The Cuban Missile Crisis was a triumph for the Soviet Union (1962-1964)

Revisionist historians believe that the Cuban Missile Crisis was a success for the Soviet Union on the long-term. Nuclear war was avoided, the missile gap reduced and Cuba protected from the United States – all significant successes for Khrushchev. However, at the time, the Crisis was a catastrophe for the USSR. None of its victories were secure: the Cold War had not ended and the world was not free from nuclear warfare; the missile gap was only secretly closed months later, at which point it seemed unrelated to the Crisis and Cuba’s main deterrent against the USA was lost. It was for these reasons that the Cuban Missile Crisis was a huge propaganda victory for the United States – defender of world peace – and a disaster for the Soviet Union – the aggressor threatening a third World War.