The end of World War II left a power void that would soon be filled by two opposite emerging powers: the communist Soviet Union and the capitalist United States. The two opposite ideals each valued set the stage for the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. These two countries dominated their surrounding regions; the Soviets subjugated a group of socialist and communist nations in Eastern Europe and Asia, while the United States allied with Latin America and Western Europe. The boundaries set by the Iron Curtain stood for a decade until a charismatic Cuban leader and his comrades staged their revolution and emerged victorious. The Cuban revolution proved to finally break the stalemate of the two superpowers and both the Soviets and Americans turned their eyes to Cuba. In a position between the ultimate powers, Cuba was paramount in both the American and Soviet individual success in the Cold War. As the Cuban Revolution finally came to an end, Fidel Castro came into power. Key Soviet leaders, particularly Nikita Khrushchev, were pleased with the results of the Cuban Revolution. Having a socialist government extremely close to enemy shores would be crucial in for the Soviets to win the Cold War. Even if Castro did not consider himself a communist, his two closest advisors, Ernesto “Che” Guevara and Fidel’s brother Raul Castro were both communists. Both believed Cuba would prosper from a close relationship with the Soviet Union. The relationship that evolved between Castro and Khrushchev defined the close and prosperous connection between Cuba and the Soviet Union. But the close ties between the two sides came to an end when the Cuban Missile Crisis magnified the irreconcilable differences between the two men.
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Khrushchev admitted that one of the most distinct differences between Cuba and the Soviet Union was Castro’s refusal to admit to being a communist. This denial made Khrushchev and other Soviet leaders hesitant to begin talks with Cuba...