A fleet of Russian warships in Havana in June revived memories of the 1962 face off between Kennedy and Kruschev that had the world holding its breath.
People watch the Russian Navy Admiral Gorshkov frigate arrive at the port of Havana, Cuba, 12 June 2024. A fleet of Russian warships reached Cuban waters ahead of planned military exercises in the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)
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When Russian naval ships landed in Cuba in early June, it brought back memories of Soviet ships carrying missiles arriving in Havana in the early 1960s setting off one of the most dangerous moments in the history of the Cold War.
The fact that Russian military vessels, including a nuclear-powered submarine, arrived some 90 miles off the coast of Florida, recalled the famous 13-day crisis that brought the world close to the brink of nuclear war in October 1962.
But this time, U.S. officials downplayed the Russian vessels and military exercise in Cuba.
“These exercises don’t pose a threat to the United States,” said Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh at the time. That’s a stark contrast to what happened from 16 to 28 October 1962. At the time, the United States and the Soviet Union were in a bitter ideological, military and political conflict.
Since the end of World War II, the two countries had been in confrontation: capitalism vs. communism; NATO vs. the Warsaw Pact; West and East Germany; North and South Korea. But while there had been conflicts with the Soviet Union through proxy nations like Cuba, there had been no direct military violence between the two nuclear powers.
Missiles in Cuba
All that seemed to change when the United States intelligence community confirmed in the early 1960s that the Soviet Union had sent missiles to Cuba and were in the process of constructing more launch sites. The potential power of the missiles would allow them to target all the continental United States.
At the time, Cuba was ruled by Fidel Castro, an avowed Communist sympathizer who had become the bane of the United States. He had come to power in the Cuban Revolution of 1958 that had overthrown the military dictator, Fulgencio Batista, who was friendly to the United States.
Cuba had been a vacation and gambling playground for the wealthy and famous and was now was seen as an important Soviet ally threatening the security of the United States.
What happened between 16 and 28 October 1962? The 13 days have been the most studied event in recent history; the world had never been that close to nuclear war.
It began when photos taken by a U.S. spy plane on 14 October showed installations of Soviet medium and intermediate range ballistic missiles in Cuba. The next day, U.S. intelligence analysts further confirmed the presence of Soviet missiles, launchers and trucks that could transport the missiles in Cuba.
On 16 October, President John F. Kennedy met with his advisors. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara gave the president three options: work diplomatically with Castro and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to defuse the situation; blockade Cuba with U.S. Navy ships to keep Soviet ships from entering Cuba; and send attack planes to destroy the missile sites.
To attack or blockade?
In his book “Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis”, Robert F. Kennedy described how tense the situation was; until he suggested they were all tired and sent them to bed, most of the advisors had wanted to attack. The next day, refreshed, they all agreed on the quarantine.
On 22 October, President Kennedy went on national television and told the nation in an 18-minute speech about the “unmistakable evidence” of a missile threat. He said the United States would prevent ships from carrying weapons to Cuba and demanded that Moscow withdraw the weapons already there.
At the time, there was no way for the leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States to directly communicate — there was no direct phone line and this was long before the ability to text. So the next day, Khrushchev and Kennedy exchanged letters.
The Soviet leader argued that the missiles were only for defensive purposes while Kenndy accused the Soviets of threatening the United States.
On 24 October, Soviet ships approached near the U.S. ships blockading Cuba but stopped short. The world watched in fear that a nuclear war was about to take place..
Face off at the United Nations
Then, in one of the most dramatic diplomatic moments in history, U.S. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson explained to the United Nations Security Council on 25 October what the Soviet Union had done and had the following exchange with the Soviet ambassador Valerian Zorin.
Stevenson: “All right, sir, let me ask you one simple question: Do you, Ambassador Zorin, deny that the USSR has placed and is placing medium and intermediate range missiles and sites in Cuba? Yes or no. Don’t wait for the translation, yes or no?”
Zorin: “This is not a court of law, I do not need to provide a yes or no answer … ”
Stevenson: “You can answer yes or no. You have denied they exist. I want to know if I understood you correctly. I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over, if that’s your decision. And I am also prepared to present the evidence in this room.”
On 26 October Khrushchev sent a message to Kennedy in which he offered to remove the Cuban missiles in exchange for a promise by U.S. leaders not to invade Cuba.
On 27 October, the Soviet leader proposed in a letter that the USSR would dismantle its missiles in Cuba if the United States would remove their missile bases in Turkey.
The United States accepted the terms of the first message the next day while ignoring the second Khrushchev letter entirely. But privately, U.S. officials also agreed to withdraw their nation’s missiles from Turkey. The crisis drew to a close.
The lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
The most important is that every effort should be made to avoid military confrontation. The idea of the quarantine was effective only because the United States also gave the Soviets something in return: the dismantling of the U.S. bases in Turkey.
The fact that Russians ships arrived in Cuba in June 2024 for military drills without significant reaction from the U.S. government shows how high tensions were in 1962. When people talk of the era of the Cold War, they often forget how the temperature rose in October 1962 for 13 very long and frightening days.
questions to consider:
- What was the Cuban Missile Crisis?
- How was the Cuban Missile Crisis resolved?
- Why do you think that Russian naval ships in Cuban waters didn’t create an international crisis this time around?
Daniel Warner earned a PhD in Political Science from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, where he was Deputy to the Director for many years as well as founder and director of several programs focusing on international organizations. He has lectured and taught internationally and is a frequent contributor to international media. He has served as an advisor to the UNHCR, ILO and NATO, and has been a consultant to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense of Switzerland as well as in the private sector.