Why did Fidel Castro come to the USSR in 1963, and that he could not forgive Khrushchev

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In 1963, the Soviet Union hosted the renowned revolutionary and leader of the Republic of Cuba, Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz. The visit of the Latin American had two main goals - to get acquainted with the real life of the USSR and to resolve a number of political issues that had become urgent after the aggravation of relations between the two socialist countries. Official meetings of the leaders were successful for both sides, but most of all Castro was impressed by the numerous trips around the country, in which he got acquainted with the friendliness and warmth of ordinary Soviet people.

Because of what deteriorated relations between the USSR and Cuba

The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which lasted 13 days, negatively affected Soviet-Cuban relations. This happened due to the agreement reached by Khrushchev and Kennedy in a secret correspondence on the dismantling and removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba. Fidel Castro, who had been on the verge of an American invasion for two weeks, was furious to learn that the island's future had been decided behind his back.

Later, Fidel said: “Khrushchev was obliged to bring the Cubans up to date and discuss with them an urgent problem. It is because of this secrecy that tensions arose between us and the Soviet Union for several years."

To mitigate the consequences of the conflict, the Soviet leadership decided to invite the Cuban leader to the USSR. In addition, as reported by the embassy in Cuba, Fidel Castro has long had a great desire to personally see the Soviet state and communicate with its people.

How the Cuban Comandante was received in the USSR

The flight to the Soviet Union, which took place in strict secrecy, took place on April 26, 1963. First, Castro was taken to Murmansk, and then, together with a delegation, he visited a number of large cities of the country, including the capitals of some union republics. Only the heads of the central and local authorities knew about the duration of the visits, as well as about the planned routes - the latter were obliged to be responsible for the safety of every Cuban.

In the capital of the USSR, in honor of the Latin American revolutionary, a rally of many thousands gathered, at which Fidel was greeted with a flurry of applause and a friendly chant: "Glory to the brotherhood of the peoples of Cuba and the USSR!", "We are with you!", "Viva Cuba!" According to Castro's recollections, he was very touched by the warm hospitality and sincere sympathy of the Soviet people for him. The Cuban turned out to be so popular in a foreign country that people, recognizing Fidel on the street, instantly gathered in a huge crowd to greet and chat with the commandant.

Moscow realized that the Cuban was not interested in meetings with officials and official events, but in talking with ordinary people and getting to know the work of enterprises in different industries. Therefore, in order not to run up against criticism of a straightforward Latin American, he was not prevented from being in those places that he, sometimes spontaneously, chose on his own.

It could not do without curiosities, when the local authorities, trying to keep everything under control, undertook to perform functions unusual for them. So, in Tashkent, when visiting an ordinary department store, Fidel was served by one of the ministers of Uzbekistan, posing as a cashier. An obese official, barely able to fit into "his" working chair, had to answer questions about the peculiarities of the store's trade, its assortment and daily routine.

During a month and a half in the Union, the leader of the Cuban people managed to visit the Caucasus, Ukraine, Central Asia, the Urals; see the First of May in Moscow and relax in the suburbs. When the time came to return to his homeland, Fidel Castro, unexpectedly for the Moscow side, expressed a desire to spend another couple of weeks in the USSR. The Cuban wanted to extend his stay in order to better get to know his beloved country with such a soulful people.

Why Fidel Castro was called "the Kremlin's puppet"

Liberty Island has never been a member of any socialist camp organizations like the Warsaw Pact. It was believed that this was the position of the Cuban leader, who thus emphasized the independence of the republic and the purity of the revolution, which won without any outside help. However, recently declassified documents regarding the 1963 trip revealed that Cuba did not join the Warsaw Pact solely on the advice of Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev. It was the leader of the USSR who convinced Castro not to sign an agreement on military cooperation, as this could harm the new government of the island.

The foreign press and politicians, especially the North American ones, already called Fidel "the Kremlin's puppet": joining the military alliance of the countries of the socialist camp would give them a reason to declare that without such support Castro's "regime" would not last long. "We must show that this is not so!" - Khrushchev said, substantiating his words with iron arguments presented to him by an experienced diplomat A. A. Gromyko.

How Khrushchev managed to convince the commander of the need for the presence of the Soviet military in Cuba and what Castro asked in return

In addition to trips around the country, Fidel Castro repeatedly spoke with Nikita Khrushchev: politicians were deciding questions about the admissibility of the location of military specialists of the USSR in the republic. The leader of the Soviet Union convinced the commander that Soviet troops would become for the United States the same deterrent factor as the missiles dismantled without Castro's consent.

In the end, the leaders of the states managed to agree: Fidel allowed the deployment of troops in Cuba, subject to the provision of assistance to protect the country's independence in case of aggression by the United States. The May 1963 communique noted: “Taking into account the constant provocations of the United States against the Republic of Cuba, Comrade NS Khrushchev, on behalf of the Central Committee of the CPSU, assumed obligations to fulfill his international duty. In the event of an invasion of the island by the military forces of the United States, the USSR will use all available means to preserve freedom and support the independence of the brotherly state of Cuba."

During the Cold War, the USSR sought to be friends with many countries, supplying them with weapons, helping them financially. And it is for these reasons The USSR created military bases on the territory of distant states after the Second World War.