The first generation of Cuban students in the 1960s Soviet Union: shaping a revolutionary ‘culture of militancy’

ABSTRACT After breaking away from ‘Stalin’s isolationism’, Moscow saw the 1959 Cuban Revolution as an opportunity to expand its influence and granted Cubans numerous scholarships for postgraduate and technical training in the USSR. Facing international hostility, preparing new specialists was crucial to Cuba’s development. However, for many uneducated Cuban students, in addition to serious external obstacles (weather, language, depression), studying in the USSR was a highly politicised experience. They formed colectivos and were called on to induce a ‘revolutionary morality’ through incentives and sanctions; they also received ongoing political orientation from the embassy, shaping a well-entrenched ‘culture of militancy’.