Thirteen Days and More: A Soviet Perspective on the Cuban Missile Crisis
Fifty years ago, the world spent thirteen days transfixed as the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. engaged in a contest of wills over placement of Soviet missiles in Cuba. Svetlana Savranskaya will discuss behind-the-scenes maneuvers by Soviet second-in-command Anastas Mikoyan, revealing that the crisis lasted into November and involved plans by the U.S.S.R. to leave tactical nuclear weapons in Cuba, foiled not by U.S. resolve, but by Fidel Castro’s own actions.
Overview
Fifty years ago, the world spent thirteen days transfixed as the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. engaged in a contest of wills over placement of Soviet missiles in Cuba. Svetlana Savranskaya will discuss behind-the-scenes maneuvers by Soviet second-in-command Anastas Mikoyan, revealing that the crisis lasted into November and involved plans by the U.S.S.R. to leave tactical nuclear weapons in Cuba, foiled not by U.S. resolve, but by Fidel Castro’s own actions.
Svetlana Savranskaya is director of Russia programs at the National Security Archive at George Washington University. She edited the new book, The Soviet Cuban Missile Crisis: Castro, Mikoyan, Kennedy, Khrushchev and the Missiles of November, by Mikoyan’s late son, Sergo, his personal secretary during the tense negotiations. She is a co-author of the award-winning “Masterpieces of History”: The Peaceful End of the Cold War in Europe 1989 (2010) and teaches U.S.-Russian relations and comparative Russian politics at American University.
Speaker
Svetlana Savranskaya
Director of Russia Programs, National Security Archive
Svetlana Savranskaya is director of Russia programs at the National Security Archive, George Washington University
Read MoreHosted By
History and Public Policy Program
The History and Public Policy Program makes public the primary source record of 20th and 21st century international history from repositories around the world, facilitates scholarship based on those records, and uses these materials to provide context for classroom, public, and policy debates on global affairs. Read more
Cold War International History Project
The Cold War International History Project supports the full and prompt release of historical materials by governments on all sides of the Cold War. Through an award winning Digital Archive, the Project allows scholars, journalists, students, and the interested public to reassess the Cold War and its many contemporary legacies. It is part of the Wilson Center's History and Public Policy Program. Read more
Thank you for your interest in this event. Please send any feedback or questions to our Events staff.