Aleksandr Alekseyev

Alexander Ivanovich Alexeyev (, born Shitov (Шитов); 14 August 1913 – 19 June 2001, in Moscow) His arrival in Havana on 1 October 1959 inaugurated a new era in Cuba–Soviet Union relations. Alexeyev was later appointed as the Soviet Ambassador to Cuba, and played a vital role in easing tensions during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Life before the Cuban Revolution Alexeyev graduated from the faculty of history of the Moscow State University and in the late 1930s took part in the Spanish Civil War as an interpreter. From 1941 he worked as a diplomat and intelligence officer, first in Iran (1941) and then in France (1944–1951). As events began to take shape in Cuba, the Soviet leadership realized that it lacked any meaningful tactical information on the new Cuban government. The Soviet press had hitherto used words such as "uprising," "rebellion," or "guerrilla war" to describe Castro's 26th of July Movement. Only in 1958 did the press begin using the phrase "national liberation" to describe Castro's movement, although there is speculation that this shift was more in response to the United States' support for Fulgencio Batista than due to a real awareness of Castro's political goals. In an interview, Alexeyev admitted that, despite having a considerable background in Latin America, he himself didn't know much about the nature of the Cuban Revolution. "In Latin America," he said, "there have been a lot of revolutions, so we thought that it was just a normal Latin American revolution."

Mission to Cuba Alexeyev was dispatched by the Soviet government to evaluate the state of affairs in revolutionary Cuba. He applied for a visa in February 1959, but was not granted one until August. Even then, the visa technically only permitted him entrance into the country as a journalist, working for the Soviet Telegraph Agency (TASS). This may be due to the fact that Fidel Castro felt uneasy about bringing in an officially-acknowledged diplomat from the Soviet Union, which might have provoked a hostile response from Washington. Furthermore, the Soviet Union believed (not entirely erroneously) that the Americas were under US hegemony, and that any attempt to expand communism in Latin America would be a foolish venture. Despite this uncertainty about whether or not Cuba could really become a communist ally, the Soviet government decided to take a gamble with the enigmatic Fidel Castro. The USSR was doing well by 1959, and had accomplished technological successes—such as the launch of the Sputnik—as well as foreign policy successes in places like Indonesia and Egypt. The belief that the Soviet Union had overtaken the United States in prominence was popular at the time; therefore, the Soviet government was more prone to make an aggressive play to secure the loyalty of the new Cuban regime. Castro, meanwhile, was facing a difficult choice. While his new regime desperately required economic assistance and aid, continuing a trade relationship with the United States would undercut Cuba's revolutionary credentials. The necessity of securing economic aid for the new regime naturally led Castro to favor establishing an economic relationship with the Soviet Union. By May of that year, a formal diplomatic relationship between the USSR and the new Cuban state had been established.

Deepening the diplomatic ties Although Cuba and the Soviet Union had developed a tenuous relationship by early 1960, this partnership was challenged by a confrontation with Castro's previous followers in mid-1960. A group of liberals and anti-communists from 26 July Movement, led by Marcelo Fernández, wrote an ultimatum demanding that Castro publicly and unequivocally affirm his opposition to communism. While this ultimatum was never published, Castro became aware of the anti-communist movement, and perceived its strength. Indeed, he may have been very close to acquiescing to the movement's demands. However, Alexeyev changed Castro's mind by giving him a direct message from Khrushchev, which stated: "The Soviet Government wishes to express to you that it does not consider any party as an intermediary between it and you. Comrade Khrushchev...considers you to be the authentic leader of the Revolution." The crisis—and Cuba's snubbing from the United States—incited Castro's passion. On 27 October, Alexeyev relayed a message to Moscow that claimed that Castro was expecting an imminent attack from the United States, and encouraged the Soviet leadership to launch its nuclear arsenal, although the ambassador later denied that Castro ever called for such a strike.