Sponsor Area

The Cold War Era

Question
CBSEENPO12040252

Describe the sequence of incidence that occurred during the Cuban Missile crisis.

Solution
(i) April 1961 : The leaders of the USSR feared that the USA might invade communist-ruled Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro, the President of Cuba.

(ii) In 1962, in order to convert Cuba into a Russian base, Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, placed nuclear missiles in Cuba.

(iii) John F. Kennedy, the US President, asked USSR to remove the missiles and nuclear weapons from Cuba because these had put the US under fire from close range.

(iv) Kennedy ordered American warships to intercept Soviet ships heading to Cuba.

(v) As a result of President Kennedy's bold move, the Soviet ships slowed down and turned back. Thus, a nuclear war between two blocs was avoided.