Page 43 - All About History 48 - 2017 UK
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FIDEL CASTRO
AFTER THE COLLAPSE OF
THE SOVIET UNION, 1990s
Cuba was very reliant on Soviet Moscow for military
and economic aid. When the USSR collapsed, Cuba
took an almighty blow. With a stuttering economy,
Castro tightened food rationing and allowed limited
private enterprise, especially in the tourism sector.
THE CUBAN MISSILE
CRISIS, 1962
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, in which
the US and USSR narrowly averted nuclear
war, Castro was frustrated at being left
out of negotiations. American President
John F Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita
Khrushchev resolved terms between them,
leaving Castro a pawn in the standoff.
CASTRO AS A BOY, C.1930
Born on 13 August 1926, Castro was the son of a
wealthy sugar plantation owner and his maid. He
was sent to boarding school, where he excelled at
sports, and then later in life Castro attended Havana
University to study law.
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