The Cuban Missile Crisis

For the respective leaders of the two opposing countries, Kennedy and Khrushchev, the repercussions of the Cuban Missile Crisis were very different. Kennedy's popularity soared after the crisis, as he was no longer seen as a flashy, young inexperienced president, but a brave and noble leader who had rescued his people from the imposing threat of communism and prevented a nuclear war. Khrushchev, on the other hand, was seen as the leader who had backed down from the crisis, and his popularity had subsequently dropped. He was never forgiven by the armed forces, and his decline in popularity following the crisis lead to his dismissal as Soviet leader in 1964.
The Cuban Missile Crisis is widely regarded as the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war. The causes of the Crisis are long and complex; as are the effects it had on international relations. The Crisis was the main factor behind the period of Détente that existed from the late 1960's until 1979, and its repercussions are still being felt today. It revealed to the world the dangers of nuclear weaponry and the very real possibility of nuclear war, as well as the need for a more rational approach to international diplomacy than the one that had existed since the beginning of the Cold War in 1945.
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