Speech by Soviet leader Khrushchev in December 1962

Transcript

Comrade Deputies, everyone remembers the tense days of October when mankind was anxiously listening to the news coming from the Caribbean. In those days the world was poised on the brink of a thermonuclear catastrophe. What created this crisis? How did it develop? What lessons must be learned from it? These questions call for a penetrating analysis which will help the peace-loving forces better to understand the obtaining situation and to define their tasks in the struggle for the further maintenance and consolidation of peace. But before passing over this analysis, I should like to recall how the Cuban Revolution developed and how relations between the Soviet Union and Cuba took shape.

Having raised the banner of the people’s anti-imperialist revolution, the freedom loving Cuban people rallied behind their leader, Fidel Castro, and his comrades in arms, and by 1959 had cleared their land of the North American brigands and their accomplices. This was a truly heroic struggle worthy of admiration.

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Relations of sincere friendship based on equality, respect for sovereignty and economic co-operation were established between the Soviet Union and Cuba from the very first few days of her new life. ...“We know”, said Comrade Fidel Castro, “that without the Soviet Union, without the socialist camp, without their assistance, the victory of the revolution in such a small country as Cuba would have been impossible, in the view of the imperialist aggression.”

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Flouting generally accepted standards of international relations, the reactionary forces of the USA, from the first day of the victory of the Cuban revolution, have done everything to overthrow Cuba’s Revolutionary Government and restore their domination there. They broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba, were and are conducting subversive activity, and established an economic blockade of Cuba.

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Seeking to justify its aggressive actions, American reaction is repeating that the crisis in the Caribbean was allegedly created by Cuba herself, adding that blame rests also with the Soviet Union, which shipped there rockets and IL-28 bombers. But is this so? It is true that we sent arms there at the request of the Cuban Government. But what motives guided us in so doing? Exclusively humanitarian motives. Cuba needed weapons as a means of deterring aggressors, and not as a means of attack. For Cuba was under a real threat of invasion.
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By 20th October a large scale build up of US and naval air forces, para-troops and marines had begun in the South of the USA, at the approaches to Cuba. The US Government sent reinforcements to its naval base at Guantanamo, situated on Cuban territory. Big military manoeuvres were announced in the Caribbean. In the course of these “manoeuvres” a landing was to be made on the island of Vieques. On 22nd October the Kennedy Administration announced a quarantine of Cuba. The word ‘quarantine’ by the way, was merely a fig leaf in this case. Actually it was a blockade, piracy on the high seas.

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In these conditions, if one or the other side had not shown restraint and had not done everything possible to avert the outbreak of war, an explosion with irreparable consequences would have followed.  Now, when tension caused by the events in the Caribbean has been reduced, when we are at the last stage of settling the conflict, I should like to report to the Supreme Soviet what the Soviet Government did to put out the approaching flames of war.

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Which side triumphed? Who won? In this respect one may say it was sanity, the cause of security and peoples that won. The two sides displayed a sober approach and took into account the fact that unless steps were taken that could help to overcome the dangerous development of events, a third world war might break out.

As a result of mutual concessions and compromise, an understanding was reached which made it possible to remove the dangerous tension, to normalise the situation. Both sides made concessions. We withdrew the ballistic rockets and agreed to withdraw the IL-28 aircraft. This gives satisfaction to the Americans. But both Cuba and the Soviet Union received satisfaction too: the American invasion of Cuba has been averted; the naval blockade has been lifted; the situation in the Caribbean area is returning to normal; people’s Cuba exists, is gaining strength and is developing under the leadership of its Revolutionary Government, its dauntless leader, Fidel Castro.

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