Nikita Khrushchev’s ascension to the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) marked the beginning of the de-Stalinization process. The new Soviet leader denounced the crimes of Stalin’s regime. Khrushchev’s foreign policy was, however, in a totally different state. The American – Soviet relations were severely strained reaching their highest point in the Cuban missiles crisis. In October 1962, the two superpowers were short of nuclear war between themselves. Lenin and Stalin’s idea of international revolution did not appeal to Khrushchev, yet Fidel Castro’s revolutionary efforts did. Castro’s nationalist and anti-communist speech held at the Harvard University in 1959 made Khrushchev take action. Raul Castro and His Secrets Raul Castro convinced his brother Fidel Castro that the support of the USSR was vital for the stability of Cuba. The Presidium of the CC of CPSU led by Khrushchev decided on April 23rd, 1959, to give a favourable answer to Raul Castro’s request for Soviet aid: the Kremlin resolved to support the Cuban Army through covert operations. The USSR’s aid consisted of sums of money and Soviet military instructors of Spanish origin sent to the Cuban Army. Initially, the Cuban Revolution was not oriented towards communism; Raul and Che Guevara were the only ones who were sympathetic to the Marxist-Leninist Doctrine. It seems that Fidel was not aware of his brother’s affiliation to the communist movement as well as the diplomatic relations he established with the USSR. Raul let his brother in on these details only in 1962. The failed American invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961 contributed to the unification of the Cuban Revolutionary Movement around the Partido Socialista Popular (Cuban Communist Party). Fidel Castro became an official member of the party in November 1961. Stalin and Khrushchev had a very different approac