Kennedy, Krushcev, and Castro -Cuba

Born: 1925Died: 1968 Kennedy attended Harvard University, but took a leave of absence in the middle of his studies to join the United States Navy during World War II. He help with the campain of his brother which make him president in 1961.Robert Kennedy's role in the Missile Crisis was both as a facilitator and as an unquestioned confidante. Kennedy also proved his ability to reason clearly and look ahead in the discussion about why the missiles should be removed.

Castro:

Born: 1926
Died: 2 years after graduating from school in law office he run for election in cuba. The elections were never carried out because then dictator Fulgencio Batista halted them and ended democracy in Cuba. This was perhaps, the defining moment in Castro's life. Castro assembled a small force and attacked the Moncada Army Barracks in Santiago de Cuba on July 26. Castro was captured and sentenced to fifteen years in prison In 1955, however, Batista released him. Castro immediately went into exile in Mexico where he began to train a group of revolutionaries called the 26th of July Movement. In December 1956, Castro's forces invaded Cuba. The rebels suffered losses, but many were able to escape to the Sierra Maestra. Shortly after Castro took control of the government, relations with the United States declined. In 1960, he took over U.S. oil refineries in Cuba. The United States then stopped buying Cuban sugar. Castro's role in the crisis differs greatly from the other two leaders. Once he decided to accept the missiles, he lost control over their fate. unfortunately for the Cuban people, it occurred on their island. In the end, Castro had little effect on the outcome of the crisis and felt betrayed by the U.S.S.R. The crisis solved few of Cuba's problems and left the country to deal with the United States alone.

Nikita Khrushchev:

Premier of the soviet Union. He was born in 1894, he spend his early years working as a shepherd. After fighting in World War I, he joined the Communist party and the Red Army in 1918 and fought in the civil war. During World War II he gained favor with Stalin and in 1953, at Stalin's death, Khrushchev was a secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Six months later, he became first secretary, or head of the Communist Party of the country. Over the next five years Khrushchev outmaneuvered his political rivals and became Premier in 1958. He wanted to avoid war with the Western nations and, at the same time, increase economic competition between Communist and non-Communist countries. The policy, known as peaceful co-existence, caused bitter quarrels between the Soviet Union and China. Then he placed nuclear missiles in Cuba to restore the balance of power in the cold war. Some years later the united states discovered the missiles and Khrushchev was stunned. In 1971 he dies.