The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a tense 1962 confrontation between the United States and Soviet Union over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, bringing the world closer to nuclear war than at any other point in history.
For thirteen tense days, the world's two nuclear superpowers stood closer to direct catastrophic conflict than at any point before or since, before careful diplomacy finally pulled both sides back from the brink.
Discovering Soviet Missiles
The crisis began when American reconnaissance aircraft discovered the Soviet Union was installing nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from the United States mainland.
A Tense Standoff
President John F. Kennedy responded with a naval blockade of Cuba, initiating a tense 13-day standoff during which the world watched anxiously as both superpowers considered their next moves.
Diplomatic Resolution
The crisis was resolved through careful back-channel diplomacy, with the Soviet Union agreeing to remove its missiles from Cuba in exchange for a secret U.S. commitment to remove its own missiles from Turkey.
The Closest Approach to Nuclear War
The crisis is widely regarded by historians as the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war, prompting subsequent efforts by both superpowers to establish more reliable communication channels to prevent future crises.
