Khrushchev wanted to defend Cuba, narrow the missile gap, match US missiles in Turkey and gain leverage, especially over Berlin.
Defending Cuba: Khrushchev said the missiles were to prevent an American invasion of a Soviet ally. Losing Cuba would damage Soviet prestige, especially as China accused Moscow of weakness.
The strategic balance: the USA had far more long-range missiles than the USSR. Medium and intermediate-range missiles in Cuba could reach most of the USA, quickly reducing the gap.
Equality with the USA: the USA had placed Jupiter missiles in Turkey and Italy, close to the USSR. Khrushchev wanted the Americans to feel the same threat.
Leverage: success might strengthen his hand on Berlin. In summer 1962, the USSR secretly shipped missiles and around 40,000 troops to Cuba in Operation Anadyr. Historians still debate which motive mattered most.
- Operation Anadyr
- Secret Soviet deployment, summer 1962.
- Soviet troops in Cuba
- Around 40,000.
- Jupiter missiles
- US missiles in Turkey and Italy.
Worked example: Weighing Khrushchev's motives
An assertion question asks whether the missiles were mainly to defend Cuba.
- Support: the threat of invasion was real, and the final deal centred on a no-invasion pledge.
- Challenge: nuclear missiles were far more than needed to deter an invasion.
- Challenge: Khrushchev's 27 October letter linked Cuba to US missiles in Turkey.
- Judgement: defence of Cuba and the strategic balance were intertwined.
Watch out for this
Khrushchev sent the missiles only to start a nuclear war.
He aimed to deter an invasion and change the strategic balance, not to start a war. He backed down when war became a real danger.
Check your understanding
Which motive is best supported by Khrushchev's letter of 27 October?
- Matching the US missiles placed in Turkey
- Overthrowing Castro
- Gaining Cuban sugar