Cuban revolution. Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution When did the revolution begin in Cuba?

The Cuban Revolution was an armed struggle in Cuba for power in the mid-20th century.

Introduction

The revolution in Cuba is a grandiose event that influenced the further development of not only the island state, but also Latin America and the world as a whole.

She turned a new page in the life of the Cuban people, opening the path to socialism and independence.

As a result, the first socialist state in the Western Hemisphere was formed. Victory was possible thanks to the selfless, many-year struggle of the revolutionaries.

Causes

The Cuban revolution did not happen just like that; it had both internal and external prerequisites underneath it. In 1952, as a result of a coup, power in Cuba was seized by Fulgencio Batista, who immediately established a dictatorship of the police and army, all democratic freedoms were sharply suppressed. As a result, a large number of strikes and strikes.

The plantation owners supported Batista, fearing reprisals and despite the indignation of ordinary workers. The situation of people inside the country worsened day by day. This was also due to the external influence of the United States, which sought to turn Cuba into a raw material and tourist appendage, the task of which was to earn money for a stronger neighbor.

Cuban revolution photo

During the rule of the Beatists, the United States withdrew 800 million dollars of net funds from the country, not counting goods. Gradually, the island state lost its independence.

Start and progress

Batista's rise to power was negatively received by progressive-minded residents of the island. The leader of the dissatisfied was a young lawyer, then starting a political career, Fidel Castro. The initial stage of the revolution can be considered July 26, 1953, when a group of Protestants led by Fidel made a failed attempt to take the Moncado barracks, and some of the revolutionaries were killed. The rest were arrested.

The next attempt to capture the barracks in Bayamo was also a failure. A trial took place, at which many received long sentences, and Fidel delivered his famous monologue, “History will vindicate me.” But under the influence of numerous protests, the revolutionaries were amnestied, and most of them immigrated to Mexico, where the famous meeting with Ernesto Che Guevara took place.

The organization “26 July” was organized, which Ernesto joined; branches of this organization were also created in Cuba on an illegal basis. It was decided to start a general uprising on November 30, 1956; on November 25, Fidel and his comrades sailed on the yacht Granma from Mexico. But due to the storm, landing was impossible, so the protests that began in the province of Oriente, raised by Frank Pais, were suppressed.

Cuban revolution photo

When the landing was carried out, government troops were already waiting for them. I had to make my way into the mountains and start a guerrilla war. Multiple attacks on government troops began, Fidel's popularity grew, and there were more and more revolutionaries. In addition to the July 26 group, there were other forces that fought against Batista, for example, an organization led by Echeverria, which tried to seize the presidential residence in Havana and kill Batista. But the attempt was unsuccessful, and the rebels were mostly killed.

On July 30, 1957, one of the leaders of the Santiago underground, Frank Gtais, was assassinated, which gave rise to protests against the dictatorship. Which were suppressed, but showed the fragility of the current regime. Gradually, all opponents of the current government are uniting. 1958 is a time of active revolutionary actions.

In late spring and early summer, Castro's 300 rebels defeated vastly superior government troops, who lost about 1,000 people. 4 fronts are organized, which simultaneously launch an offensive. Local residents join them everywhere. The fronts unite and deal a crushing blow to the army.

Batistas

On New Year's Eve 1959, dictator Batista fled Havana and left Cuba. But the fight is not over. The bourgeoisie and the military formed a military junta in order to prevent Fidel from leading the state. But the whole people poured into the streets, and the junta did not last even a day.

Results and consequences

On January 8, 1959, Fidel Castro entered Havana and headed Cuba for about half a century, although he became head of the government only on February 16.

As a result of all revolutionary actions, a socialist system was established in Cuba. The regime was supported by the Soviet Union.

Cuba became the main partner of the USSR in this region and the main antagonist of the United States. America introduced economic blockade measures on the island. There was nationalization of land, sugar factories, and the oil refining industry. But the main achievement for the island's residents was free medicine and education.

The revolution in Cuba of 1953-1959 is surrounded by an aura of legends and passionate romance. The name of Fidel Castro is known throughout the world, and portraits of the legendary Ernesto Che Guevara have become a cult brand and the banner of protesting youth. Even today, the “Island of Freedom” does not renounce the gains and ideals of the revolution, although it is going through difficult times that came after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Prerequisites for the revolution
To better understand the causes of the Cuban Revolution, we need to go back a couple of decades. In the 1930s, Cuba's main export product was sugar, the lion's share of which was purchased by the United States of America. The United States, in turn, was the main investor in the Cuban economy.

The economic crisis that broke out in the world in 1929-1933 sharply reduced financial injections into the Cuban economy, which soon led to a decrease in the already low incomes of the population and a deterioration in living standards in general. Taking advantage of the situation, the army conspirators, led by Batista, carried out a coup, as a result of which power in the country passed into the hands of the provisional revolutionary government. Batista became chief of army staff and became actively involved in politics.

However, soon, dissatisfied with the work of the government, Batista carried out a counter-revolutionary coup, putting a new government loyal to himself in power, and in 1940 he became president of Cuba.

The world war that soon broke out revived the Cuban economy, because... European sugar production ceased, and Cuba began to increase sugar exports to this region. But after the end of the war, sugar production in Europe resumed, and the Cuban economy, which failed to rebuild in a favorable period for this, began to decline sharply.

The result of the post-war economic crisis was increased social tension in the country. The protest movement against Batista's pro-American course expanded, and waves of strikes and protests by the masses swept across Cuba. Seeking, at all costs, to retain power and not be defeated in the 1952 elections, Batista staged a coup d'etat, as a result of which a police dictatorship was established in Cuba.

The Batista regime caused, on the one hand, a deterioration in relations with the United States, and on the other, the indignation of revolutionary-minded youth led by an aspiring lawyer from a wealthy family and politician Fidel Castro Ruz.

Chronicle of the revolution
The beginning of the Cuban revolution is considered to be July 1953, when a detachment of armed young men led by Fidel Castro attempted to seize the Moncada barracks in Santiago de Cuba. The performance of the young revolutionaries was a failure.

Castro and his associates were arrested and convicted, with Fidel Castro himself sentenced to 15 years in prison. At this time, a powerful protest movement was unfolding in Cuba, and the creation of a united democratic front was actively underway. The efforts of the revolutionaries led to a general strike of sugar workers in December 1955, the scale of which shocked the entire country. Under public pressure, Batista was forced to declare an amnesty for prisoners in 1955, after which the Castro brothers left for Mexico, where they continued their revolutionary activities. Here Fidel Castro met Ernesto Che Guevara, who later became his closest ally. All patriotic movements in Cuba united into a single organization - the Revolutionary Movement of July 26 (M-26).

Once upon a time, the famous theorist and practitioner of the revolution, Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin, identified three of its signs: a crisis of power, when it does not want to govern in a new way, and the people cannot live in the old way; the presence of an organizer and engine of the revolution, i.e. party and the readiness of the masses for it. The situation in Cuba by the end of 1956 fully corresponded to these signs and resembled a folded dry fire, ready to flare up from one spark.

Such a spark was the daring landing from the yacht Granma on December 2, 1956 in the province of Oriente, of 82 rebels from among the Mexican emigrant revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro. The landing force was met by government troops, but after suffering heavy losses, it escaped complete destruction by taking refuge in the Sierra Maestra mountains. Thanks to the support of the population and many sympathizing soldiers of Batista's army, the M-26 movement grew stronger, and already in March 1957 an attempt was made to seize the presidential palace. In August 1957, the country was gripped by a powerful strike led by the M-26 movement and the Popular Socialist Party of Cuba, which was successfully repeated in March-April 1958.

The situation began to completely get out of the control of the Batista dictatorship, and in the summer of 1958, a civil war began in Cuba. Armed troops led by Che Guevara staged a military raid into the province of Las Villas, and by the end of the year, the Rebel Army led by Fidel Castro, with the active support of the population, liberated almost all areas of the country.

On December 31, 1958, having stopped resistance, dictator Batista left Cuba. The very next day, the Rebel Army led by Fidel Castro triumphantly entered Santiago de Cuba, greeted by jubilant crowds of people, and a detachment of rebels under the command of Che Guevara occupied Havana. The revolution was accomplished, destroying the dictatorial regime of Batista and completely suppressing the few pockets of resistance of army units loyal to Batista.

In February 1959, a revolutionary government was established in Cuba, with Fidel Castro as prime minister, and Cuba entered an era of revolutionary democratic transformations.

Prerequisites for the revolution

The Cuban Revolution became the main focus of the revolutionary movement in Latin America in the second half of the 50s and the first half of the 60s. The revolutionary explosion on the island was caused both by reasons common to Latin America and by local characteristics. First of all, this is a crisis of a dependent capitalist development system based on backward socio-economic structures.

It cannot be said that the revolution in Cuba arose in connection with the economic crisis and a particular deterioration in the situation of the masses. On the contrary, in general, the economy of the island in the 50s, under Baptiste, was in good condition, even on the rise, although there were difficulties. Overall economic performance was above the regional average. But the contradictions and negative consequences of the traditional development path for Latin America were acutely felt here. The country was in strong and varied dependence on the United States, which prevented its independent development and limited its sovereignty to a greater extent than many other republics. This painfully affected the national self-awareness of the people, whose memories were still fresh of decades of hard and selfless struggle for freedom, against colonial oppression in the last third of the 19th century, and of the humiliations that the “Platt Amendment” imposed by the United States and repeated American occupation brought to them. islands. In 1958, Cuba, which occupied 0.5% of Latin America, accounted for 1/8 of all US direct investment in the region ($1 billion). American capital controlled more than half of Cuban sugar production, over 90% of the electric power industry, the electric and telephone networks, the mining and oil refining industries, the largest enterprises in the service sector, tourism business, agricultural land, and dominated the financial sector and foreign trade. The entire economy of the island was closely, organically tied to the US economy. During the 7 pre-revolutionary years, American companies exported $800 million in profits from the country. Other sectors of the economy were sacrificed for the production of sugar for the US market. As a result, Cuba has become an importer of the country's most important food, consumer and raw materials. Cuba was connected with the United States by close ties of military-political cooperation. There was a US naval base in Guantanamo Bay on Cuban territory. American influence in the field of media, education, ideology and culture assumed such proportions that the national identity of the Cuban people, the national image of their culture and way of life were under threat. The involvement of a significant part of the population in serving American tourists contributed to the spread of the psychology of servanthood, the habit of living on handouts, the unhealthy atmosphere of gambling, and prostitution. On the eve of the revolution, there were 100 thousand prostitutes in Cuba, 21 thousand people were employed in the gambling business.

Modern Cuba

The agrarian question required a solution. According to the 1946 census, 0.5% of all farms owned 36% of land, and 85% of farms owned less than 20%. Of the 160 thousand farms, 1/3 were leased. More than 60% of the population employed in the agricultural sector were agricultural workers. Sharecropping and other pre-capitalist remnants were common. The bulk of the rural population, making up almost half of the 6.6 million Cubans in 1958, lived in primitive, squalid conditions. The country had acute housing and health problems. Unemployed and underemployed people accounted for more than 1/4 of the economically active population.

A special reason for the growing discontent was the terrorist dictatorial regime of Batista (1952–1959), which suppressed democratic freedoms and defended the interests of the landowner-bourgeois elite associated with American capital.

The extreme degree of dependence of Cuba and Cuban capitalism on the United States determined the special effectiveness of the factor of “geographical fatalism” here, the fierce nature of the struggle on the island between the forces of revolution and counter-revolution, the sharp polarization and intransigence of the parties, which led to rapid radicalization and the development of the revolution into an anti-capitalist one. In the context of confrontation on the world stage between the USSR and the USA, Cuba, as the revolution developed, was drawn into the orbit of the opposing global interests of the two superpowers and turned into a “hot spot” of international tension.

Beginning of the revolutionary struggle against the Batista dictatorship

Batista's dictatorial regime was unable to stabilize the situation in Cuba. There were labor strikes and student protests in the country, accompanied by clashes with the police. In December 1955, 400 thousand workers of sugar factories and plantations went on strike. But at first there was no influential political force that could lead the fight against the dictatorship. The main bourgeois parties, including the “authentic” and “orthodox,” were demoralized and split into factions, and the confidence of the masses in them was undermined. Some of them cooperated with the dictatorship, others took a passive, wait-and-see position, pinning their hopes on the restoration of the constitutional regime with the help of the US ruling circles and compromise agreements with Batista.

The Popular Socialist Party (PSP), the party of Cuban communists, after suffering losses, in an atmosphere of persecution and domination of anti-communism in the country, found itself in political isolation. Seeing no prospects for an imminent revolutionary explosion, the communists pinned their hopes on long-term explanatory work among the masses, on workers’ speeches in defense of immediate demands and their development at the right moment into a general strike against the dictatorship, as was the case in August 1933. At the same time, the NSP called for broad unity all opposition parties to jointly force the dictatorship to hold democratic elections. These hopes turned out to be in vain: Batista did not want to give up power, and the bourgeois opposition was not capable of decisive action against the dictatorship.

In such a situation, a group of young revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro took the initiative to openly oppose the dictatorship. Fidel CastroRus was born on August 13, 1926 in the province of Oriente, in the east of the island, into the family of a wealthy landowner. In 1950, he graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Havana. While still a student, Fidel joined the revolutionary movement in the ranks of the left, youth wing of the Orthodox Party. After the March 1952 coup, he began to look for ways to fight the dictatorship. Convinced of the impossibility of legal action and disillusioned with the bourgeois parties, he and his friends created an independent underground organization, the purpose of which was to prepare an armed uprising.

At dawn on July 26, 1953, 165 people led by F. Castro attacked the military barracks Moncada 1 and some other objects in Santiago, the center of the province of Oriente. They intended, taking the sleeping garrison by surprise, to take possession of the barracks and weapons depot, arm and raise the population of the city to revolt against the dictatorship. In case of failure, it was planned to go to the mountains and start a guerrilla war. It was not possible to suddenly take possession of the barracks. The attack was repulsed. Some of the revolutionaries died, many were captured. Arrests took place throughout the country, and the NSP was banned, although it had nothing to do with the speech. Fidel Castro and his comrades were sentenced to long prison terms.

1 Named in honor of the hero of the liberation struggle of the Cuban people in the last third of the 19th century. General Guillermo Moncada.

At the trial on October 16, 1953, F. Castro delivered a speech “History will vindicate me,” in which he accused the dictatorship of crimes against the people and outlined the program goals of the participants in the speech:

overthrowing the dictatorship and restoring democratic freedoms, eliminating dependence on foreign capital and establishing the sovereignty of Cuba, destroying latifundism and transferring land to rural workers, ensuring industrial development and eradicating unemployment, raising living standards and implementing broad social rights of workers, including to work, housing, education and healthcare. The speech became known as the “Moncada Program” and became the programmatic basis of the revolutionary organization “26 July Movement”, created by F. Castro and his supporters in 1955.

A campaign of solidarity with the heroes of Moncada prompted Batista to release F. Castro and his friends in May 1955. Fidel left for Mexico, where he began preparing an armed expedition to Cuba. In Mexico he was joined by the Argentine revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara (1928–1967), who became a prominent figure in the Cuban Revolution. Illegal organizations of the July 26 Movement were created in Cuba.

Fidel Castro's detachment of 82 people on the night of November 25, 1956 sailed from Mexico on the yacht Granma 1.

1 In English, “Granny”, a private yacht purchased by the revolutionaries.

On November 30, the day appointed for the landing of the expedition, the leader of the 26th of July Movement in the province of Oriente, 22-year-old Frank Pais, rebelled in Santiago. But the Granma did not manage to reach the shores of Oriente that day and the uprising had to be stopped. Only on the morning of December 2, 1956, F. Castro’s detachment landed on the Oriente coast, when the uprising had already been suppressed and military units were concentrated in the landing area. For three days the detachment made its way through the swampy thickets and, on December 5, coming out into the open, they were surrounded and attacked by government units. The landing participants were defeated and scattered. Batista hastened to announce the destruction of F. Castro's expedition. But some of the fighters, totaling more than 20 people, among them Fidel Castro himself, his younger brother Raul, Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos, by mid-December in small groups made their way to the designated place in the years of the Sierra Maestra (west of Santiago) and began a guerrilla war.

Victory of the revolution

F. Castro's detachment carried out successful attacks on units of government troops and received growing help from the population. Its ranks increased.

In 1955–1956 on the basis of the student movement at the University of Havana, the Revolutionary Directorate was created - an organization similar in program and methods of action to the “Movement 26 July,” but preferred to prepare an uprising in Havana itself. The organization was led by 20-year-old student leader H.A. Eche-verria. On March 13, 1957, members of the Revolutionary Directorate attacked the presidential palace, intending to capture Batista, but failed. Many participants in the uprising died, including Echeverría. Survivors of the massacres revived an organization called the Revolutionary Directorate of March 13th. It was headed by Faure Chomon.

The revolutionary movement expanded. After the murder on July 30, 1957 by the police in Santiago of Frank GTais, who led the revolutionary underground in the city and did a lot to support the rebels in the first, most difficult months for them, a strike spontaneously broke out in Santiago against the repression of the dictatorship, spreading to other cities. The strike was suppressed, but it showed the instability of the regime's position. On September 5, 1957, the garrison of the naval base in Cienfuegos rebelled. The revolutionary sailors captured the city, armed the population and for several hours, together with the residents, defended against superior government forces pulled towards the city.

In February 1958, F. Castro sent a partisan column led by Raul Castro to the east of Santiago, where the “Second Frank Pais Front” arose with a vast liberated zone. Two more fronts were soon created in other areas of the province of Oriente. In the center of the island, in the Escambray mountains (Las Villas province), the rebels of the Revolutionary Directorate of March 13 began to operate.

The Popular Socialist Party, in solidarity with the goals of F. Castro, for a long time condemned his methods of struggle as “putschist”, defending its previous position. But the course of events prompted the communists at the beginning of 1958 to admit their assessments and calculations were erroneous. The NSP recognized the Rebel Army led by Fidel Castro as the main force of the revolution and called on all communists to join the struggle under his leadership. A partisan detachment organized by the communists began to operate in the province of Las Villas.

In May–July 1958, 300 F. Castro fighters in the Sierra Maestra defeated the general offensive of Batista’s troops, who were many times superior in number and armament, losing 1 thousand people. The successes of the Rebel Army forced the leaders of the bourgeois-democratic opposition to recognize it as a real force and in July 1958 enter into an agreement with F. Castro to support his struggle. They hoped to subordinate the rebel movement to their political leadership and with its help come to power. For F. Castro, this agreement was supposed to isolate the dictatorship.

In August, F. Castro sent two columns to the west under the command of C. Cienfuegos and Che Guevara, which in October reached the province of Las Villas and linked up with local rebel forces. In November, the Rebel Army in Oriente came down from the mountains and launched a general offensive that brought all 4 rebel fronts in the east of the island together. The demoralized Batista army was falling apart. Everywhere the population enthusiastically joined the rebels. By the end of December, almost the entire province of Oriente was in the hands of the Rebel Army, which blocked a 5,000-strong garrison of government troops in Santiago. Guevara began the assault on Santa Clara, the center of the province of Las Villas.

On the night of January 1, 1959, Batista fled Cuba. A military junta was formed in Havana. But the attempt by right-wing forces to seize the initiative using top-level methods failed. On January 1, the garrison of Santiago capitulated and the rebels occupied the city. Santa Clara fell that same day. At the call of F. Castro, a general political strike began in Havana, people filled the streets. The junta did not last even a day. During January 1 and 2, 1959, the entire country came under the control of the Rebel Army and the rebel people. On the evening of January 2, the advanced units of the Rebel Army led by Guevara reached Havana; on January 8, the main forces of the Rebel Army led by Fidel Castro entered Havana, enthusiastically greeted by the population.

The driving forces of the revolution that was victorious on January 1, 1959 were the working class, peasantry, students, urban middle and petty bourgeois strata. Significant circles of the local, mainly middle, bourgeoisie supported the struggle against the dictatorship, although they did not take an active part in the revolution. The decisive form of struggle of the revolutionary forces in Cuba was guerrilla warfare, and the main force of the revolution was the Insurgent Army. An important role in the victory of the revolution was played by the general strike of workers in Havana in early January 1959. It is difficult to time the beginning of the revolution to a specific date, since the revolutionary struggle that began on July 26, 1953 grew into a revolution gradually, unfolding in full force in 1958. This date is somewhat arbitrary. December 2, 1956 can be considered the birthday of the Insurgent Army, when a systematic armed struggle began, which developed into a revolutionary war.

The first stage of revolutionary changes (1959–1960)

With the victory of the revolution, the stage of democratic, anti-imperialist and anti-oligarchic transformations began. On January 3, 1959, it was announced that Manuel Urrutia, a representative of liberal circles, would take office as interim President of Cuba. On January 4, the Provisional Revolutionary Government was formed, headed by José Miró Cardona. It consisted of liberal politicians who came to an agreement with F. Castro. During the period of transformation, the government received legislative and executive functions. But the real power throughout the country was in the hands of the Rebel Army, led by its approved commander-in-chief, Fidel Castro. The first cadres of the new administration were formed from its composition and under its control. In the very first weeks, revolutionary changes were carried out: the restoration of democratic freedoms was announced, the previous army and police were liquidated. They were replaced by the Rebel Army, which became the Revolutionary Armed Forces, and the People's Militia. The main culprits of the repressions, Batista's associates, were tried by revolutionary tribunals, some of them were shot, their property was confiscated.

Very soon, disagreements began between the Provisional Government and the victorious rebels, who demanded further changes. The government resigned. Fidel Castro became the new prime minister on February 16, 1959, and dominance in the government passed to his supporters. In March, F. Castro's government increased wages for workers, made changes to the tax system in favor of the population, and sharply reduced rent, electricity and telephone fees, and prices for medicines.

On May 17, 1959, the agrarian reform law was signed. All land holdings over 400 hectares were expropriated (a ransom for them was expected within 20 years, but it was never realized). The expropriated land was transferred to tenants and landless rural workers.

The agrarian reform law caused protests and the resignation of the last liberal ministers and the president from the government. The new president in July 1959 was a supporter of F. Castro, Osvaldo Dorticos Torrado (1959–1976). The radical wing of revolutionaries, rallying around F. Castro, sought deep economic and social changes in the interests of the lower strata of society. They intended to ensure the success of the revolution with the help of revolutionary power, relying on mass organizations of workers. The moderate wing, including in the ranks of the July 26 Movement, which saw the goals of the revolution as the elimination of the Batista dictatorship and the democratization of the country, moved to the camp of opponents of the revolutionary regime. The United States, alarmed by the rapid radicalization of the revolution and fearing for its interests on the island, began to support F. Castro’s opponents. The resort city of Miami in Florida became the center of the concentration of Cuban emigration hostile to F. Castro in the United States. The leader of their organizations turned out to be Jose Miro Cardona, who had recently headed the first revolutionary government of Cuba. With the participation or assistance of the United States, conspiracies, rebellions, economic sabotage, and acts of sabotage began to be organized on the island. Washington sent planes into Cuban airspace and tried to incite OAS members against Cuba.

In response, there is a consolidation of revolutionary forces in Cuba and further radicalization of the revolutionary regime. From the end of September, committees for the defense of the revolution began to emerge everywhere, taking upon themselves the protection of revolutionary transformations and order. The bulk of the working people joined them. In the fall of 1959, workers' control began to be introduced at enterprises. In November 1959, the Tenth Congress of the Confederation of Workers of Cuba transformed it into the Revolutionary Trade Union Center of the country. The congress was held under the motto “The working class is the backbone of the revolution!” There was a rapprochement between three political revolutionary organizations - the July 26 Movement, the March 13 Revolutionary Directorate and the People's Socialist Party.

Revolutionary Cuba began to speak out at the UN and OAS accusing the United States of interfering in Cuban affairs. The government of the republic sought international support and assistance. Such support came from socialist countries and third world countries. In February I960, trade and economic relations were established with the USSR, and on May 8, I960, diplomatic relations were restored with the Soviet Union, and then with the rest of the socialist countries.

Convinced of the ineffectiveness of the policy of threats, conspiracies and sabotage, the US government turned to economic pressure. American companies have stopped delivering oil and refining it in Cuba. This prompted the Cuban government to respond on June 29, 1960 by nationalizing the oil refining industry and asking the USSR to supply Soviet oil to Cuba. Then the United States, in violation of existing obligations, reduced purchases of Cuban sugar. In turn, the Cuban government announced on August 6 the nationalization of sugar factories and most other American enterprises in Cuba. After this, by the end of 1960, the United States almost completely stopped trade with Cuba, subjecting it to an economic blockade. At a critical moment, socialist countries came to the aid of Cuba, primarily the USSR, which was interested in strengthening the revolutionary center opposed to the United States here and in turning the island into an outpost of its influence in the Western Hemisphere. They bought Cuban sugar and began to supply Cuba with everything it needed, which allowed it to survive.

Further radicalization of the revolution

The rapid escalation of the US confrontation with Cuba pushed the revolutionary leadership much further than their original intentions. The rapid radicalization of the revolution was facilitated by the close connection of Cuban capitalism with latifundism and foreign capital, the destruction of the previous statehood as a result of the armed defeat of the previous regime and its power structures by the Insurgent Army and the insurgent people, the transition of the concerned propertied classes and moderate-democratic and liberal movements to anti-revolutionary positions. The Cuban revolution in 1960 began to clearly develop into anti-capitalist power. , the public sector took a leading position in large-scale agricultural production. The nationalization of foreign property led to the state gaining commanding heights in industry and other sectors of the economy.

At a million-strong rally in Havana - the “People's Assembly” - on September 2, 1960, the “Havana Declaration” was proclaimed, which, on behalf of the Cuban people, expressed the determination to move further along the path of revolution, towards the elimination of the exploitation of man by man and the establishment of social justice. October 13

In 1960, the nationalization of all local large and medium-sized industries, railways, banks, and large trading enterprises was announced.

The United States decided to undertake an armed intervention on the island with the participation of Cuban emigrants, equipped and trained in special camps in the United States, Nicaragua and Guatemala. On January 2, 1961, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba. On April 15, American planes bombed the island. At the funeral of the victims of the bombing on April 16, 1961, Fidel Castro said: “They cannot forgive us for having carried out a socialist revolution.” Thus, for the first time, the socialist nature of the Cuban Revolution was openly declared and since then it has been officially approved.

At dawn on April 17, 1961, about one and a half thousand Cuban counter-revolutionaries landed on the southern coast of Cuba in the Playa Giron area from American ships and under the cover of American aviation. The goal of the landing was to gain a foothold on Cuban territory, to form its own “government” here, which would then turn to the United States with a request for military assistance. However, by the evening of April 19, the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the People's Militia completely defeated the interventionists.

The failure of the intervention did not eliminate the danger to Cuba from the United States. In January 1962, Washington achieved the exclusion of Cuba from the OAS. All Latin American countries, except Mexico, at the insistence of the United States, broke off diplomatic and economic relations with Cuba. In the United States, the possibility of direct intervention on the island by American armed forces was discussed. The US Congress spoke in favor of acting against Cuba “by any means necessary, including the use of weapons.” The growing threat has forced Cuba to increase defense spending. In July–August 1962, the head of the USSR government N.S. Khrushchev reached a secret agreement with F. Castro on the deployment of Soviet medium-range nuclear missiles in Cuba. In September - October 42 such missiles were installed on the island. Vital centers of the United States were within their reach. This reckless decision almost led to a global nuclear war. Having learned through aerial reconnaissance about the presence of missiles in Cuba, US President John Kennedy demanded their immediate removal and on October 22, 1962 announced the introduction of “strict quarantine on all types of offensive weapons transported to Cuba” from October 24. Large American naval and air forces, paratroopers and marines were concentrated around Cuba in international waters, and were ordered not to allow vessels from other countries to enter Cuba without inspection. This was a violation of international law.

The Soviet Union and Cuba refused to recognize the “quarantine” and the US right to inspect USSR and Cuban ships in international waters, protested and demanded the lifting of the naval blockade around Cuba. The US intention to forcibly prevent the passage of Soviet ships to Cuba, whose crews refused to allow them to be inspected, and the USSR’s order to Soviet crews to ignore the American “quarantine” in international waters created an immediate danger of a direct military clash between the two superpowers. American troops in Europe, the 6th and 7th US fleets, and strategic aviation were put on full combat readiness. Similar measures were taken by the armed forces of the USSR, Cuba, and the Warsaw Pact countries.

The real proximity of a world nuclear war became obvious. Between US President J. Kennedy and the head of the Soviet government N.S. Khrushchev began intense, tense negotiations. Both sides did not want to give in. The most militant circles in the United States put pressure on the president in favor of a military solution. But Kennedy took a more sensible position. After several troubling days and nights for the world, by October 28, an agreement was reached between Kennedy and Khrushchev on the terms of a peaceful resolution of the crisis. The Soviet Union agreed to remove missiles from Cuba, and the United States agreed to lift the “quarantine” and pledge to respect the inviolability of Cuba’s borders and territory. In addition, the United States abandoned the planned deployment of its missiles in Turkey near the borders of the USSR. On November 20, Kennedy announced the lifting of the “quarantine.” The United States did not stop its hostile activities against Cuba, but there was no longer a direct threat of invasion of the island. With the help of the USSR, Cuba survived.

Revolutionary changes continued. In 1961, the July 26 Movement, the People's Socialist Party and the March 13 Revolutionary Directorate merged into one organization called the United Revolutionary Organizations (URO), whose official ideology was Marxism-Leninism. The national leadership of the ORO was headed by Fidel Castro. The leadership of the ORO included from the NSP Blas Roca - the permanent general secretary of the Cuban communists since 1934 - and Carlos Rafael Rodriguez 1, from the "Directorate" - its leader Faure Chomon, in I960-1962. the first ambassador of Cuba to the USSR, and other figures of three organizations.

1 It was he in 1943–1944. was a communist minister in the Batista government, in 1958 the NSP sent him to the headquarters of the Rebel Army in the Sierra Maestra to communicate with Fidel Castro. He later became an influential figure in the Cuban leadership.

Participants in the July 26 Movement greatly outnumbered the new association. In May 1963, the ORO was transformed into the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution. In October 1965 it was renamed the Communist Party of Cuba (CPC). Fidel Castro became the first secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

Thus, the unity of the left revolutionary forces in Cuba ultimately took shape in the form of a single communist party. From now on it was the only party in the country that had a monopoly on power. There were no other parties anymore. This ensured the unity of the revolutionary forces and the strong position of the revolutionary regime, and facilitated the implementation of reforms. But the flip side of party monopoly was the growth of authoritarian-bureaucratic tendencies in the party and in the country, the merging of the party and state apparatuses. In addition, the party for a long time did not have an officially adopted program and statutory norms, regularly elected party bodies, and party congresses were not held.

In Cuba in the 60s, a special regime of revolutionary dictatorship emerged. Its components were the Revolutionary Government led by F. Castro, which concentrated legislative and executive functions in its hands and relied on the state administration appointed by it, the Revolutionary Armed Forces, the party, committees for the defense of the revolution, trade unions, youth, women's and other mass organizations. A specific phenomenon was the “People's Assemblies” - rallies of millions convened in Havana to proclaim the most important decisions on behalf of the people.

This system contained the features of “direct democracy”, a revolutionary dictatorship of the armed people and the working people. But its long existence, without constitutional registration of elected bodies of power and law and order, with almost arbitrary powers of the party and state leadership, led TO strengthening of centralization-directive principles, bureaucratization of the apparatus, to the transformation of the system of mass organizations from levers of self-government of workers into bureaucratized vertical structures of control over them from above, characteristic of a totalitarian regime.

Fidel Castro's great services to the revolution, his revolutionary past covered in a romantic aura, oratorical talent, ability to influence people, control rally passions, and organizational abilities served as the foundation for establishing the imperious authority of the leader of the revolution, party and state, a leader who concentrated practically nothing in his hands. limited unlimited powers. Thanks to his authority, the unity of the revolutionary forces was strengthened, the “leader-mass” relationship was established, characteristic of Latin American populist movements with caudilistic features, with a charismatic personality at the head, in this case of left-wing, revolutionary content. This gave the regime personalistic features. F. Castro's first deputy in the party and government and Minister of the Armed Forces was always his brother Raul Castro.

In the villages, the specifics of Cuban agriculture led to the creation of large commercial state farms - “people's estates” - on the site of former plantations. The same thing happened with large extensive livestock estates. The peasants and tenants, who received the rest of the land as private property, did not express a desire to unite into collective farms, and there were few material prerequisites for this. By 1968, there were only 158 small agricultural production cooperatives in Cuba with 1.9 thousand members. A different form was found to involve 200 thousand individual peasants in participating in a single national economic complex. On May 17, 1961, they were united in the National Association of Small Landowners (ANAP), through which they were involved in national plans for the development of the national economy, in production relations with the state, and in supply and marketing cooperation. In October 1963, the second agrarian reform was implemented. The maximum size of private holdings was reduced from 400 to 67 hectares. And this time, the main expropriated land passed to the public sector, which now concentrated almost 60% of all land in its hands.

In December 1962 and March 1968, all small and individual enterprises in the handicraft, retail and service industries were nationalized in two stages. This had a negative impact on supplies and services to the population.

As a result, a command and administrative system of “state socialism”, characteristic of the USSR and other socialist countries, took shape, with some originality. The nationalization of almost the entire economy, with the concentration of power over the state and society in the hands of a centralized party-administrative apparatus, led to the alienation of the working masses from property and management instead of inclusion in them, which in theory implies socialism.

Since 1962, a course was set for the rapid transformation of the country into a developed agrarian-industrial state. On this path, we had to face great difficulties caused by the severance of Cuba's economic ties with the United States, the economic blockade and subversive actions of Washington, and the diversion of large funds and human resources to defense. The country had to introduce a card system for supplying the population. Difficulties were also encountered in establishing economic cooperation with the USSR and other socialist countries (lack of an appropriate base, long distance). This was due to the lack of qualified personnel, underestimation of serious economic policies, and excessive hopes for revolutionary enthusiasm.

In 1962–1963 The main efforts were aimed at accelerated industrialization, to overcome the dependence of the Cuban economy on monoculture sugar production and on the foreign market. The lack of the necessary material and raw materials base on the island was not taken into account, as well as the fact that the export of sugar provided the main income for the country. Sugar production, which reached 6.8 million tons in 1961, fell in 1963 to 3.8 million tons.

Taking into account the unsuccessful experience of these years, Cuba abandoned hasty industrialization in 1964. It was concluded that the basis of the economy will remain the production of sugar, the growth of income from which will allow gradually, without unnecessary sacrifices, to increase other sectors of the economy. However, even now there are new hobbies:

The task was set to increase sugar production to 10 million tons by 1970. Great hopes were placed on the mechanization of sugar cane harvesting, which could not be implemented in such a short time. They also did not take into account the reduction in labor force on plantations that occurred in the 60s, especially due to seasonal workers, who became much smaller after the elimination of unemployment on the island. Despite the efforts made, in 1969 only 4.5 million tons of sugar were produced. In 1970, at the cost of great effort and mass sending of city residents to harvest the harvest, it was possible to achieve an almost twofold increase in sugar production - up to 8.5 million tons. But this happened to the detriment of other industries. Experience has again shown the fallacy of hopes for a quick solution to economic problems through the accelerated development of any one direction.

A serious utopia was the desire, which intensified in the mid and second half of the 60s, to accelerate the implementation of “communist” labor principles on the wave of revolutionary enthusiasm. This was manifested in ignoring material interest, in the spread of equalization in wages, and in the widespread use of voluntary free labor during overtime. Commodity-money and self-supporting relations in the national economy were abolished, and the retail market was liquidated. As a result, interest in work was undermined, productivity decreased, production discipline suffered, and trade was disrupted.

Nevertheless, there were some achievements in the economy in the 60s. From 1958 to 1970, the capacity of power plants increased 2.3 times, nickel mining and cement production increased 2–3 times, and steel production increased 5 times. The fishing industry has developed.

The assistance of the USSR and other socialist countries was of great importance for overcoming the economic blockade and for the development of the Cuban economy - their purchase of Cuban products at guaranteed preferential prices, the supply of equipment, industrial, raw materials and food products to the island, and the training of qualified personnel.

The revolutionary government paid primary attention to social problems. In Cuba, unemployment was eliminated, vicious professions were eradicated, a free health care system was created, a network of health centers for workers, children's institutions, and rent was abolished. Housing construction began, the countryside began to be improved and electrified. Poverty has disappeared and mortality has decreased. In 1961, called the “Year of Enlightenment,” 300 thousand volunteers went to the villages and taught 700 thousand adults to read and write. Cuba has become a country of universal literacy. Universal free education was introduced and the higher education system was expanded. The doors of universities opened to people from working families. Cuba has its own Academy of Sciences. True, social measures were often carried out to the detriment of other sectors of the national economy that ensure economic progress, and complicated the state of the country’s financial system, but they justified the social expectations of the previously disadvantaged part of the population and created a certain prestige for Cuba in the eyes of many Latin Americans and in the “third world” in general. , as well as its successful confrontation with its powerful northern neighbor - the United States.

Cuba became an active member of the Non-Aligned Movement, created by Afro-Asian countries (with the participation of Yugoslavia) in 1961 to protect the common interests of states that did not belong to military blocs in international relations. Cuba energetically identified itself with the liberation struggle of the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America and provided them with assistance. Cuba maintained close ties with socialist countries. In 1963 and 1964 Fidel Castro visited the USSR. When he first arrived in the Soviet Union, where he was very popular in those years, Muscovites at a crowded rally on Red Square on April 28, 1963 gave him an unprecedented enthusiastic reception.

In 1965–1968 disagreements between Cuba and the USSR on some issues intensified. Cuban leaders reproached the Soviet leadership for, in their opinion, insufficient firmness in upholding revolutionary principles on the world stage. Cuba itself placed too high hopes on the quick victory of revolutionary forces in other Latin American countries and actively helped the revolutionaries of these countries, for which it was often accused of exporting the revolution. Disagreements with the USSR did not disrupt Soviet-Cuban cooperation and were brought to naught by the end of the 60s.

Cuba in the first half and mid-70s. After 1970, the process of correcting voluntarist errors began in the republic. The desire to speed up the construction of socialism and the transition to communism, based on revolutionary enthusiasm to the detriment of economic factors, and the absolutization of one, albeit leading, sector of the economy, was gradually overcome. More attention began to be paid to the introduction of elements of cost accounting, material incentives for workers and remuneration for their labor, taking into account the work done. The need for long-term planning and comprehensive development of one's national economy was recognized. The first such plan was developed for 1973–1975.

When developing new approaches to economic policy, the experience of the Soviet Union was used. True, this happened within the framework of the command-administrative system, “state socialism,” but at first the changes that were taking place made it possible to take a step forward. The average annual growth rate of the economy in 1971–1975, according to official data, reached 10%, industry - 11%. The electric power industry, metallurgy and metalworking, and mechanical engineering have seen significant development. Food production increased by 30%.

International conditions have become more favorable for Cuba. In 1972, Cuba joined the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA), which made its cooperation with socialist countries stable. The visit of Fidel Castro to the USSR in 1972 and the return visit to Cuba of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee L. I. Brezhnev in 1974 strengthened close ties between Cuba and the USSR.

Cuba's successes in defending its sovereignty in the social field, its solidarity with other peoples in the context of the growth of the liberation movement in Latin America and the desire for cooperation of the countries of the region in the first half of the 70s revived interest in Cuba and in the development of ties with it on their part. . Cuba began to take a more flexible position and emerge from the state of isolation and blockade in the region. In 1970, Cuba provided assistance to Peru, which suffered from a strong earthquake. Friendly ties were established between both republics, cemented by diplomatic relations in 1972. In November 1970, the Government of Chile's Popular Unity also restored diplomatic relations with Cuba. In November–December 1971, F. Castro visited Chile, and in December 1972, Chilean President S. Allende paid a return visit to Cuba. The military coup in Chile in September 1973 again led to a breakdown in relations between the two countries. Cuba showed active solidarity with the Chilean revolutionaries - victims of repression. Many of them found refuge on the island. In the 70s, cooperation between Cuba and Jamaica and Guyana developed. In 1973, Argentina restored diplomatic relations with Cuba, providing a loan for the purchase of machinery and equipment. In 1974, Venezuela and Panama restored diplomatic relations with Cuba, and Colombia in 1975. In July 1975, the OAS, at the insistence of most Latin American countries, sanctioned their right to freely determine their relations with Cuba: thereby ending the collective boycott of Cuba by OAS members. In 1975, Cuba became one of the initiators and participants in the regional Latin American Economic System (LAES).

In the mid-70s, the process of forming the Communist Party of Cuba was finally completed, a constitution was developed and permanent constitutional authorities of the republic were created. In December 1975, the First Party Congress took place, which adopted the charter, program platform and elected the Central Committee. Fidel Castro was elected first secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and his brother Raul Castro was elected second secretary. The size of the party, which numbered 50 thousand people in 1965, increased to 211.6 thousand people. The First Congress of the CPC approved the draft constitution of the republic and submitted it to a national referendum. On February 15, 1976, the constitution received the support of 97.7% of the referendum participants and came into force on February 24, 1976. According to the constitution, “The Republic of Cuba is a socialist state of workers, peasants and other manual and mental workers.” The Constitution consolidated the revolutionary transformations carried out, state (“national”) ownership of the main means of production, and the leading role of the country’s only communist party in society. The rights to work, rest, education, medical care and social security were affirmed. According to the constitution, the people exercise their power through elected assemblies, which form the executive authorities. An elected Supreme People's Court was created.

In July 1976, the republic was divided into 14 provinces instead of the previous six and into 169 municipalities. The intermediate regional link was eliminated. In October–November 1976, elections to the municipal, provincial and National Assembly of People's Power were held. The population from among itself nominated no less than two and no more than eight candidates for each seat in the municipal assembly, so that the elections were of an alternative nature. Members of the municipal assemblies elected deputies to the provincial and National assemblies from among themselves. In December 1976, the first session of the National Assembly of People's Power, the Cuban parliament consisting of 481 deputies, took place. She elected the highest collegial body of power for the periods between sessions of the assembly - the State Council of 31 people and the government - the Council of Ministers. The post of President of the Republic, which was permanently held by Osvaldo Dorticos Torrado from 1959 to 1976, was abolished. Fidel Castro was approved as Chairman of the Council of State and Council of Ministers, and Raul Castro as his first deputy and Minister of the Armed Forces. Framing the revolutionary regime established on the island with constitutional forms did not change its totalitarian essence.

Cuba, like Argentina, was one of the richest Latin American countries of the 20th century. Its economy was focused on the United States; the social and political life of the country, the military sphere, culture, education, and ideology were under the control of the Americans. In an effort to maintain the status quo in Cuba, the American administration showed favor to those Cuban dictators who guarded US interests. Representatives of various social groups of Cuban society, dissatisfied with the current situation, were ready to support political forces that advocated the elimination of dependence on the United States.

The agrarian question remained no less acute for Cuba: the bulk of the rural population here were landless and land-poor peasants living in extreme poverty. The country had acute housing and health problems. Unemployed and underemployed people accounted for more than 1/4 of the working population.

The dictatorship of R. F. Batista, established in 1952 as a result of a coup d'etat, caused discontent among the majority of Cubans. Radical representatives of petty-bourgeois democracy and non-proletarian sections of the population, led by F. Castro, began a revolutionary struggle.

F. Castro's father came from Spanish Galicia and, like many Spanish emigrants, hated Americans. Fidel himself never wanted to do anything other than politics. At the age of 13, he took part in a workers' revolt on his father's plantation. Having heard about Castro as an exceptionally gifted politician, Batista tried to win him over to his side, but he refused such an offer. Like Peron in Argentina, Castro developed his own style of political agitation; he later adopted Marxism and became a loyal Leninist.

In July 1953, an attempt by F. Castro and his supporters to raise an uprising against Batista by attacking military barracks in Santiago de Cuba ended unsuccessfully. The court sentenced Castro to 15 years in prison, but under public pressure he and his comrades were released. Having emigrated to Mexico in 1955, Castro prepared an armed expedition to Cuba and successfully carried it out. Since 1956, he has led the partisan struggle, which in mid-1958 grew into a popular revolution. On January 1, 1959, the rebel army entered Havana, which meant the victory of the revolution.

The Soviet Union came to the aid of the newly created Cuban state. As a result, a communist regime with national characteristics was established in Cuba.

Calls from Cuba

On July 26, 1960, Castro called on all of Latin America to follow the example of Cuba. Two years later, he repeated his call, publishing a fiery appeal for the deployment of guerrilla warfare throughout the continent. However, the largest Communist Party of Chile declared its commitment to a peaceful path of development. The Argentine Communist Party referred to the fact that the question of a peaceful or violent path remains open to it. Only the Communist Parties of Peru and Colombia supported the appeal of the Cuban leader, stating, however, that “the conditions are not yet ripe for this.” Only the communist parties of Venezuela and Guatemala agreed to immediate cooperation with the communists of Cuba. Material from the site

Che Guevara

In all Latin American countries, young people, in a fit of enthusiasm, stood under the banners of Castro, Trotsky, and Mao in order to promote the development of the revolution. One of F. Castro's closest associates, Argentine revolutionary and commander of the Cuban revolution Ernesto Che Guevara leaves Cuba to lead the partisan movement in Bolivia. Che Guevara's squad was well equipped and carried out a number of successful operations against regular troops in difficult mountainous terrain. However, on October 8, 1967, the detachment’s camp was surrounded, and Che Guevara himself was captured and executed the next day. The same fate awaited the courageous and rebellious priest Camillo Torres in Colombia.

“My homeland seems sugary, but there is so much bitterness in it. She is made of green velvet, but the sun is made of bile above her,” wrote the poet Nicolas Guillen about Cuba. In the 40s XX century The economy was dominated by the monoculture of cane sugar production, the main consumer of which was the United States. American dominance on the island was absolute. The US military base at Guantanamo Bay on Cuban territory limited the country's sovereignty. “Paradise Country” attracted millions of American tourists. This brought considerable income to Cuba, but also had negative consequences: the spread of gambling, an increase in crime, etc. Most of the cultivated land in Cuba at that time belonged to large owners, 60% of those employed in agriculture were hired workers. More than a third of the economically active population were unemployed.

Military coup by Fulgencio Batista

On March 10, 1952, former President Fulgencio Batista carried out a military coup. The Cubans remembered well that repressions were associated with his previous reign (1940-1944). Resistance to the new dictatorship was led by the “Century Youth Movement”. In July 1953, a group of young revolutionaries led by 27-year-old lawyer Fidel Castro attempted to seize the Moncada barracks in the city of Santiago de Cuba and start a nationwide uprising. The army brutally suppressed the uprising; most of the rebels were killed after torture. The survivors, including F. Castro and his brother Raul, were sentenced to long prison terms. The rebel leader’s speech at the trial, ending with the words “History will vindicate me,” became a manifesto for a new generation of revolutionaries.

Revolutionary movement of July 26

Released under an amnesty, Fidel led the “Revolutionary Movement of July 26,” which quickly gained numerous supporters. In 1956, in Mexico, he organized an armed group to land in Cuba and organize the fight against the dictatorship. In the first clash with the troops, almost all the landing participants died or were captured. But a small group (the Castro brothers, the Argentinean Ernesto Che Guevara, the Cuban Camilo Cienfueos, etc.) managed to unite at the end of December in the Sierra Maestra mountains and founded the Rebel Army, of which Fidel became the commander-in-chief.

F. Castro

The rebels' actions received the support of the peasants, labor and student movements in the cities. Social transformations were carried out in the liberated territories. Very quickly, Batista lost the support of almost the entire population. Military assistance from the United States did not help Batista either.

The rebels led by Castro refused to shave until the government was overthrown. Soon they began to be called "barbudos", which means "bearded men" in Spanish. After coming to power, Fidel and many of his comrades decided not to change their appearance and kept their beards, making them a symbol of the revolution.

On New Year's Eve, the dictator and his associates fled from Cuba, and the rebels entered Havana on January 2, 1959. Thousands of residents of the capital greeted them with posters “Thank you, Fidel!” On this day, almost all Cubans accepted the revolution as their own. Material from the site

Che Guevara

The example of Cuba inspired revolutionaries in most Latin American countries to take up armed struggle and gave impetus to the development of the revolutionary movement throughout the world. The Cuban leadership provided direct assistance to rebel organizations in various countries. An example of such support was the participation of the legendary leader of the Cuban revolution, Che Guevara, in guerrilla wars in the Congo (Zaire) and Bolivia. In the 1970-1980s. Cuba provided large-scale military assistance to Angola and Ethiopia, which were subject to aggression from their neighbors.