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2. What is the difference between the letter Khrushchev sent on October 26th and the Letter he sent on the 27th

User Shi Quan
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Final answer:

The difference lies in the respective offers and public perception of the crisis' resolution: the October 26th letter offered missile removal from Cuba for a non-invasion promise, while the October 27th letter included the additional secret agreement to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey, helping to publicly defuse the crisis.

Step-by-step explanation:

The difference between the letter Khrushchev sent on October 26th and the letter he sent on the 27th during the Cuban Missile Crisis lies in their content and significance. On October 26th, Khrushchev agreed to remove the Russian missiles from Cuba in exchange for President Kennedy's promise not to invade the island nation. This letter represented an initial step toward de-escalation. However, on October 27th, the circumstances were more tense, with U.S. and Soviet tanks facing off at the entrance to East Berlin. A deal was eventually reached where Kennedy's agreement to not invade Cuba was made public, and as part of a secret arrangement, the U.S. would also remove its missiles from Turkey. These letters and the interactions represent the shift from brinkmanship to a diplomatic resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The events surrounding these letters were crucial in averting a potential nuclear war between the two superpowers during the Cold War. The public and secret agreements allowed both sides to retreat from the crisis without appearing to lose the standoff, with the Soviet Union appearing to back down while the U.S. also conceded to dismantle missile sites in Turkey, albeit quietly.

User Brendan L
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Answer:

The letters that you are referring to are the letters that Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev sent to U.S. President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.

On October 26th, 1962, Khrushchev sent a letter to Kennedy in which he offered to remove Soviet missiles from Cuba in exchange for a U.S. guarantee not to invade Cuba and to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey. This letter was seen as a hopeful sign of a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

However, the next day, on October 27th, 1962, Khrushchev sent a second letter to Kennedy that took a much tougher tone. In this letter, Khrushchev criticized Kennedy's speech the previous day, in which he had announced a naval blockade of Cuba and warned of the possibility of military action if the Soviets did not remove their missiles. Khrushchev accused the U.S. of provoking a war and threatened to take action if the U.S. did not back down.

The difference between the two letters is significant. The first letter was conciliatory and offered a potential path to resolving the crisis peacefully, while the second letter was confrontational and increased tensions between the two sides. The second letter showed that Khrushchev was willing to take a more aggressive stance in response to Kennedy's actions, which made it clear that the situation was still very dangerous and a peaceful resolution was not guaranteed.

User ThatsRightJack
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