# Cuban Missile Crisis - did Soviet citizens know? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 9, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-did-soviet-citizens-know/249472 "2004-06-09T16:30:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Engywook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@Engywook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engywook)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-did-soviet-citizens-know/249472/1 "2004-06-09T16:30:47Z")
A bit surprised this doesn’t seem to have been addressed before in GQ… at a wedding reception this weekend we were debating how much the average Russian knew about the Cuban Missile Crisis, while it was happening… and after it happened. My suspicion is that the military knew the details during the event, there were some rumors and wild stories for a few years after the event, but your average Soviet citizen didn’t have the straight dope until about 1972. Anybody actually know? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-did-soviet-citizens-know/249472/2 "2004-06-09T21:58:57Z")
I believe that this was widely covered during this time by Radio Free Europe, etc. broadcasts, which were generally able to be heard by people in Communist countries. (Jamming was apparently not that effective, and too expensive to do on a continuous basis, I guess.) So many Soviet citizens would have been able to hear this semi-official US Government view of what was happening. Whether they believed what they heard via Radio Free Europe is another question. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-did-soviet-citizens-know/249472/3 "2004-06-09T22:10:16Z")
Here’s a CNN site, which includes an editorial from the Oct. 24, 1962 edition of Pravda. [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/10/1st.draft/pravda.html](http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/10/1st.draft/pravda.html) It starts: > [@](#): > > Alarming news has spread throughout the world: the American imperialists have adopted unprecedented aggressive measures, confronting the world with the threat of a global thermonuclear war. Having concentrated its Atlantic fleet in the Caribbean area, the American government has with unparalleled effrontery announced, in the person of President Kennedy, its intention to impose a naval blockade against the Republic of Cuba and has placed its armed forces in a state of combat readiness ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-did-soviet-citizens-know/249472/4 "2004-06-09T22:24:39Z")
Rather convenient that the Pravda fails to mention _why_ the naval blockade was present 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Engywook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@Engywook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engywook)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-did-soviet-citizens-know/249472/5 "2004-06-09T23:05:47Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > Here’s a CNN site, which includes an editorial from the Oct. 24, 1962 edition of Pravda. > > [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/10/1st.draft/pravda.html](http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/10/1st.draft/pravda.html) > > It starts: Good heavens… at least it’s an “editorial” and didn’t pretend to be a statement of fact… Right? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-did-soviet-citizens-know/249472/6 "2004-06-10T03:52:09Z")
> [@Engywook](#): > > Right? Right. Although, Pravda in general wasn’t known for it’s objective and investigative journalism. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-did-soviet-citizens-know/249472/7 "2004-06-10T04:44:23Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > Right. Although, Pravda in general wasn’t known for it’s objective and investigative journalism. Well, to be fair, neither was Radio Free Europe. ---
**Author:** ![galen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecc23a/32.png) [@galen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuban-missile-crisis-did-soviet-citizens-know/249472/8 "2004-06-10T14:26:40Z")
I’m told that _Pravda’s_ team of crack investigative reporters went on to work for the mainstream US press and had the responsibility of analyzing the situation vis a vis Iraq in the months before the recent war.