Serhii Plokhy

One of the most dangerous moments of the Cuban Missile Crisis was the Soviet missile shooting down the American airplane, killing the pilot. An act of war. Technically, we're already in war. The order to shoot the missile was given with Moscow having no clue what was going on the ground. Moscow never gave approval for that.

Again, I described that in the book many times about Kennedy bringing back his wisdom from World War II years. There always will be SOB who didn't get the order or missed things, and that was happening on the American side as well. People who believe that they're in control really are not in control, and that can escalate very often against their wishes. So that is one lesson.

Again, I described that in the book many times about Kennedy bringing back his wisdom from World War II years. There always will be SOB who didn't get the order or missed things, and that was happening on the American side as well. People who believe that they're in control really are not in control, and that can escalate very often against their wishes. So that is one lesson.

Again, I described that in the book many times about Kennedy bringing back his wisdom from World War II years. There always will be SOB who didn't get the order or missed things, and that was happening on the American side as well. People who believe that they're in control really are not in control, and that can escalate very often against their wishes. So that is one lesson.

But going back to why we're still here, and why the world didn't end up in 1962, is that the leadership, and I come to the issue that you strongly believe in, that people, personalities matter, leaders matter. They were very different, right? Age, education, political careers, understanding what politics are, and so on and so forth.

But going back to why we're still here, and why the world didn't end up in 1962, is that the leadership, and I come to the issue that you strongly believe in, that people, personalities matter, leaders matter. They were very different, right? Age, education, political careers, understanding what politics are, and so on and so forth.

But going back to why we're still here, and why the world didn't end up in 1962, is that the leadership, and I come to the issue that you strongly believe in, that people, personalities matter, leaders matter. They were very different, right? Age, education, political careers, understanding what politics are, and so on and so forth.

Khrushchev and Kennedy, yes. But they had one thing in common, that in one way, they belong to the same generation. That was generation of the Bikini Atoll. That was the generation of the hydrogen bomb. The bomb that, unlike the atomic bomb, they knew could destroy the world. And they were scared. They were scared of the nuclear weapons.

Khrushchev and Kennedy, yes. But they had one thing in common, that in one way, they belong to the same generation. That was generation of the Bikini Atoll. That was the generation of the hydrogen bomb. The bomb that, unlike the atomic bomb, they knew could destroy the world. And they were scared. They were scared of the nuclear weapons.

Khrushchev and Kennedy, yes. But they had one thing in common, that in one way, they belong to the same generation. That was generation of the Bikini Atoll. That was the generation of the hydrogen bomb. The bomb that, unlike the atomic bomb, they knew could destroy the world. And they were scared. They were scared of the nuclear weapons.

And they tried to do whatever they could, pushing against their advisors or allies. were trying to deal with their anxieties. The first is true for Kennedy, later maybe for Khrushchev, to make sure that the war between the United States and the Soviet Union doesn't start because they knew that That war would be a nuclear war. So we have a very, very paradoxical sort of situation.

And they tried to do whatever they could, pushing against their advisors or allies. were trying to deal with their anxieties. The first is true for Kennedy, later maybe for Khrushchev, to make sure that the war between the United States and the Soviet Union doesn't start because they knew that That war would be a nuclear war. So we have a very, very paradoxical sort of situation.

And they tried to do whatever they could, pushing against their advisors or allies. were trying to deal with their anxieties. The first is true for Kennedy, later maybe for Khrushchev, to make sure that the war between the United States and the Soviet Union doesn't start because they knew that That war would be a nuclear war. So we have a very, very paradoxical sort of situation.

The crisis occurred because of the nuclear weapons, because Khrushchev put them on Cuba. But the crisis was resolved, and we didn't end in the Third World War because of the nuclear weapons, because people, leaders, were afraid of them. That's where I want to put emphasis. It's not that the nuclear weapons created crisis or solved the crisis. It's basically our perception of them.

The crisis occurred because of the nuclear weapons, because Khrushchev put them on Cuba. But the crisis was resolved, and we didn't end in the Third World War because of the nuclear weapons, because people, leaders, were afraid of them. That's where I want to put emphasis. It's not that the nuclear weapons created crisis or solved the crisis. It's basically our perception of them.

The crisis occurred because of the nuclear weapons, because Khrushchev put them on Cuba. But the crisis was resolved, and we didn't end in the Third World War because of the nuclear weapons, because people, leaders, were afraid of them. That's where I want to put emphasis. It's not that the nuclear weapons created crisis or solved the crisis. It's basically our perception of them.

We are now in the age after the Cold War era, with the new generation of voters, with the new generation of politicians. We don't belong to the generation of bikini at all. We maybe know what bikini is, but we think that this is something else. And it's very important.

We are now in the age after the Cold War era, with the new generation of voters, with the new generation of politicians. We don't belong to the generation of bikini at all. We maybe know what bikini is, but we think that this is something else. And it's very important.

We are now in the age after the Cold War era, with the new generation of voters, with the new generation of politicians. We don't belong to the generation of bikini at all. We maybe know what bikini is, but we think that this is something else. And it's very important.

Yes, we can.