What Was a Greater Success for Krushchev and the USSR?
The 'U2' incident of 1960 or the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962
The ending of World War II provoked the beginning of the Cold War. The Cold War was an aggressive but non confrontational 'stand off' between the two major military superpowers, the Capitalist USA and Communist Russia. In response to the creation of Nato by the Western Allies, the Eastern powers retaliated by creating the Warsaw Pact in 1955. In many ways, the Cold War was not just a build up of military stength but it was also psychological, it relied heavily on the belief that the 'other side' would be prepared to use nuclear weapons. The 'U2' incident of 1960 and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 exemplified the two key aspects of military and psychological strength. It also emphasised the strategic imbalance between the two super powers.
The 1960 U-2 incident happened during the Cold War in 1960, during the presidency of Dwight D Eisenhower and the premiership of Nikita Krushchev, when a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down from Soviet air space. This incident proved a huge embarrassment to the Americans, coming as it did, just a mere two weeks before the East West Summit in Paris, in marked a deterioration in East/west relations. The Soviet Union used the incident as a propaganda tool to demonstrate the depth of American aggression. Photographs of the captured pilot Gary Powers, and parts of the U-2 engine were beamed around the world. Eisenhower's refusal to apologise at the Paris Summit was seen as yet another example of US aggression.
In the late 1950s, the USA had military bases throughout the World aimed at protecting Western economic and military interests. The USSR was surrounded by American military zones. In particular, Krushchev objected to those bases in Turkey which felt were too close to his doorstep. When the Communist Castro ascended to power in Cuba in 1959, Krushchev saw an opportunity to address this military imbalance as well as providing a protective force for Cuba.
The Americans had tried previously to oust Castro from power by covert and overt means. Kennedy had used mercenries to try to remove Castro at the Bay of Pigs in 1961. He failed and so America resorted to other means. It tried to economically damage Cuba by refusing to buy its sugar using the excuse that it was a Soviet State, in addition, it tried to stop other countries from sending oil to Cuba. In 1960 Castro nationalised hundreds of American companies in Cuba provoking America to stop trading with Cuba. In 1961America broke off all diplomatic relations with Cuba which only served to push Castro further into the hands of the Soviet Union.
Castro was a friend and ally under threat from the US. Krushchev felt uncomfortable about American missile bases in Turkey. The solution?
"[I]nstall nuclear warheads in Cuba without letting the United States find out they were there until it was too late to do anything about them." (Krushchev's Memoirs, May 1962)
On 11th September 1962, Kennedy warned the Soviet Union that he would prevent 'by whatever means necessary' Cuba being used as an offensive base to threaten the USA. He received assurances that this would not be necessary. Speed and secrecy was the essence of Krushchev's plan but on 14th October 1962 the U-2 plane took photographs of Soviet Missiles being installed in Cuba initiating "13 days" of an "eyeball to eyeball" crisis . The Americans decided to blockade Cuba and prevent further shipments of nuclear weapons from Russia. On 24th October the first Soviet ships stopped and turned around. On 26th October Krushchev wrote to Kennedy offering to destroy the bases in Cuba if the Americans promised not to attack Cuba and if the blockade was lifted. On 27th October Krushchev wrote a second letter demanding the removal of US missiles from Turkey. On this day also, Russia managed to shoot down the U2 spy plane, confirming to the world that it had the capability to do so. On 28th of October, much to Krushchev's advantage, Kennedy secretly promised to remove missile bases from Turkey.
In the light of the above evidence, it would seem that both incidences were beneficial to Russia in that once was a victory in propaganda as America was very much placed in the role of uncompromising aggressor and the Missile Crisis in Cuba demonstrated to the world that America had at least one power with enough military and economic power to stand up to her.
