuba. Under the gunpoint of Soviet missiles were the vital centers of the United States.

The transfer of missiles was carried out in the strictest secrecy, but already in September 1962, the US leadership suspected something was wrong. On September 4, President Kennedy declared that the United States would under no circumstances tolerate Soviet nuclear missiles within 150 kilometers of its borders. In response, Khrushchev assured Kennedy that there were no Soviet missiles or nuclear weapons in Cuba and never would be. He called the installations discovered by the Americans Soviet research equipment. material from the site

October Crisis

The dramatic events in October 1962 developed in the following way. On October 14, pictures of an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft showed the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba. October 22 was followed by an official statement by US President John F. Kennedy on the blockade of the island. American missile units were put on alert. Nuclear warheads were activated on 100 missiles. On October 24, Soviet ships loaded with missiles reached the quarantine line and stopped. Never before has the danger of nuclear war been so real. On October 25, Kennedy sent a telegram to Khrushchev demanding that Soviet missiles be withdrawn from the island. The Soviet leader sent two responses, in the first he demanded US guarantees of non-aggression on Cuba, and in the second he demanded the withdrawal of American Mars missiles from Turkey. Kennedy accepted the first, while the second condition was met a few months later. On October 28, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles.

The Cuban crisis was followed by some improvement in international relations, which led to the signing on August 5, 1963 of an agreement between the USSR, the USA, Great Britain on the prohibition of testing nuclear weapons in three areas - in the atmosphere, outer space and under water. This improvement, however, began already in the absence of the main actors of the Caribbean crisis: on November 22-November 1963, John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and on October 14, 1964, N. S. Khrushchev was removed from all his party and state posts.