Malinovsky, Rodion

Protocol 60 details the first meeting of the Communist Party during the crisis. As Khrushchev is awaiting the announcement by President Kennedy of the discovery of missiles in Cuba, he and some of his colleagues briefly considered using tactical nuclear weapons in the event of a US airborne assault. But, at the suggestion of Soviet defense minister Rodion Malinovsky, the Kremlin postponed its consideration of a nuclear response pending details of Kennedy’s speech.The Kremlin wasted no time in taking steps to reduce the risks of confrontation. It ordered some ships that were still in the Mediterranean to turn around. The Aleksandrovsk, the ship carrying the nuclear warheads for the IRBMs (the R-14s), was ordered to keep sailing, however, because it was close enough to Cuban shores to dock before the blockade went into effect.

Zakharov and Malinovsky send to Khrushchev the Ministry of Defense’s proposal to send troops and supplies to Cuba. Zakharov and Malinovsky give further detail as to the nature of material to be sent to Cuba and a timetable for building launch pads and assembling missiles.

A letter to Khrushchev detailing the shooting down of a US U-2 aircraft that attempted to take photographs of Soviet troops on the island of Cuba.

Malinovsky and Zakharov instruct the Commander of Soviet forces in Cuba on how to deploy navy, missile and air forces.

Formal proposal to Central Committee from a group of industrial leaders, military officials, scientists, and designers to carry out the first human spaceflight by December 1960.