The 1962 Cuban (Missile) crisis as seen through the Soviet press (Pravda, Izvestia, Mariyskaya Pravda)

Interstate conflicts, wars, and political clashes resulting from the aftermath of World War II led to transformations in the world order. A bipolar world emerged after 1945. The two superpowers, USA and USSR, leading the Eastern and Western blocs, brought the world to the brink of annihilation. The political, military, and economic struggle that these two superpowers waged against each other and through the countries within their spheres of influence can be conceptualized as the Cold War. During the Cold War years, the political system, military, and economic fields faced a significant structural change, leading to a progression towards nuclear competition between the superpowers and bringing the world to the brink of a nuclear catastrophe. The military dimension of the competition between the two superpowers during the Cold War years culminated in October 1962, bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war. Cuba's cooperation with the distant USSR, which was close to the USA, and the USSR's attempt to install nuclear missiles on Cuban soil led to a shift in US international politics. As a result of Cuban leader Fidel Castro's rapprochement with Soviet Russia, the USA undertook various actions to overthrow Castro. The US policy against Castro led to Castro's closer relationship with the USSR and the emergence of the danger of nuclear war. The Cuban crisis in 1962 ended with a peaceful compromise, initiating a period of détente in international relations. During the period of heightened Cold War in the bipolar world, US and Soviet leaders, Kennedy and Khrushchev, could not risk being dragged into a nuclear war and acted rationally to prevent a possible catastrophe. The possibility of nuclear war was considered a serious disaster by the public in both countries. All developments from the beginning of the 1962 Cuban crisis to the stage of compromise were communicated to the entire world public, primarily the USA and USSR, through media outlets. This study focuses on the emergence of the Cuban (Missile) Crisis in October 1962, how the world came to the brink of a nuclear war, the process of compromise, how these were handled by the Soviet press, and how it was communicated to the Soviet public."