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Карибский кризис / Холодная война / Уроки истории / МИНАЕВ | МИНАЕВ LIVE | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: Карибский кризис / Холодная война / Уроки истории / МИНАЕВ
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The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was a pivotal thirteen-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war, ultimately resolved through diplomacy and a mutual understanding of the catastrophic consequences of nuclear conflict.
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Friends, hello. You may know that there’s a direct cable running between Washington and Moscow,
allowing for phone conversations between the President of the United States
and the President of Russia. This cable was laid after the events known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. That was the moment
in the standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States when the world came dangerously close
to nuclear war. There’s something called the Doomsday Clock. It was introduced in 1947
by atomic scientists who publish the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
There’s even a website – you can check it out yourself. The clock was created in 1947
as a warning to humanity: if you keep pushing things, doomsday will come –
the end of the world. Back then, the clock was set to seven minutes to midnight.
When the hands reach midnight, it means nuclear war has begun,
and the end of the world is here. Looking back at history, the farthest the clock
has ever been from midnight was seventeen minutes in 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed.
The nuclear threat was almost nonexistent, so the scientists who keep track of the Doomsday Clock
set it to seventeen minutes before midnight. When the North Korean leader launched nuclear missiles,
the clock moved to two minutes to midnight – that was in 2020. Right now, if you check the website,
the clock stands at one minute and forty seconds to midnight. You can imagine what that means. And today,
we’re going to talk about the conflict that became known as the “Cuban Missile Crisis.”
[music]
The Cuban Missile Crisis was an event that took place in the fall of 1962. But first,
let’s talk about the background leading up to it. What happened? In 1945, the Allies won the war against Nazi Germany.
The Allies were the Soviet Union on one side, and on the other – Great Britain, France,
and the United States. We were allies with America in the war against Hitler, and we were also allies
in the war against Japan. In 1945, we won the war with Hitler.
Then came victory over Japan. After that, life could have just continued as normal,
but as you know, the Soviet Union had truly become a major power. America was already a major power.
And this is where the confrontation began. Eventually,
this led to the creation of the North Atlantic Alliance – what’s known as NATO on one side –
and the formation of the Warsaw Pact countries, which included almost all of Eastern Europe.
The Soviet Union’s allies were part of the socialist bloc, which was entirely controlled by the USSR.
This Cold War for dominance and for expanding
geopolitical influence was now underway. There’s that famous historical cliché
that it all started with Churchill’s famous speech about communism
being a threat to the world. And so, the Cold War continued. The Americans invented
the atomic bomb and dropped it on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In response, Soviet scientists also developed
the atomic bomb. You’d think this would mean peace – a fragile balance. Everyone now had nuclear weapons.
In a third world war, there wouldn’t be any winners, because everyone would die. But this
didn’t stop the blocs led by the Soviet Union and the United States from engaging in an arms race.
In 1956, the Soviet Union adopted a doctrine that marked a shift
from using traditional weapons and army units to a focus on missile and nuclear confrontation.
That meant the world was entering a new era.
Tanks, helicopters, and planes were still important, but victory in war would now be decided by missiles.
In 1957, another major milestone occurred: the Soviet Union invented and used the intercontinental missile
for the first time. What did this mean? It meant that a missile launched from Soviet territory
could reach the United States. So, basically,
for all those decades, America felt safe because it was separated
by the ocean. During World War II, the Japanese tried to plan a landing on U.S. soil, but nothing came of it.
Thanks to its geography, the U.S. really was almost untouchable.
Then the intercontinental missile appears – a weapon that can strike American territory. These missiles
start to be supplied to, or put on combat duty with, air defense units. They show up in various branches of the military.
Most importantly, the Soviet submarine fleet is equipped with these missiles.
Going forward, the Soviet Union would focus on developing a nuclear submarine fleet.
These submarines could go on long autonomous missions,
secretly approach their targets, and strike enemy territory
or infrastructure. So, 1957 is really the starting point
for the arms race. In 1959, another important event takes place:
the Cuban Revolution. Fidel Castro comes to power after overthrowing the dictator Batista
and becomes the head of Cuba. What does Cuba mean for America? It’s a big deal.
Cuba, to put it a certain way, was kind of like America’s Monaco – not in the sense of an offshore zone,
but as a hub for luxury and semi-luxury leisure. The island had a huge amount of American business –
banks, American Telephone and Telegraph, all kinds of sugar companies. But most of all,
there were the casinos. Almost all of them were owned by the Italian mafia. It was a major leisure center
for Americans, a place with huge amounts of money, a true business goldmine. Then Castro
comes to power. Here’s the interesting part: Castro didn’t immediately become a communist and a friend of the Soviet Union.
That’s a misconception. At first, Castro actually tried to build ties with America.
He even flew to the U.S. and tried to meet with President Dwight Eisenhower,
but Eisenhower didn’t make time for him. Castro, being a proud man, took offense. So where was Castro
supposed to turn? Naturally, he turned to Nikita Khrushchev and the Soviet Union. He showed up saying,
“You know, I’m a communist through and through. From my jacket to my shoes,
I’m all about communism. But the Americans – they’re going to try to overthrow me, they don’t want
to work with me.” So what did it mean that the Americans didn’t want to work with him? Well, after Castro
was snubbed, he launched a nationalization campaign. All the banks, casinos, American and Western companies –
everything was nationalized. All property was seized and became the property of the Cuban people.
What did the Americans do in response? They imposed an economic blockade – sanctions, basically.
Cuba’s main export was sugar. The Americans stopped buying Cuban sugar,
and in response, they also stopped supplying Cuba with oil and petroleum products. This created a severe crisis for Cuba.
At that point, Castro flew to see Khrushchev. Khrushchev quickly reached an agreement with Castro,
and then a program began that I’d call “oil in exchange for everything.” As a Soviet kid,
I remember there were some really cool mango, banana, and even pineapple juices sold under the Taoro brand –
there’s even a photo of it. That juice was delicious, and it was made in Cuba. We bought products like that
from Cuba. We bought tobacco, cigars, and, I think,
some rare earth metals – whatever was in Cuba’s soil
or whatever resources they had, like shale ores or other minerals,
the USSR bought all of it. In return, the Soviets supplied Cuba with everything.
We sent oil to Cuba. We sent Soviet engineers, who started building up infrastructure. We sent Soviet military personnel.
And most importantly, we sent money, because Cuba didn’t have enough of it.
We fully supported this regime. Cuba became yet another ally –
another outpost of the Soviet Union, this time right off the coast
of the United States. While the USSR called it the “island of freedom", the Americans, jokingly, used to call Cuba
the “big Soviet submarine,” because it was a large island
practically on Florida’s doorstep. On May 1, 1960, the escalation continued
and the Cold War was at its peak. Another significant event happened: an American spy plane was shot down over the Urals.
This was important because Americans constantly flew over Soviet territory, taking aerial photos
and gathering intelligence. Sometimes MiGs could intercept them, sometimes they couldn’t reach them.
This time, we shot the plane down. In 1961, the Soviet Union
unilaterally withdrew from a moratorium on atmospheric nuclear testing
and conducted a series of nuclear tests, which shocked the Americans. We were showing that we also
had powerful nuclear weapons. In the spring of 1961, the Americans tried to overthrow
Castro’s regime. They landed troops in Cuba, but Castro managed to handle it himself. The whole landing force
was basically shot, repelled, some were evacuated, and some were taken prisoner. The attempt to overthrow him failed.
So, what was the real start of the Cuban Missile Crisis? It didn’t actually begin with Cuba, as you might think –
And it didn’t start with the Soviet Union, either, as you might assume.
It actually began in the city of Izmir, in Turkey. In 1961, the Americans deployed ballistic missiles in Turkey.
That meant Moscow and the western part of the Soviet Union were now in the crosshairs.
The missiles’ flight time was less than ten minutes. In other words, the U.S. could quickly launch
nuclear missiles at us from Turkish territory, and naturally,
this sparked a strong reaction from the Soviet Union – Khrushchev was furious and extremely concerned.
At that moment, the balance of power looked like this: the Soviet Union, a nuclear power, had 300 nuclear warheads,
while the Americans had 6,000. In addition, the U.S. had 183 land-based missiles, 144 missiles on submarines, and 1,300 aircraft.
So, overall, the U.S. had an overwhelming advantage over the Soviet Union. And now,
on top of all that, there were missiles stationed in Turkey. It was hard to see how the Soviets could counter that –
at least, it became much more difficult. In response, in August 1961,
Khrushchev delivered what we might now call an “asymmetric” blow, though in reality it was more of a symmetrical response.
This is when the famous Berlin Wall appeared. Well, not instantly, but soon after. I might do a separate
historical episode on the Berlin Wall later, but for now: it was a response to what happened in Turkey.
Berlin was quickly divided by a wall – East Berlin remained on one side, West Berlin on the other.
And actually, West Berlin became something like a bargaining chip
for the Soviet Union. What did that mean?
It meant that if the West took action in Turkey or tried something provocative in Czechoslovakia
or Poland, the Soviet Union would respond in West Berlin.
So, until the late 1980s, when the Berlin Wall came down,
West Berlin lived in constant fear of war. This created a unique atmosphere –
a mix of decadence and vibrant nightlife. David Bowie came there; it was attractive in a way,
this sense of danger. Right on the other side of the wall were Soviet troops. The city drew
artists and performers from all over. And this helped turn West Berlin into a creative scene
and a very important spot in modern history, especially for rock music and contemporary art.
But those are cultural things. In reality, the people living there were in a constant state of fear,
worrying that Soviet tanks and soldiers could come crashing through the wall at any moment and take over.
What else was happening in the world beyond West Berlin? There was a constant struggle to redraw and expand spheres of influence.
The Soviet Union became a friend to all the so-called “free countries,” to all the new socialist regimes.
In Africa and Latin America, we were very popular, because we supplied everyone with weapons and gave out money.
We supported these regimes practically for free, and they would immediately declare
that they were communists to the core – from Angola to Nicaragua. That’s how the front lines looked. We tried to spread
our influence wherever we could around the globe. The Americans did the same.
They countered us in South Africa. Even though the apartheid regime there would later be condemned
by all sorts of European thinkers and politicians,
at the time the U.S. still supported South Africa. Western Europe was America’s main ally,
because the United States told them, “Russia is right next door. If they attack, only we
can protect you. You have no other options.” And then there was Turkey – Turkey was a NATO member.
So, there were American missiles in Turkey. Khrushchev protested to the United States,
saying this was a threat to Soviet national security. The Americans and Turks responded rather bluntly:
the Turks said, “We’re on our own territory, we can station whatever we want here. It’s not an act of war.
So, dear Comrade Khrushchev, if you’re worried, that’s your problem.
The missiles are staying.” Khrushchev started thinking about how to respond. On May 21, 1962,
there was a defense council meeting chaired by Khrushchev.
Here’s a little historical detail: just before this meeting, Khrushchev had visited socialist Bulgaria.
While he was there, his Bulgarian comrades, standing on the shore of the Black Sea, pointed out, “Nikita Sergeyevich,
over there is Izmir – that’s a Turkish city. Missiles will fly at you from there.” Khrushchev was struck by this,
and so he called the Security Council together and said, “We have to do something.”
Despite earlier threats to respond in West Berlin, nothing happened there except for the wall. And that’s when the idea
for this “beacon of freedom,” this “Island of Freedom” – the idea of Cuba – began to take shape. The decision is made to respond
by deploying Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. The defense council votes almost unanimously,
with just one exception – Anastas Mikoyan. He’s a legendary figure in his own right.
There’s even a saying about him: “From Ilyich [Lenin] to Ilyich [Brezhnev] without a heart attack or a stroke.”
He was truly a survivor in Soviet politics, starting his career under Lenin and finishing it
under Brezhnev. He managed to navigate everything – he was involved in trade, various affairs,
and somehow always found a way through. He survived Stalin’s purges, Khrushchev’s removal,
and lasted through the Brezhnev era. You have to wonder what kind of skills it takes
to maneuver so deftly among all those political clans and power structures and still come out on top. People used to say
he was a man who could make a deal with the devil. He was incredibly smart, a brilliant diplomat, and an outstanding pragmatist.
There’s a classic anecdote about him: he was on a trade mission in the UK
and closed a deal that was very profitable for both sides. The story goes
that some parliamentarians, or maybe even the Queen herself (which I doubt), gave Mikoyan
a Rolls-Royce and said, “Dear Anastas, we’re giving you this Rolls-Royce as a gift.” He replied,
“You know, I’m a Soviet communist, I can’t possibly accept a Rolls-Royce as a gift from you, my friends.
I can only buy it. But that’s an expensive car – how could I afford it?” They told him,
“Okay, we’ll sell it to you for two pounds.” And the joke goes that Mikoyan pulled out his wallet
and said, “You know, I actually have four – give me two.”
Maybe the Rolls-Royce part is a joke, but this story captures his personality. Mikoyan voted against the Cuban plan.
Still, the final decision was that the USSR go to Cuba. Negotiations with Fidel Castro happened very quickly.
On May 30, Castro agreed, saying, “Yes, we’ll gladly accept your missiles, because we’re afraid the Americans
will attack us again.” So, the decision was made to send 24 medium-range missiles,
16 intermediate-range missiles, one helicopter regiment, a squadron of MiGs, 42 Il-28 bombers, two units of nuclear-armed missiles,
two cruisers, 14 destroyers, and 12 “Komar”-class missile boats (I love these classic Soviet weapon names –
they’ve survived to this day: Komar [mosquito], Gvozdika [carnation], Krasukha, and so on),
plus 11 submarines. The plan was to increase the contingent,
make it permanent, and grow it to 50,000 troops. This was a truly impressive contingent in Cuba.
Comrade Pliev was appointed as the commander of this force. But how do you transport all these weapons to Cuba?
It’s worth noting that a remarkable level of secrecy was achieved. The operation –
again, in classic Soviet style – was called “Anadyr.” What was it about? It was leaked
to make it look like the Soviet Union was very concerned about U-2 planes flying over Chukotka
and other northern regions, and that a large military force needed to be urgently moved there.
Because of this, ships began loading up in all Soviet ports, from the northern to the Black Sea ports.
The ships were loaded with felt boots, sheepskin coats, skis, supplies – everything needed in the far north.
Alongside all that, the weapons, including the nuclear missiles, were secretly loaded. The captains
were each given a sealed envelope. They were only allowed to open it in the presence of a political officer,
and only 24 hours after leaving port – that is, while already at sea. So, these ships all departed together
from different Soviet ports and headed out. After a day at sea, the captains
opened their envelopes and found their real orders – head to the Island of Freedom (Cuba).
That’s how Operation Anadyr began. By August 1962, all these convoys had reached Cuba.
From a logistical standpoint, the operation was incredible. I’m not a logistics expert, let alone a military one,
but honestly, the way it was organized, and the fact that there were no leaks and the Americans didn’t find out,
is impressive. By August 1962, two military bases had been established in Cuba –
two sites for nuclear missile deployment:
one in San Cristóbal, the other in Casilda. By October 14 – so, just two months later –
everything was assembled. The military units were in place, the squadrons were ready.
We were fully prepared; the missiles were on combat duty. In other words,
the USSR was ready at any moment, if necessary, to strike U.S. territory.
The Americans were keeping a close eye on Cuba. In September 1962, a U-2 spy plane flew over Cuba and took photos.
In these photos, football (soccer) fields were spotted.
The images landed on the desk at the CIA. The CIA understood that there were Russians in Cuba –
because nobody in Cuba played soccer; everyone played baseball. Only Russians played soccer. The Russians had arrived.
The CIA reported this to U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy made
an asymmetric decision: he banned reconnaissance flights over Cuba,
fearing the planes might be shot down by anti-aircraft weapons.
This ban didn’t last long. On October 14, the flights resumed.
So, in mid-October 1962, a plane took off from a base in California,
piloted by Major Richard Heyser. He flew from California, circled around Cuba,
and landed in Florida. The photos he took ended up at the CIA.
CIA analysts immediately and accurately determined that there were Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba.
How did the Americans figure this out? That was my first question – how did they know what Soviet missiles looked like?
Did they photograph them every day or something? But, as it turns out, at that time the Americans
had a very important “mole” – someone working for them inside the KGB. His name was Penkovsky.
Penkovsky provided the Americans with invaluable information: the types of weapons, deployment sites,
photos of the weapons. Thanks to Penkovsky’s espionage, the Americans easily identified
the missiles in Cuba as nuclear weapons. Penkovsky was later arrested and executed for treason.
On October 16 at 8:45 in the morning, the CIA report landed on President Kennedy’s desk. Kennedy called
an emergency meeting of the National Security Executive Committee. The situation was critical – the Russians were practically right next door.
The committee came up with three plans: The first plan was a targeted bombing of the Soviet military bases in Cuba
to destroy the nuclear weapons there. The second plan was an immediate invasion of Cuba. And the third plan
was a naval blockade, so that no ships or supplies could reach Cuba.
And here, you have to give Kennedy credit. The military was pushing him hard –
military leaders always want war, because that’s their job. Both General Taylor
and LeMay, who was the head of the U.S. Air Force, were openly pushing for an invasion. But Kennedy resisted.
Still, troop movements to Florida began. Yet no final decision on Cuba had been made.
Two days later, on October 18, Kennedy met with Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin
and Foreign Minister Gromyko. According to Dobrynin and Gromyko, during that meeting there was no discussion
of missiles in Cuba. Kennedy asked questions about the Cold War and the situation in West Berlin,
but the topic of missiles never came up. At the same time, Kennedy’s brother,
Robert Kennedy, met with our comrade Bolshakov, a GRU officer. In that meeting, the topic of missiles was discussed,
but only indirectly. Kennedy told Bolshakov, “We know, we have all the information –
you’ve placed missiles in Cuba.” Bolshakov replied, “You know, honestly, I don’t know anything about that.”
It’s pretty clear that very few diplomats – maybe just a handful of intelligence operatives – actually knew
what was really happening in Cuba. Operation Anadyr was carried out under the strictest secrecy.
There were no leaks. So Kennedy had to make a decision.
He chose the “naval blockade” option – meaning American ships would patrol
Cuba’s coast and prevent any vessels from approaching the island. There’s an interesting aspect here:
when the U.S. placed missiles in Turkey, that wasn’t considered an act of aggression. So, when the Soviet Union placed missiles in Cuba,
that couldn't be considered aggression either. But a naval blockade, according to the UN convention, is considered an act of aggression.
By the rules, Kennedy was supposed to get authorization from the UN Security Council. But the UN,
both then and now, was slow and indecisive. Any decision would have been delayed or postponed. So what did Kennedy do?
He turned to the Organization of American States (OAS), which had signed the “Rio Pact” – a mutual assistance agreement
for defense against external threats. The OAS approved the naval blockade of Cuba,
arguing that it was meant to protect the security of its member states. It’s as if,
before an invasion of, say, Austria, the Soviet Union had sought approval
not from the UN Security Council, but from the countries of the Warsaw Pact –
and, of course, they would have approved it. Starting October 20, U.S. forces went on high alert.
All American troops were at maximum readiness.
And I want to highlight something here – the world knew nothing about any of this. At the time,
there was no Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Telegram. There were no social networks and no leaks.
If something like this happened today, a soldier might post a selfie at a military site,
someone would tweet about troop movements, rumors would spread,
and the news would instantly explode online, causing widespread panic. The media would jump on it
and fuel the fire even further. But back then, none of that existed – just newspapers and TV. So, nobody knew what was going on.
On October 22, Kennedy addressed the nation and the world, announcing that the Soviet Union
had placed missiles in Cuba. He declared this an act that violated or threatened the national security
of the United States. President Kennedy announced a naval blockade of Cuba – a perimeter stretching 956 kilometers.
No ship was allowed to reach Cuba. Khrushchev responded with a protest, saying that the Soviet Union
would not comply with the blockade. He called it an act of aggression and stated that Soviet ships would continue
sailing to and from Cuba, and that they had no intention of following the blockade.
Here’s something I wonder about: Why didn’t Khrushchev immediately turn
to the UN Security Council and publicly say, “We did this as a direct response
to the U.S. deploying missiles in Turkey”? I don’t understand it at all. But in any case,
events moved forward. The Soviet Union was isolated. All newspapers and TV were controlled,
so Soviet citizens knew nothing. Europe was terrified; America was terrified. That’s when the “the Russians are coming” hysteria started.
American schoolchildren learned to use gas masks. People built bomb shelters.
All those things you’ve seen in cartoons first appeared at that time. As for the global reaction,
the Soviet Union, apart from its satellite countries and Warsaw Pact members,
had almost no allies. Western Europe almost completely – in fact, entirely –
supported the Americans. Most of Latin America supported the Americans.
Turkey supported the Americans. Only China supported Cuba – but this wasn’t the China we know today.
Back then, China was a big country with a big army, but it didn’t really matter on the world stage.
Its army and economy weren’t very strong. So, yes, China backed Cuba, but it didn’t mean much.
On October 24, the blockade began. One hundred eighty U.S. Navy ships surrounded Cuba.
At the same time, a Soviet convoy of thirty ships and four submarines
was heading straight for Cuba. Among the ships in that convoy was the Alexandrov, which was carrying another
24 nuclear warheads. When Khrushchev learned about the blockade, he ordered the ships to turn back –
but not all of them. Four ships, including the Alexandrov, and four submarines continued on to Cuba.
All the Warsaw Pact countries put their armed forces on high alert.
At this point, the world was closer than ever to its most terrifying day so far.
Panic set in. It was fueled by the media, and by basic human fear –
no one wanted to die, but everyone understood the world was on the brink of nuclear war.
That night, Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin met with Kennedy. They tried to discuss the situation,
but didn’t reach any agreement. According to Kennedy, Dobrynin continued to deny that there were any missiles in Cuba.
Kennedy and Khrushchev exchanged telegrams about the naval blockade. Kennedy wrote, “You must not provoke us.
We will sink your ships if they approach Cuba.” Khrushchev replied,
“If you try to detain our ships, our vessels will be escorted by warships and submarines,
and we will sink yours in response.” This exchange of telegrams
between Kennedy and Khrushchev was the real “last call” – the final warning. War could break out the very next day.
On October 25, the UN finally woke up and called an emergency session of the Security Council.
The American representative, Stevenson, asked the Soviet representative, Zorin: “Mr. Zorin,
what can you say about the presence of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba?” Zorin remained silent and stalled for time.
Stevenson started shouting at him: “Mr. Zorin, do you speak English? Don’t stall, just answer yes or no.
Are your missiles there or are they not?” Zorin replied, “In due time, Mr. Stevenson,
you will receive a response to this question prepared by our government.” At that moment, the American representatives
showed the entire world enlarged aerial photographs, where the Soviet missiles in Cuba
were clearly visible. It was obvious that the global press was on the Americans’ side,
and the information war was basically lost on the spot. But let’s remember
that in the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries, things were much calmer –
because the media was under state control. People simply didn’t know what was really happening. If they had,
there probably would have been panic here, too. The Americans brought their armed forces to DEFCON 2 status.
You can go online and check what these statuses mean – they’re different threat levels.
DEFCON 2 was, at that point in American history, the highest level of tension and threat ever reached.
Right now, if you check the DEFCON website, the current level is DEFCON 3.
Khrushchev tried to negotiate. On October 26, there was another meeting of the Defense Council.
After this, according to participants’ recollections, Khrushchev said: “Comrades,
let’s all go to the theater, to the Bolshoi Theater, so people can see that the government is with them,
that nothing threatens the Soviet people, and that we’re calm.” By this time, articles were already appearing
claiming that the Americans were committing acts of aggression against the Island of Freedom – against Cuba.
Soviet citizens began protesting outside the American embassy, holding signs like “No to War!” and “Peace to the World!”
All of this was happening right at the embassy gates. Khrushchev then began a diplomatic play.
He sent Kennedy a telegram saying that an agreement could be reached. The Soviet Union’s demands were simple:
the U.S. would withdraw its missiles from Turkey, lift the naval blockade of Cuba, and promise never to attempt
to overthrow the Cuban regime again. In return, the Soviets would withdraw their weapons from Cuba. He sent this telegram.
Meanwhile, another interesting backchannel was in play. A very influential American journalist –
ABC’s John Scali, who had connections with the Kennedy clan, financiers,
and Texas – met with his Soviet acquaintance,
Alexander Feklisov. Feklisov was either working at the embassy
or involved in trade; the details are a bit vague. But as was often the case, any Soviet
with close American contacts was naturally a KGB officer – Feklisov was a KGB resident,
and they had a neighborly relationship. They met, and Scali asked,
“Alex, what do you think? Is this about to turn into a nuclear war? Are you people sane?
We’re taking this very seriously.” Feklisov replied, “We’re serious, too.
I’m just in Soviet trade, but I’ve heard rumors –
Khrushchev is signaling to you that nothing is impossible, we can make a deal.”
That same evening, Scali met with Robert Kennedy and told him, “Tell the president
my Russian friends say nothing is impossible – we can negotiate.”
But the panic kept growing. The military, on both sides, believed there was no point in talking –
it was time to strike, and that they could win the war. Both American and Soviet generals were pushing for action.
And then came October 27 – the most terrifying day of the entire crisis. At 10:00 in the morning, without waiting
for orders from the group’s commander, Soviet anti-aircraft crews in Cuba shot down a U-2 reconnaissance plane.
Its pilot, Rudolf Anderson, was killed. Two other planes over Cuba also came under fire. Meanwhile,
another U-2, piloted by Chuck Maultsby, was flying over Soviet territory. He spent 1 hour and 22 minutes
in Soviet airspace. The MiGs couldn’t reach him, and he safely returned to America. Naturally,
the Soviets sent a note of protest. The Americans claimed, “Well, you know, it was the northern lights, or a reflection,
or a refraction – basically, something strange happened with the instruments, so the plane accidentally
entered your airspace for 1 hour and 22 minutes. Instruments can be unreliable, you know.”
Of course, it was clear the plane was conducting aerial reconnaissance. At this point, another player entered the scene – Fidel Castro.
He rushed to the Soviet embassy, demanding an immediate nuclear strike on Florida,
because he was convinced, based on his own intelligence sources, that the Americans would invade the next day.
Castro was panicking and insisted the Soviet Union start the war immediately.
He was also a powerful speaker. He said, “We are ready, I and all the Cuban people,
to sacrifice ourselves so that the American aggressors are punished once and for all.”
In other words, “come hell and high water.” The peak of the crisis was nothing short of a miracle –
perhaps divine intervention. Honestly, I’m not a very religious person, but I can’t explain it any other way.
Two Soviet submarines, B-130 and B-59, were detected by the U.S. Navy
off the coast of Cuba. The Americans began dropping depth charges and signaling grenades,
demanding the submarines surface immediately. The crews held a council. Most officers
wanted to launch a torpedo attack. On board the B-59, in particular, there were torpedoes with nuclear warheads.
The council of officers on the B-59 submarine decided that they needed to launch
an immediate attack and sink the American ships. But one of the senior officers,
Vasily Arkhipov, voted against it. The Americans later interviewed him, and the interview was titled
“The Man Who Saved the World.” You see what this means, right? If we had attacked
an American warship and sunk it, they would have sunk our submarines in response. With Castro panicking,
nerves fraying, and the Soviet side possibly striking Florida, the Americans would have responded in kind.
I don’t even want to imagine how that scenario could have unfolded. Thank God, we were spared. Nothing happened,
and in the end, an agreement was reached. But that was the most terrifying point. So, it was Vasily Arkhipov,
a senior Soviet naval officer, who saved all of us by refusing to press the button.
After that, diplomacy took over. Robert Kennedy met with Dobrynin again.
Scali met with Feklisov. Khrushchev and Kennedy exchanged telegrams, and negotiations began.
The Soviet demands remained the same, while the American position was less clear at first. But by November 20,
a deal was reached. The terms were as follows: the Americans pledged never to attempt to overthrow the Cuban regime again
and agreed to withdraw their missiles from Turkey. In response, the Soviet Union would withdraw its missiles
from Cuba. Naturally, the Americans also ended the naval blockade. Within about a month,
under American and international supervision, the Soviets dismantled
and removed their missiles from Cuba. On November 20, the U.S. lifted the naval blockade,
and that, in essence, was the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis. In early 1963, the American missiles
were withdrawn from Turkey. So, both sides ended up back at square one,
and the Cuban Missile Crisis was over. What were the main results of the crisis? The most important outcome
for us was that Kennedy and Khrushchev reached an agreement, and a nuclear war was avoided.
That’s the first takeaway – diplomacy prevailed. The second result was that, after the Cuban Missile Crisis,
the tension of the Cold War eased. There were no more moments of such intense confrontation between the U.S. and the USSR
right up until the collapse of the Soviet Union. Not even Afghanistan became such a flashpoint.
The Americans kept their word and, to this day, have not tried to overthrow
Fidel Castro’s regime. Diplomats from both countries – the Americans and the Soviets – felt that they had won.
Each side believed it achieved its goal. The military, on the other hand, felt that they had lost.
Both Soviet and American generals considered it a humiliating defeat. For Kennedy,
the view for a long time was that this was the worst day in American diplomacy,
that Kennedy had lost to the “Soviets.” For Khrushchev, many historians believe
the crisis cost him his career. His solo attempt to resolve the crisis
without consulting others eventually led to his removal
through a conspiracy. But at that moment, diplomacy won out over guns.
That’s when the direct line between Washington and Moscow was established,
because relying on telegrams and radio communications had proven ineffective. Since then,
our presidents have been able to call each other and negotiate directly at any time. Of course,
it’s a process. It doesn’t happen in a day, or even a week.
But that direct line still exists. I’d like to end this episode with a letter from Nikita Khrushchev –
a letter that’s very warm, and, I would say, deeply human.
Here’s what Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev wrote to John F. Kennedy on November 1, 1962: “To our mutual satisfaction,
we have overcome, perhaps even our own pride. There will probably be some scribblers
who will nitpick our agreement, digging for who made the greater concession.
But I would say – we both conceded to reason and found a rational solution that made it possible
to secure peace for everyone, even for those who will later look for faults.”
That was the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Thank you for watching this blog. Thank you for your comments.
Thank you for writing to me during this extremely difficult time, saying that it helps distract you
from what we’re all going through today. Thank you! Take care of yourselves! God bless you all!
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