Which countries were involved in the Caribbean Crisis. How did the Caribbean Crisis begin?

“The skillful actions of US President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis, which erupted exactly 50 years ago, have been elevated to the rank of a central myth.” cold war". It is based on the thesis that Kennedy, thanks to the military superiority of the United States and his will of steel, forced the Soviet Prime Minister Khrushchev to capitulate and remove the missiles secretly stationed there from Cuba ... According to the myth, Khrushchev lost everything, and Kennedy did not give up anything. Thus, the end of the crisis was the undivided triumph of America and the unconditional defeat of the USSR,” writes the author of the article.

And these theses seem to him "incorrect." What does he think is "true"?

"Kennedy's victory in the Cold War battle, controversial both in its course and in its results, became a landmark for American foreign policy." And this is a historical fact!

“She deified military strength and willpower, putting no value on the diplomacy of mutual concessions.

She set the standard for toughness and risky confrontation with the villains, which was simply impossible to match - if only because this victory did not happen.

Well, and what's wrong with the point of view of America itself?

“The notion of the Cuban Missile Crisis that Kennedy succeeded without stepping back an inch has taken root in political thinking… It (sic!) still manifests itself today, half a century later, in worries about making concessions to Iran over its nuclear weapons or the Taliban in the context of their role in Afghanistan.

American leaders do not like to compromise. And this is largely due to the growing misunderstanding of those 13 days in October 1962.

How! It turns out that Kennedy, or rather, the algorithm he proposed for resolving the Caribbean, the most deadly crisis, is to blame for how the Yankees leave Afghanistan, and how they behave with Iran?! Found the ultimate...

“In fact, the crisis ended not in the fiasco of Soviet diplomacy, but in mutual concessions,” notes the author of Foreign Policy. - The Soviets withdrew their missiles from Cuba in exchange for a US promise not to invade Fidel Castro's island and remove the Jupiter missiles from Turkey.

The fact is that the American authorities for a long time kept secret agreements with Khrushchev on the withdrawal of Jupiter missiles from Turkey. The American government could not admit to its citizens that in October 1962 it "showed weakness" in front of the Soviets!

“From the very beginning, Kennedy’s people did everything possible to hide the concession on the Jupiters. On October 27, Robert Kennedy told Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin the following: “We will remove the Jupiters, but this part of the deal is not subject to disclosure.” The secret was kept for 16 years (!) until the appearance in the book of Arthur Schlesinger, who worked in the team of John F. Kennedy, a paragraph about this fact.

Kennedy's advisers then published an article commemorating the 20th anniversary of the crisis, in which they recognized the point of agreement regarding the Jupiters. However, they did it in such a way as to belittle its significance, stating that Kennedy had already decided by that time to remove the Jupiters from Turkey.

They acknowledged that the secrecy surrounding the Jupiter part of the deal was so important that any leak "would have a devastating effect on the security of the United States and its allies."

These Kennedy advisers, by keeping secret the Jupiter guarantees, misled their colleagues, compatriots, successors, and other allies into the erroneous conclusion that "on that Black Saturday, it was enough to stand firm," the author writes. "Foreign Policy".

We note in passing that many claims can be made against the Americans, but what you cannot refuse them is the creation and maintenance of political myths that work for the image of an indestructible America!

The mere fact that this part of the deal between Kennedy and Khrushchev would be exposed "would cause considerable dismay in NATO, where it would be perceived as a betrayal of Turkey," writes Foreign Policy.

Robert Kennedy even told Anatoly Dobrynin that these concerns were his main reason for keeping the deal a secret. A. Dobrynin telegraphed Bobby's words to Moscow: "If such a decision were announced now, it would seriously split NATO."

These are the stakes around the mere announcement of the fact of a compromise by the United States!

“Why didn’t the USSR organize a leak?” asks the American author.

So the USSR did not make a secret out of this. It’s just that the “Iron Curtain”, as the information blockade was called then, closed not only the Soviet Union from the West - the West had its own “Iron Curtain”, which closed it from the influence of the USSR. And that is why they did not let information leaked in Moscow that the United States, as part of the agreements, removed its missiles from Turkey.

Even MGIMO students, where I studied in those years, knew about it. And no secret was made of this "exchange" in Moscow. Therefore, I am very surprised by such assessments, sounding today in the article "Foreign Policy". By the way, it's time to name its author - this, by the way, is a well-known American figure, honorary president of the Council on Foreign Relations Leslie H. Gelb.

According to Leslie Gelb's own suggestion, "Khrushchev never considered the possibility of a leak because he could not know how the crisis would be presented afterwards - how weak it would look."

Let's leave such an assessment on the conscience of Mr. Gelb. But something was not heard, as if the USSR looked then in someone's foreign eyes, like a "weakling". On the other hand, I remember how the Americans, and even the NATO members, soared when Khrushchev told them: “We will bury you” and threatened with “Kuzka’s mother”, and even hit the UN with his boot. And where is the "weak"?

This is how the Americans lull themselves to sleep: “We are, they say, the strongest of all.” They forget that this has already happened in history: "Deutschland Uber Alles" ...

“Politicians are generally not enthusiastic about the idea of ​​a compromise, especially when it comes to US foreign policy. The myth of the Cuban Missile Crisis added to the arrogance. Myth, not reality, has become the yardstick for negotiating with adversaries.”

An amazing confession in the pages of America's leading foreign policy magazine from the President of the Council on Foreign Relations, a former Pentagon official!

Since the early 1960s, "few people have been willing to step in, offering even mild compromises with adversaries."

“To openly admit today that Iran can, under strict control, enrich uranium to militarily insignificant percentages is political suicide, although such enrichment is permitted by the Non-Proliferation Treaty nuclear weapons”, - L. Gelb writes frankly.

“Barack Obama's team is negotiating with the Taliban, and their demands are absolute - the Taliban must lay down their arms and accept the Kabul constitution. No serious exchange of concessions seems possible.”

Here's how to "recoup" in contemporary politics installations 50 years ago.

And at the end of the article, Leslie Gelb simply issues a “verdict”:

“For too long, US foreign policy has emphasized threats and confrontation and minimized the role of compromise.

Yes, compromise is not always a solution, and sometimes it is a completely wrong decision. But politicians of all stripes must be able to openly and without fear explore the possibility of a compromise, comparing it with alternatives.

This is the lesson the Americans have learned from the history of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In any case, in the editorial office of Foreign Policy magazine ...

The events of 1962 related to the deployment and subsequent evacuation of Soviet ballistic missiles on the island of Cuba are commonly called the Caribbean Crisis, since the island of Cuba is located in the Caribbean Sea.

The end of the 50s and the beginning of the 60s was a time of growing hostility between the USSR and the USA. The Caribbean crisis was preceded by such events as the Korean War of 1950-53, where American and Soviet aviation met in open battle, the Berlin Crisis of 1956, and mutinies in Hungary and Poland, suppressed by Soviet troops.

These years were marked by growing tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States. In the Second World War they were allies, but immediately after the war everything changed. The United States began to claim the role of "defender of the free world from the communist threat", and the so-called "cold war" was proclaimed - i.e. a unified policy of the developed capitalist states to counteract the spread of communist ideas.

In fairness, it should be noted that many of the accusations against the Soviet Union, which were put forward by Western democracy, were justified. The USSR, as a state, was essentially a dictatorship of the party bureaucracy; democratic freedoms were completely absent there; a policy of cruel repressions was pursued against those dissatisfied with the regime.

But it is also necessary to take into account the fact that in addition to the fight against cruel political regime, which at that time existed in our country, there was a struggle for geopolitical goals, since the USSR was the largest European country in terms of raw material reserves, territory, and population. It was undoubtedly a major power in size, despite all its shortcomings. He challenged the US as a serious opponent - a heavyweight in the European ring. It was about who main country Europe, on the opinion of which everything depends, and whoever is in charge in Europe is also in charge in the world.

The United States cared little for economic rivalry with the Soviet Union. The economy of the USSR was a very modest part of the European and even more American. The technical backlog was very great. Despite the rather high rates of development, it had no chance of becoming a serious competitor to the United States and Western Europe on the world market.

After 1945, the United States became the “workshop of the world”. They also became the World Bank and the international police to maintain order in devastated Europe. New European order after the World War meant tolerance, humanism, reconciliation and, of course, broad assistance and protection of the state to all citizens, regardless of their national or class origin. That is why he met with the understanding and support of the majority of the population.

The Soviet model assumed class-based repression, restriction of cultural and economic freedoms, the introduction of a backward economic system Asian type, completely unacceptable for Europe. This model could not win the sympathy of the Europeans. Of course, the victory of the USSR in the war against Nazi Germany aroused great interest and sympathy for the Russian people in the world and in Europe, but these sentiments quickly ended, and especially quickly in those countries. of Eastern Europe where communist regimes came to power with the support of the USSR.

Much more Western politicians of that time were worried that, thanks to the totalitarian system of government, the USSR could allocate more than half of its national income for military needs, concentrate its best engineering and scientific personnel in the production of weapons. In addition, Soviet spies knew how to masterfully steal technical and military secrets.

Therefore, although in terms of the standard of living of the population of the USSR it could not be compared with any of the developed European countries, in the military field, he was a serious opponent of the West.

The USSR had nuclear weapons since 1946. However, these weapons did not have real military significance for quite a long time, since there were no means of delivery.

The main rival - the United States had a powerful combat aviation. The United States had more than a thousand bombers capable of conducting a nuclear bombardment of the USSR under the cover of several tens of thousands of jet fighters.

At that time, the USSR could not oppose anything to these forces. Financial and technical capabilities to create equal in strength to American navy and the country did not have aviation in a short time. Based on real conditions, it was decided to focus on the creation of such delivery vehicles for nuclear charges, which would cost an order of magnitude cheaper, be easier to manufacture and do not require expensive maintenance. Ballistic missiles became such a means.

The USSR began to create them under Stalin. The first Soviet R-1 rocket was an attempt to copy the German FAA rocket, which was in service with the Nazi Wehrmacht. AT further work several design bureaus continued to develop ballistic missiles. Enormous financial, economic and intellectual resources were directed to ensure their work. It is no exaggeration to say that the entire Soviet industry worked on the creation of ballistic missiles.

By the early 1960s, they had designed and manufactured powerful missiles capable of reaching the United States. The USSR achieved impressive success in the production of such missiles. This was shown and the launch of the first artificial satellite Earth in 1957, and the flight of the Earth's first cosmonaut Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin into Earth orbit in 1961.

Success in mastering outer space dramatically changed the image of the USSR in the eyes of the Western layman. Surprise was caused by the scale of achievements, the speed of their achievement, and at the cost of what sacrifices and costs this was achieved was not known outside the Soviet Union.

Naturally, the Western countries took all measures to exclude the possibility for the USSR to dictate its terms, relying on the "nuclear club". There was only one way to achieve security - the deployment of a powerful military alliance of European countries led by the most powerful country in the world - the United States. All conditions were created for the Americans to deploy their military systems in Europe, moreover, in the face of the Soviet military threat they were invited and lured there by all means.

The United States deployed a powerful security belt, placing missile bases, tracking stations, and airfields for reconnaissance aircraft around the borders of the USSR. However, they had an advantage in geographical location- if their military bases were located near Soviet borders, then the United States itself was separated from the territory of the USSR by the world's oceans and thus were insured against a retaliatory nuclear strike.

At the same time, they paid little attention to the concern of the USSR in this regard, declaring all this to be the needs of defense. However, as you know, the best defense is an attack, and deployed nuclear weapons made it possible to inflict unacceptable damage on the USSR and force it to capitulate.

The creation of an American military base in Turkey and the deployment of the latest missiles equipped with nuclear warheads caused particular indignation among the Soviet leadership. These missiles could inflict nuclear strike along the European part of Ukraine and Russia, along the largest and most populated cities, along river dams on the Volga and Dnieper, large plants and factories. The USSR could not respond to this blow, especially if it turned out to be sudden - the United States was too far away, on another continent, on which the USSR did not have a single ally.

By the beginning of 1962, the USSR, by the will of fate, for the first time had a chance to change this geographical "injustice".

A sharp political conflict has arisen between the United States and the Republic of Cuba, a tiny island state in the Caribbean Sea, located in close proximity to the United States. After several years guerrilla war Rebels led by Fidel Castro seized power on this island. The composition of his supporters was motley - from Maoists and Trotskyists to anarchists and religious sectarians. These revolutionaries equally criticized both the US and the USSR for their imperialist policies and did not have a clear reform agenda. Their main desire was to establish a fair social order without the exploitation of man by man. What it is and how to do it, none of them really knew, however, the first years of the existence of the Castro regime were spent on solving only one problem - the destruction of dissidents.

Having come to power, Castro, as they say, "bit the bit." The success of the revolution in Cuba convinced him that in exactly the same military way, by sending guerrilla sabotage groups, it is possible in a short time to overthrow the "capitalist" governments in all countries of Latin America. On this basis, he immediately had a conflict with the United States, which, by right of the strongest, considered themselves guarantors political stability in the region and were not going to passively observe the actions of Castro's militants.

Attempts were made to kill the Cuban dictator - to treat him with a poisoned cigar, to mix poison into a cocktail that he drank almost every evening in his favorite restaurant, but everything ended in embarrassment.

The United States imposed an economic blockade on Cuba and developed new plan armed invasion of the island.

Fidel turned to China for help, but failed. Mao Tse-tung considered it unreasonable at that moment to stir up a military conflict with the United States. The Cubans managed to negotiate with France and bought weapons from her, but the ship that came with these weapons was blown up by unknown people in the port of Havana.

Initially, the Soviet Union did not provide effective assistance to Cuba, since a large part of Castro's supporters were Trotskyists, and Lev Davidovich Trotsky, one of the leaders of the October Revolution and Stalin's worst enemy, was considered a traitor in the USSR. Trotsky's assassin Ramon Mercader lived in Moscow and had the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

However, soon the USSR showed a lively interest in Cuba. Among the top Soviet leaders, the idea has matured to secretly deploy nuclear ballistic missiles in Cuba that could strike the United States.

F. Burlatsky's book "Leaders and Advisors" describes the beginning of the events that brought the world to the brink of a nuclear abyss:

“The idea and initiative to deploy missiles came from Khrushchev himself. In one of his letters to Fidel Castro, Khrushchev talked about how the idea of ​​missiles in Cuba entered his mind. It happened in Bulgaria, apparently in Varna. N.S. Khrushchev and Soviet Defense Minister Malinovsky were walking along the Black Sea coast. And so Malinovsky said to Khrushchev, pointing towards the sea: on the other side, in Turkey, there is an American nuclear missile base. Missiles launched from this base can destroy major centers Ukraine and Russia, located in the south of the country, including Kyiv, Kharkov, Chernigov, Krasnodar, not to mention Sevastopol - an important naval base of the Soviet Union.

Khrushchev then asked Malinovsky: why does the Soviet Union have no right to do what America is doing? Why is it not possible, for example, to deploy our missiles in Cuba? America has surrounded the USSR with its bases on all sides and keeps it in pincers. Meanwhile, Soviet missiles and atomic bombs are located only on the territory of the USSR. This results in a double inequality. Inequality in quantities and delivery times.

So he conceived and discussed this operation first with Malinovsky, and then with a wider group of leaders, and finally received the consent of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

From the very beginning, the deployment of missiles in Cuba was prepared and carried out as a completely covert operation. Very few of the top military and party leadership were privy to it. The Soviet ambassador to the United States learned about everything that was happening from American newspapers.

However, the calculation that it would be possible to keep the secret until the full deployment of the missiles was deeply erroneous from the very beginning. And it was so obvious that even Anastas Mikoyan, Khrushchev's closest aide, from the very beginning declared that the operation would be quickly unraveled by American intelligence. There were the following reasons for this:

It was necessary to disguise a large military unit several tens of thousands of people, a large number of vehicles and armored vehicles.

The area for the deployment of launchers was chosen extremely poorly - they could easily be seen and photographed from aircraft.

The missiles had to be placed in deep mines, which could not be built very quickly and secretly.

Even if the missiles were successfully deployed, due to the fact that preparing them for launch required several hours, the enemy had the opportunity to destroy most of them from the air before the launch, and immediately strike at the Soviet troops, who were practically defenseless before massive air raids.

Nevertheless, Khrushchev personally ordered the start of the operation.

From late July to mid-September, the Soviet Union sent about 100 ships to Cuba. Most of them carried weapons. These ships delivered 42 medium-range missile and ballistic launchers - MRBMs; 12 missile and ballistic installations intermediate type, 42 Il-28 type fighter bombers, 144 anti-aircraft installations ground-to-air type.

In total, about 40,000 people were moved to Cuba. Soviet soldiers and officers.

At night, in civilian clothes, they boarded the ships and hid in the holds. They were not allowed to go on deck. The air temperature in the holds exceeded 35 degrees Celsius, terrible stuffiness and crush tormented people. According to the recollections of the participants of these transitions, it was a real hell. Things were no better after landing at the destination. The soldiers lived on dry rations, spent the night in the open air.

Tropical climate, mosquitoes, diseases, and plus to this - the inability to properly wash, relax, the complete absence of hot food and medical care.

Most of the soldiers were employed in heavy earthworks - digging mines, trenches. They worked at night, during the day they hid in the thickets or portrayed peasants in the field.

The famous general Issa Pliev, an Ossetian by nationality, was appointed commander of the Soviet military unit. He was one of Stalin's favorites, a dashing cavalryman who became famous for raids behind enemy lines, a man of great personal courage, but poorly educated, arrogant and stubborn.

Such a commander was hardly suitable for carrying out a secret operation, essentially a sabotage one. Pliev could ensure the unquestioning obedience of soldiers to orders, could force people to endure all the hardships, but he was not in his power to save the operation, doomed to failure from the very beginning.

Nevertheless, for some time it was possible to maintain secrecy. Many researchers of the history of the Caribbean crisis are surprised that despite all the mistakes of the Soviet leadership, American intelligence learned about Khrushchev's plans only in mid-October, when the conveyor for the delivery of military supplies to Cuba spun up at full capacity.

It took several days to obtain additional information through all available channels, to discuss the issue. Kennedy and his closest aides met with Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko. He already guessed what they wanted to ask him about and prepared an answer in advance - the missiles were delivered to Cuba at the request of the Cuban government, they have only tactical significance, they are designed to protect Cuba from invasion from the sea and the United States itself is not threatened in any way. But Kennedy never asked a direct question. Nevertheless, Gromyko understood everything and informed Moscow that the Americans most likely already knew about the plans to deploy nuclear weapons in Cuba.

Khrushchev immediately called a meeting of the top military and party leadership. Khrushchev was clearly frightened by a possible war and therefore ordered to send an order to Pliev not to use nuclear charges in any case, no matter what happened. Nobody knew what to do next, and therefore it remained only to wait for the development of events.

Meanwhile, the White House was deciding what to do. Most of the president's advisers were in favor of bombing launch sites. Soviet missiles. Kennedy hesitated for a while, but finally decided not to order the bombing of Cuba.

On October 22, President Kennedy addressed the American people on radio and television. He reported that Soviet missiles had been found in Cuba and demanded that the USSR immediately remove them. Kennedy announced that the United States was imposing a "quarantine" on Cuba and would inspect all ships heading for the island in order to prevent the delivery of nuclear weapons there.

The fact that the US refrained from immediate bombing was seen by Khrushchev as a sign of weakness. They sent a letter to President Kennedy, in which he demanded that the United States lift the blockade of Cuba. The letter essentially contained an unequivocal threat to start a war. At the same time in the funds mass media The USSR announced the abolition of vacations and leave for the military.

On October 24, at the request of the USSR, the UN Security Council urgently met. The Soviet Union continued to stubbornly deny the existence of nuclear missiles in Cuba. Even when on big screen all those present were shown photographs of missile silos in Cuba, the Soviet delegation continued to stand its ground, as if nothing had happened. Having lost patience, one of the US representatives asked the Soviet representative: “So there are Soviet missiles in Cuba that can carry nuclear weapons? Yes or no?"

The diplomat with an impenetrable face said: "In due time you will receive an answer."

The situation in the Caribbean became more and more tense. Two dozen Soviet ships were moving towards Cuba. American warships were ordered to stop them, if necessary, by fire. The American army received an order for increased combat readiness, and it was specially transferred to the troops in plain text, without encoding, so that the Soviet military command would know about it faster.

This achieved its goal: on the personal order of Khrushchev Soviet ships heading for Cuba turned back. Making a good face at bad game, Khrushchev said that there were already enough weapons in Cuba. The members of the Presidium of the Central Committee listened to this with stony faces. It was clear to them that, in essence, Khrushchev had already capitulated.

To sweeten the pill for his military, who found themselves in a humiliatingly stupid position, Khrushchev ordered to continue building missile silos and assembling IL-28 bombers. The exhausted soldiers continued to work 18 hours a day, although there was no longer the slightest sense in this. Confusion reigned. It was not clear who obeyed whom. For example, Pliev did not have the right to give orders to junior officers in charge of nuclear weapons. To launch anti-aircraft missiles, it was necessary to obtain permission from Moscow. At the same time, the anti-aircraft gunners received an order to prevent American reconnaissance aircraft by all means.

27th October Soviet forces Air defense was shot down by an American U-2. The pilot died. The blood of an American officer was shed, which could serve as a pretext for the outbreak of hostilities.

On the same day in the evening, Fidel Castro sent Khrushchev a lengthy letter in which he argued that the US invasion of Cuba could no longer be avoided and called on the USSR, together with Cuba, to give the Americans an armed rebuff. Moreover, Castro proposed not to wait for the Americans to begin hostilities, but to strike first with the help of Soviet missiles available in Cuba.

The next day, the president's brother Robert Kennedy met with the Soviet ambassador to the United States, Dobrynin, and essentially issued an ultimatum. Either the USSR immediately withdraws its missiles and planes from Cuba, or the United States begins an invasion of the island within 24 hours in order to eliminate Castro by force. If the USSR agrees to the dismantling and removal of missiles, President Kennedy will give guarantees not to send his troops to Cuba and to remove American missiles from Turkey. The response time is 24 hours.

Having received this information from the ambassador, Khrushchev did not waste time on meetings. He immediately wrote a letter to Kennedy agreeing to the Americans' terms. At the same time, a radio message was prepared stating that the Soviet government was giving orders to dismantle the missiles and return them to the USSR. In a terrible hurry, couriers were sent to the Radio Committee with orders to broadcast it before 5 p.m. in order to be in time for the United States to begin broadcasting President Kennedy's address to the nation on the radio, which, as Khrushchev feared, would announce the beginning of the invasion of Cuba.

Ironically, around the building of the radio committee there was a “spontaneous” demonstration organized by the state security service under the slogan “Hands off Cuba” and the courier had to literally push the demonstrators aside in order to be on time.

In his haste, Khrushchev did not reply to Castro's letter, advising him in a short note to listen to the radio. The Cuban leader took this as a personal insult. But it was no longer up to such trifles.

Zakhirov R.A. strategic operation under the guise of teaching. Nezavisimaya Gazeta November 22, 2002

Caribbean (Cuban) crisis of 1962 - a sharp aggravation international situation, caused by the threat of war between the USSR and the USA due to the deployment of the Soviet missile weapons in Cuba.

In connection with the ongoing military, diplomatic and economic pressure of the United States on Cuba, the Soviet political leadership, at its request, in June 1962 decided to deploy Soviet troops on the island, including missile forces (codenamed "Anadyr"). This was explained by the need to prevent US armed aggression against Cuba and to oppose Soviet missiles to American ones deployed in Italy and Turkey.

(Military Encyclopedia. Military Publishing. Moscow, in 8 volumes, 2004)

To accomplish this task, it was planned to deploy in Cuba three regiments of R-12 medium-range missiles (24 launchers) and two regiments of R-14 missiles (16 launchers) - a total of 40 rocket launchers with a range of missiles from 2.5 to 4.5 thousand kilometers. For this purpose, the consolidated 51st missile division was formed, consisting of five missile regiments from different divisions. The total nuclear potential of the division in the first launch could reach 70 megatons. The division in its entirety ensured the possibility of defeating military-strategic facilities almost throughout the entire territory of the United States.

The delivery of troops to Cuba was planned by civilian ships of the USSR Ministry of the Navy. In July-October, 85 cargo and passenger ships took part in Operation Anadyr, which made 183 voyages to and from Cuba.

By October, there were over 40,000 Soviet troops in Cuba.

On October 14, an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft in the San Cristobal area (Pinar del Rio province) discovered and photographed the starting positions of the Soviet missile troops. On October 16, the CIA reported this to US President John F. Kennedy. On October 16-17, Kennedy convened a meeting of his apparatus, including the top military and diplomatic leadership, at which the deployment of Soviet missiles in Cuba was discussed. Several options were proposed, including the landing of American troops on the island, an air strike on launch sites, and a maritime quarantine.

In a televised speech on October 22, Kennedy announced the appearance of Soviet missiles in Cuba and his decision to declare a naval blockade of the island from October 24, to bring to combat readiness US Armed Forces and enter into negotiations with the Soviet leadership. More than 180 US warships with 85 thousand people on board were sent to the Caribbean Sea, American troops in Europe, the 6th and 7th fleets were put on alert, up to 20% strategic aviation was on combat duty.

On October 23, the Soviet government issued a statement that the US government "takes upon itself a heavy responsibility for the fate of the world and is playing a reckless game with fire." The statement did not acknowledge the fact of the deployment of Soviet missiles in Cuba, nor any concrete proposals for a way out of the crisis. On the same day, the head of the Soviet government, Nikita Khrushchev, sent a letter to the President of the United States, in which he assured him that any weapons supplied to Cuba were intended only for defense purposes.

On October 23, intensive meetings of the UN Security Council began. UN Secretary-General U Thant called on both sides to show restraint: Soviet Union- stop the advance of their ships in the direction of Cuba, the United States - prevent a collision at sea.

October 27th was the Black Saturday of the Cuban Crisis. In those days, squadrons of American planes swept over Cuba twice a day for the purpose of intimidation. On this day, an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft was shot down in Cuba, flying around the field position areas of the missile forces. The pilot of the aircraft, Major Anderson, was killed.

The situation escalated to the limit, the US President decided two days later to begin the bombing of Soviet missile bases and a military attack on the island. Many Americans left big cities fearing an imminent Soviet strike. The world was on the brink of nuclear war.

On October 28, Soviet-American negotiations began in New York with the participation of representatives of Cuba and Secretary General UN, which ended the crisis with the corresponding obligations of the parties. The USSR government agreed with the US demand for the withdrawal of Soviet missiles from Cuba in exchange for assurances from the US government that the island's territorial inviolability would be respected, and a guarantee of non-interference in the internal affairs of that country. The withdrawal of US missiles from Turkey and Italy was also announced confidentially.

On November 2, US President Kennedy announced that the USSR had dismantled its missiles in Cuba. From 5 to 9 November, the missiles were removed from Cuba. On November 21, the United States lifted the naval blockade. On December 12, 1962, the Soviet side completed the withdrawal personnel, missile weapons and equipment. In January 1963, the UN received assurances from the USSR and the USA that the Cuban crisis had been eliminated.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources.

It has already been 54 years since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 could have been the final chapter for mankind. Meanwhile, chronologists, analyzing the events of those days by the day, still find ambiguities and white spots in those distant and fateful events. But undoubtedly all historians agree that the crisis of man was mirrored in global problems humanity, which led to the circumstances that contributed to the development of the Caribbean nuclear missile crisis in 1962.

How coups are made: the US initiates the takeover of Cuba!

As a result of another revolutionary upheaval, with which the history of Latin America is full, Fidel Castro becomes the leader of the Cuban Republic in 1961. The appearance of this leader for American intelligence was a complete failure, because over time it turned out that the new ruler did not suit the States because of his completely “wrong” policy. without sharpening special attention on the policy of the new leader, the CIA in 1959 organized several conspiracies and rebellions in Cuba. At the same time, taking advantage of Cuba's complete economic dependence on America, the Americans began to put pressure on the state's economy, refusing to buy sugar and completely cutting off the supply of oil products to the island.

However, the government of Cuba was not afraid of the pressure of the superpower and turned to Russia. The USSR, having calculated the benefits from the current situation, concluded agreements with him for the purchase of sugar, the supply of petroleum products and weapons.

But the CIA was not bothered by the first failures in achieving the goal. After all, the euphoria from the victories in Guatemala and Iran has not yet passed, where the "objectionable" rulers of these states were easily overthrown. Therefore, it seemed that it would not be difficult to win a victory in a small republic.

In the spring of 1960, the Central Intelligence Agency worked out steps to overthrow F. Castro and Eisenhower (US President) approved them. The project to eliminate the leader involved the training in Florida of Cuban immigrants opposed to the policies of Fidel Castro, who would push popular unrest to overthrow the existing regime and triumphantly lead power in Cuba.

However, the Americans could not assume that the new leader of the state was not characterized by softness, and “non-resistance to evil by violence” was not acceptable to him. Therefore, the leader was not going to sit and wait for his overthrow, but actively strengthening his army, he turned to the Soviet Union so that he would provide some military assistance to the best of his ability.

To organize the assassination of Cuban leaders: Fidel Castro, Raul Castro and Che Guevara, American intelligence made an appeal to the Cuban mafia, which had a vested interest in overthrowing the ruler. Since with the advent of Fidel, all the mafiosi were left out of the state, and their business (casino) was completely destroyed, mafia clans gladly agreed to help the CIA, in the hope of regaining their influence in the Republic. However, with all the efforts of the CIA, it was not possible to overthrow the leader of Cuba.

During the period of preparation for the invasion, at the end of 1960, John F. Kennedy, who was opposed to an aggressive policy against Cuba, became president in the United States. However, having received disinformation from Dulles, this was confirmed by the documents that were subsequently opened, D. Kennedy initially approved the invasion of American troops, and rejected it a couple of days later. But this did not prevent the CIA from launching an invasion of Cuba on April 17th.

Hiding behind the slogan of "nationwide uprising", trained extremists landed on the island, but unexpectedly received a strong rebuff from the local armed forces, who established strict control of their territory, both from the sky and on the ground. Within 72 hours, many extremists were captured, many were killed, and America's act was covered in indelible shame.

Caribbean Crisis 1962 - Operation Mongoose

The defeat of the American landing hit hard on the "greatness" of the superpower, so its government became even more determined to crush the recalcitrant Cuba. So, after 5 months, Kennedy signed a plan of covert sabotage with code name"Mongoose". The plan called for information gathering, sabotage and invasion american army to carry out a popular uprising in the republic. American analysts relied on espionage, subversive propaganda and sabotage in the project, which were supposed to end with the "elimination of communist power."

The implementation of Operation Mongoose fell on a group of security officials from the CIA, code-named "detachment special purpose W, headquartered on the island of Miami. The group was led by William Harvey.

The mistake of the CIA was that their calculations were based on the alleged desire of the Cubans to get rid of the existing communist government, for which a push was needed. After the victory, it was planned to form a new "compliant" regime.

However, the plan was thwarted for two reasons: firstly, for some reason, the people of Cuba could not understand why their happiness depended on the overthrow of the "Castro regime", and therefore they were in no hurry to do so. The second reason was the placement nuclear capability and Soviet troops on the territory of the island, which easily reached the territory of the United States.

Thus, the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred for two international political reasons:

1st reason. The desire of the United States, the key initiator of the No. 1 crisis in Cuba, to seat its pro-American people in the government apparatus.

2nd reason. Placement on the island of the armed contingent of the USSR with nuclear weapons.

Chronology of the development of the Cuban Missile Crisis!

The long-term cold war between the two powerful powers of the USSR and America was not just about building up modern weapons, it also boiled down to a significant expansion of the zone of influence on weak states. Therefore, the USSR has always provided support for socialist revolutions, and in pro-Western states it has assisted in carrying out people's liberation movements, provided weapons, equipment, military specialists, instructors and a limited military contingent. When the revolution in the state was victorious, the authorities received patronage from the socialist camp. On its territory, the construction of army bases took place, and significant gratuitous aid was often invested in its development.

After the victory of the revolution in 1959, Fidel directed his first visit to the United States. But Eisenhower did not consider it necessary to personally meet with the new Cuban leader and refused due to employment. The arrogant refusal of the President of America prompted F. Castro to pursue an anti-American policy. He nationalized the telephone and electric companies, oil refineries and sugar refineries, as well as banks formerly owned by American citizens. In response, the United States began to put pressure on Cuba economically, stopping buying raw sugar from it and supplying oil products. The 1962 crisis was approaching.

Difficult economic situation and the constant desire of the United States to "tear Cuba to pieces", prompted her government to develop diplomacy in relations with the USSR. The latter did not miss his chance, set up sugar purchases, tankers with oil began to visit Cuba regularly, and specialists in various fields helped to develop office work in a friendly country. At the same time, Fidel constantly petitioned the Kremlin to expand the Soviet nuclear potential, sensing the danger from the rulers of America.

Caribbean Crisis 1962 - Operation Anadyr

Recalling the events of those days, Nikita Khrushchev wrote in his memoirs that the desire to deploy weapons in Cuba appeared in the spring of 1962 at the time of his arrival in Bulgaria. While at the conference, Andrei Gromyko drew the First Secretary's attention to the fact that the United States had installed its missile warheads in nearby Turkey, which could reach Moscow in 15 minutes. Therefore, the answer came by itself - to strengthen the armed potential in Cuba.

At the end of May 1962, a government delegation flew out of Moscow to negotiate with Fidel Castro with certain proposals. After short negotiations with his colleagues and Ernesto Che Guevara, the leader made a positive decision to the diplomats of the USSR.

Thus was developed the secret complicated operation"Anadyr" about the installation of ballistic missiles on the island. The operation provided for the armament of 60 missiles of 70 megatons with a repair and technical set of bases, their parts, as well as units that can provide work for military personnel of 45,000 people. It is noteworthy that so far no agreement has been found between the two countries, fixing the involvement of weapons and the army of the USSR in a foreign country.

The development and conduct of the operation fell on the shoulders of Marshal I. Kh. Baghramyan. initial stage The plan provided for the disorientation of the Americans in relation to the place and destination of the cargo. Even the Soviet military did not have true information about the trip, knowing only that they were carrying a "load" to Chukotka. For greater persuasiveness, the ports accepted entire echelons with winter clothes and sheepskin coats. But it was also weakness the operation is the inability to hide ballistic missiles from the gaze of reconnaissance aircraft, which regularly overflew Cuba. Therefore, the plan provided for the detection of Soviet launch missiles by American intelligence before they were installed and the only distraction way out of this provision, was the placement of several anti-aircraft batteries at the place of their unloading.

In the first days of August, the first batches of cargo were delivered, and only on September 8, at nighttime, the first ballistic missiles were unloaded in the port of Havana. Then there were September 16 and October 14, the period when all the missiles and almost all the equipment were received by Cuba.

“Soviet specialists” in civilian clothes and missiles were transported by merchant ships heading towards Cuba, while they were always controlled by American ships, which by that time already held the blockade of the island. So, on September 1, V. Bakaev (Minister of the Navy) submitted a report to the Central Committee of the CPSU from the captain of the ship "Orenburg", which stated that at 18 o'clock a greeting passed over the ship American destroyer, farewell was with the signal "peace".

It seemed that nothing could provoke a conflict.

The US response is measures to contain the conflict!

Finding missile bases in photos taken from the destroyer U-2, Kennedy assembles a group of advisers who soon offer several options for resolving the conflict: destroying the installations with precision bombing, conducting full-scale operations in Cuba, or imposing a naval blockade.

When considering all options, the CIA was not even aware of the presence nuclear complexes(referred to as the "Moon"), so the choice was made for a military blockade with an ultimatum or a full-scale armed invasion. Of course, fighting could provoke a serious nuclear attack on the US military, with catastrophic consequences.

Kennedy, fearing Western condemnation of military aggression, is considering implementing a naval blockade. And only on October 20, having received photographs with established missile positions, the president signs sanctions against the Republic of Cuba, on the introduction of "quarantine", that is, restriction maritime traffic with regard to arms supplies, and bringing five divisions to absolute combat readiness.

So, on October 22, the Caribbean missile crisis begins to gain momentum. During this period, Kennedy announces on television the presence of anti-aircraft missiles on the island and the need for a military naval blockade. America was supported by all European allies, afraid nuclear threat from the Cuban authorities. On the other hand, Khrushchev expressed dissatisfaction with the illegal quarantine and said that Soviet ships they will ignore it, and in the event of an attack on American ships, a lightning strike will be delivered in response.

Meanwhile four more submarines delivered another batch of warheads and forty-four cruise missiles, that is most of cargo has reached its location. The rest of the ships had to be returned home to avoid collisions with American ships.

The armed conflict is heating up, and all the countries of the Warsaw Pact are on alert.

Year 1962 crisis escalates!

October 23. Robert Kennedy arrives at the Soviet embassy and warns of the serious intentions of the United States to stop all ships in the island area.

October 24th. Kennedy sends a telegram to Khrushchev urging him to stop, "be reasonable" and not violate the terms of the blockade of Cuba. Khrushchev’s response accuses the United States of making demands an ultimatum and calls the quarantine an “act of aggression” that could lead humanity to a global catastrophe from missile attack. At the same time, the First Secretary warns the President of the States that Soviet ships will not be subject to "pirate actions", and in case of danger, the USSR will take any measures to protect the ships.

the 25th of October. This date has been kept important events played out at the UN. US official representative Stevenson demanded an explanation from Zorin (who had no information about the Anadyr operation) regarding the deployment of military installations on the island. Zorin categorically refused to explain, after which aerial photographs were brought into the hall, where Soviet launchers were visible in close-up.

Meanwhile, the Caribbean Crisis develops. And Khrushchev receives a response from the President of America, with accusations of violating quarantine conditions. From that moment on, Khrushchev began to think about ways to resolve the existing confrontation, declaring to the members of the Presidium that the retention of nuclear weapons in the republic would lead to the development of war. At the meeting, a decision is made to dismantle the installations in exchange for the fact that the United States guarantees the preservation of the existing Castro regime on the island.

October 26th. Khrushchev responded by telephone to Kennedy, and the next day, over the radio broadcast, he appealed to the US government to dismantle the nuclear launchers in Turkey.

27th October. The day was called "Black Saturday" because Soviet air defenses shot down a U.S. U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, killing the pilot. In parallel with this event, a second reconnaissance aircraft was intercepted in Siberia. And two American "Crusaders" were shelled from the direction of Cuba during the flight over the territory of the island. These events frightened the military advisers of the President of the States, so he was required to urgently allow the invasion of the rebellious island.

Night from 27th to 28th October. The Cuban Missile Crisis has reached its climax. On behalf of the President, the Soviet embassy secret meeting his brother with A. Dobrynin. At it, Robert Kennedy informed the Soviet ambassador that the situation could become uncontrollable at any moment, and the consequences would lead to terrible events. He also stressed that the president gives guarantees of non-aggression against Cuba, agrees to lift the blockade and remove nuclear warheads from Turkey. And already in the morning, the Kremlin received a transcript from the President of the States on the conditions for preventing the development of the conflict:

1. The consent of the USSR to withdraw weapons from Cuba under the strict control of the UN, and no longer attempt to supply nuclear weapons to the Cuban island.
2. On the other hand, the United States undertakes to remove the blockade from Cuba and give a guarantee of non-aggression against it.

Khrushchev, without delay, sends a message through the stenographer and radio broadcasting about consent to the settlement of the October Caribbean crisis.

Caribbean crisis of 1962 - the resolution of the international conflict!

Soviet weapons were loaded onto ships and taken out of Cuban territory within three weeks. After that, the President of the United States issued an order to end its blockade. And a few months later, America withdrew its weapons from Turkey as obsolete systems, which, by that time, had already been replaced by advanced Polaris missiles.

The October Caribbean crisis was resolved peacefully, but this fact did not satisfy everyone. And later, when Khrushchev was removed, dissatisfaction was expressed by members of the Central Committee of the CPSU about concessions for the States and the inept conduct of the country's foreign policy, which led to a crisis.

The leadership of the Communist Party regarded the compromise solution as a betrayal of the interests of the USSR. Although, a few years later, the USSR already had intercontinental weapons capable of getting the States out of the territory of the Soviet Union.

A similar opinion was held by some military chiefs of the CIA. Thus, Lemay said that by refusing to attack Cuba, America admitted defeat.

Not happy with the outcome of the crisis and Fidel Castro, fearing an invasion from America. However, the guarantees of non-aggression were fulfilled and are still being observed. Although Operation Mongoose stopped, the idea of ​​overthrowing Fidel Castro did not go away, changing the methods for achieving this task to a systematic siege by starvation. But it is worth noting that the Castro regime is quite tenacious, as it was able to withstand the collapse of the Soviet Union and the cessation of aid supplies. Cuba is holding on today, despite the intrigues of the CIA. She survived despite the riots and the crisis. You can read about how to survive in a crisis today here:. And by subscribing to the newsletter, you can learn how to live comfortably in a crisis and never fall into it:

To sum up: the October crisis - historical meaning!

The October Caribbean Crisis started turning point in the arms race.

After the hot events ended, the Caribbean missile crisis facilitated a direct telephone line between the capitals of the two states so that the leaders could quickly make emergency calls.

A détente began in the world, accompanied by an anti-war movement. Voices began to appear calling for restrictions on the production of nuclear weapons and public participation in world political life.

In 1963, representatives from Moscow, a delegation from the United States and representatives of the British authorities signed a treaty that was most important from a historical point of view, prohibiting nuclear tests in water, air and space.

In 1968, between the countries of the anti-Hitler united coalition, it was agreed new document prohibiting the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

In six years, Brezhnev and Nixon will put their signatures on a treaty preventing nuclear war.

A large amount of documentation on the development of the crisis, the adoption of various decisions in a very short period of thirteen days made it possible to analyze the processes in making government strategic decisions.

In 1962, the Caribbean crisis on the face were characteristic signs of stupid subordination of people to technology, spiritual degradation, priority in relation to material values. And today, several decades later, one can observe the deep imprint of the crisis on the development of civilization, which leads to frequent "demographic explosions", the globalization of the economy and the degradation of man.

Caribbean crisis - a difficult situation on the world stage, which took shape in 1962 and consisted in a particularly tough confrontation between the USSR and the USA. In this situation, for the first time, the danger of war with the use of nuclear weapons hung over humanity. The Caribbean Crisis of 1962 was a grim reminder that with the advent of nuclear weapons, war could lead to the annihilation of all mankind. This event is one of the brightest events
The Caribbean crisis, the causes of which are hidden in the confrontation between the two systems (capitalist and socialist), the US imperialist policy, the national liberation struggle of the peoples of Latin America, had its own prehistory. In 1959, the revolutionary movement in Cuba won. Batista, a dictator who pursued a pro-American policy, was overthrown, and a patriotic government headed by Fidel Castro came to power. There were many communists among Castro's supporters, for example, the legendary Che Guevara. In 1960, the Castro government nationalized American enterprises. Naturally, the US government was extremely dissatisfied with the new regime in Cuba. Fidel Castro declared that he was a communist and established relations with the USSR.

Now the USSR has an ally located in close proximity to its main enemy. Socialist transformations were carried out in Cuba. Economic and political cooperation began between the USSR and Cuba. In 1961, the US government landed troops near Playa Giron, consisting of opponents of Castro, who emigrated from Cuba after the victory of the revolution. It was supposed to go american aviation, but the United States did not begin to use it, in fact, the United States abandoned these troops to their fate. As a result, the landing troops were defeated. After this incident, Cuba turned to the Soviet Union for help.
N. S. Khrushchev was at the head of the USSR at that time.

When he learned that the US wanted to forcibly overthrow the Cuban government, he was ready to take the most drastic measures. Khrushchev invited Castro to place nuclear missiles. Castro agreed to this. In 1962, Soviet nuclear missiles were secretly placed in Cuba. American military reconnaissance aircraft flying over Cuba spotted the missiles. Initially, Khrushchev denied their presence in Cuba, but the Cuban Missile Crisis grew. Reconnaissance planes took pictures of the missiles, these pictures were presented. From Cuba, nuclear missiles could fly to the United States. On October 22, the US government announced a naval blockade of Cuba. In the USSR and the USA, options for the use of nuclear weapons were being worked out. The world is practically on the brink of war. Any drastic and thoughtless actions could lead to dire consequences. In this situation, Kennedy and Khrushchev managed to reach an agreement.
The following conditions were accepted: the USSR removes nuclear missiles from Cuba, the United States removes its nuclear missiles from Turkey (an American one was located in Turkey that was capable of reaching the USSR) and leaves Cuba alone. This ended the Cuban Missile Crisis. The missiles were taken away, the US blockade was lifted. The Cuban Missile Crisis had important consequences. He showed how dangerous the escalation of a small armed conflict can be. Mankind has clearly begun to understand the impossibility of having winners in nuclear war. In the future, the USSR and the USA will avoid direct armed confrontation, preferring economic, ideological and other levers. Countries that are dependent on the United States now realized the possibility of victory in the national liberation struggle. It has now become difficult for the United States to intervene outright in countries whose governments do not align their interests with those of the United States.