On October 22nd 1962, in a televised speech of extraordinary gravity, President John F. Kennedy announced that U.S. spy planes had discovered Soviet missile bases in Cuba. These missile sites, under construction but nearing completion, housed medium-range missiles capable of striking a number of major cities in the United States, including Washington, D.C. Kennedy announced … Continue reading October 22 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
Tag: Nikita Khrushchev
May 14 1955 Warsaw Pact formed
The Soviet Union and seven of its European satellites sign a treaty establishing the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defence organisation that put the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states. The Warsaw Pact, so named because the treaty was signed in Warsaw, included the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East … Continue reading May 14 1955 Warsaw Pact formed
May 7 1960 Brezhnev becomes president of the USSR
On May 7th 1960, Leonid Brezhnev, one of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's most trusted proteges, was selected as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet—the Soviet equivalent to the presidency. This was another important step in Brezhnev's rise to power in Russia, a rise that he later capped by taking control of the Soviet … Continue reading May 7 1960 Brezhnev becomes president of the USSR
Craig Hill 