While I was on a visit to Moscow a short time after the Soviet collapse, a retired senior Red Army general sighed nostalgically when I asked about his time in Cuba during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. “Kuba,” as he called it, heavy on the K, the rest of the word drawn out in a kind of caress, had held a special place in the Soviets’ hearts, he said. Its commitment to revolution was passionate and courageous, and in exchange, the Soviets had given everything they could to help sustain the country, going to great lengths to make sure the islanders had whatever they needed to survive. “We spoiled them,” he said, throwing up his hands and chuckling ruefully.
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