Moscow, Nauka Publishing House. 1975. 352 pp. Circulation 3600. Price 1 rub. 26 kopecks.

"The friendship between the peoples of the Soviet Union and Cuba has a long history, which was founded by the best sons of our peoples. It was not born immediately, having passed a number of tests on its way, having hardened itself in the crucible of national liberation and class battles, having shown itself in the revolutionary solidarity, brotherhood and mutual assistance that make up the essence of proletarian internationalism" - these lines begin the joint work of scientists of the Soviet Union and Cuba, published by the Cuba sector of the Institute of Latin America of the USSR Academy of Sciences 1 .

The Soviet historiography of the national liberation, workers ' and communist movement in Cuba contains a considerable number of monographs and collective works. A number of studies highlight the socio-economic transformation in revolutionary Cuba. The problems of Russian-Cuban and Soviet-Cuban relations were not given sufficient attention. Only in recent years have Soviet and Cuban historians turned to this important topic. The peer-reviewed book is the first work on the relations between the two countries.

The early period of political and diplomatic relations between the two countries is described in the book by A. Garcia, P. Mironchuk, B. Lukin. Russian-Cuban relations have a long, more than century-long history. The first Russian to visit Cuba was F. V. Karzhavin, a prominent 18th-century cultural figure, doctor, writer, and translator. After returning to his homeland, he shared with readers his impressions of the "pearl of the Antilles" and was one of the first to brand racial oppression and colonial slavery in the Spanish colonies. Another Russian traveler who visited Cuba was the historian and writer A. V. Lakier, who studied the national life and social life of this country in the middle of the XIX century. "Lakier's condemnation of slavery in Cuba," the authors emphasize, "met with understanding from the advanced Russian public, who opposed serfdom in tsarist Russia, where in the late 50s of the last century there was a growing movement for the abolition of serfdom" (p.19). The first scientific expedition to Cuba in 1840 was led by the Russian scientist V.-F. Karvinsky. The Russian journalist and translator A. G. Rotchev devoted numerous articles to Cuba describing its history and some features of its political life. He pointed out that the United States clearly wanted to subjugate the island (p.67). In the second half of the 19th century, a major monograph about Cuba was published by the Russian citizen E. Sivers, a biologist and traveler, an opponent of slavery, who lived in this country for several years. The heroic struggle of the Cuban people against Spanish rule at the end of the nineteenth century aroused the keen interest of Russian revolutionaries. Thus, P. P. Streltsov took a direct part in the War of Independence of 1895-1898,

Editorial Board: A. D. Bekarevich (editor-in-chief), P. N. Boyko, V. I. Bondarchuk, O. T. Darusenkov, V. A. Kumanev.

1 Team of authors: A. Alexandrov, A. Garcia (Cuba), E. Dumpierre (Cuba), B. Lukin, P. Mironchuk (Cuba), F. Pardeiro (Cuba), H. Portuondo (Cuba), I. Pokrovskaya, H. Le Riverend (Cuba), V. Sklyar, A. Sizonenko, Yu. Simakov, Z. Sokolova, G. Khrabrovitskaya, K. Shustov.

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N. G. Melentyev and E. I. Konstantinovich, "who fought together with the troops of the" bronze titan "- General Antonio Maceo - in the province of Pinar del Rio " (p. 32). After returning to Russia, they became actively involved in the social democratic movement. In the police cases brought against Melentiev and Konstantinovich, their participation in the revolutionary uprising in Cuba against the Spanish government was noted as an aggravating circumstance .2
The Russian press's response to the events of the Spanish-American War of 1898 is described in the article by K. Shustov. American imperialism did not allow the Cuban National Liberation Army to take advantage of the victory over the Spaniards. The US Marine Corps landed on the island. The author notes that the journal "Vestnik Evropy", expressing the attitude of the Russian public to the American-Spanish war as an unfair war, predicted that "such a situation (the state of war between the United States and Spain. - K. Sh.) will not bring honor and glory to the current Washington government in the eyes of cultured humanity" (p. 108).

Russian-Cuban economic ties, as it appears from the collection, have especially strengthened since the middle of the XIX century. In 1834, Russia competed with the United States and Spain in terms of trade with Cuba. By the beginning of the 20th century, cultural ties between Cuba and Russia had also expanded. The outstanding Cuban thinker, revolutionary democrat Jose Marti knew Russian reality well and loved Russian literature. He, like a true revolutionary, criticized the political system of Russia, showed good feelings and respect for the Russian people.

A special place in the book is occupied by the material about the solidarity of the Cuban people with the young Soviet Republic. This issue is covered in essays by H. Le Riverend, A. Alexandrov and G. Khrabrovitskaya. In 1918-1919, at numerous rallies, advanced workers and progressive intellectuals demanded an end to anti-Soviet intervention and spoke out in support of Soviet Russia. The first National Congress of Students, organized and led by the revolutionary student leader Julio A. Melia, in October 1923 called on the Government to "recognize the Russian Socialist Republic" (p.132). It was with deep sorrow that the Cuban people received the news of Lenin's death. The book cites the decree of the president of the municipality of the Havana suburb of Regla, Antonio Bosch y Martinez, who ordered all residents of Regla to gather for a rally on the day of Lenin's funeral to honor his memory with a two-minute silence and plant an olive tree on the hill, " recognizing, as the decree said, the importance of his personality, paying tribute to activities in the name of the purest and noblest principles of human justice" (p. 133).

Relations between Cuba and the Country of the Soviets, as the materials of the collection show, were not interrupted in the future. In 1925, V. V. Mayakovsky visited Cuba, who saw "just enough," wrote the Mexican journalist Jose D. Frias, who later spoke with the poet, "to grasp the basic law of this country tormented by cruel 'civilizations' "(p.138).

After the treacherous attack of Hitler's Germany on the Soviet Union, the National Confederation of Workers of Cuba (which united more than half a million people) declared its firm determination to "support the Soviet Union and all peoples fighting for liberation." The resolution expressed confidence that "the fascist clique will be crushed by the invincible strength of the Soviet Army and people, with the effective help of the peoples of the whole world" (p.140). Cuban Communists, the National Confederation of Workers and other trade union centers, peasant and youth organizations held mass demonstrations in defense of the Soviet Union, demanded that the government break off relations with Hitler's Germany and establish diplomatic relations with the USSR. In Havana, more than 100 committees of aid to the USSR were established, which led the campaign of solidarity with the Soviet Union (p. 140). In October 1942, as a result of strong pressure from the workers, the Cuban Government decided to establish diplomatic relations with the Soviet country. The book attests to the Cuban people's high appreciation of the decisive role of the USSR in the defeat of fascism.

A special place in the book is occupied by essays by E. Dumpierre, V. Sklyar and F. Pardeiro on the great Cuban revolutionaries-internationalists X. Antonio Melle and R. Martinez Villena, who made an important contribution to the Criminal Code-

2 A. Garcia у P. Mironchuk. Esboso historico de las relaciones entre Cuba- Russia у Cuba-URSS. Cuba. La Habana. 1976, p. 80.

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Restoration of friendly relations between the workers of Cuba and the USSR. Melia was at the cradle of the Communist Party of Cuba, directly involved in its creation in August 1925. Coincidentally, during the Congress, the first Soviet steamship, the Vaclav Borovsky, arrived in Cuba. Although the government of President X. Machado did not allow the ship to enter the port of Havana, Melya secretly sneaks on it. The authors describe Melia's thrilling encounter with the crew of a Soviet ship, which became "the Cubans' first contact with Soviet people" (p.158). They tell about the many-sided activities of Melia and Villena in leading the revolutionary anti-imperialist movement in Cuba and Latin America, about their visits to the Soviet Union and their work in the Profintern and Comintern. The book emphasizes that "the Marxist conviction and deep theoretical knowledge acquired by Martinez Villena during his stay in the USSR were indispensable in the struggle of the Communist Party of Cuba against the influence of bourgeois and, above all, petty-bourgeois ideology in the working class" (p.194).

The article by A. Sizonenko deals with the chess player X. Raul Capablanca, who has repeatedly visited the USSR at international tournaments.

With the victory of the Cuban Revolution in January 1959, a new stage of cooperation between the two countries begins, based on the principles of proletarian internationalism and fraternal mutual assistance. Famous Cuban historian X. Le Riverend, in an article opening the collection, notes that with the victory of the revolution, the people of Cuba, "having become the master of their own destiny, could freely communicate with the world. Now you didn't have to ask anyone for permission to .establishment of diplomatic and friendly relations with all countries. These relations were established in defiance of imperialism, which tried to isolate Cuba from the rest of the world" (p.14).

Soviet-Cuban relations in the field of science and education, literature and art were comprehensively developed after the signing of the agreement on cultural and scientific cooperation between our countries (December 1960). I. Pokrovskaya's essay on cultural relations in 1960-1972 provides interesting data on the scale of book exchange between the two countries, the publication of Soviet works in Cuba. authors, and in the USSR - books by Cuban authors. Jose A. Portuondo talks about the literary ties between Cuba and Russia. After the victory of the revolution on the island, these connections expanded even more, filled with new content. Sports contacts between the two fraternal countries are discussed in the article by Yu. Simakov.

Khrabrovitskaya city. traces the history of comprehensive cooperation between the youth of the two countries, the process of formation of the Union of Young Communists (JMC) of Cuba, shows the active participation of Cuban youth in the defense of revolutionary conquests, the activities of the JMC and the Komsomol for the communist education of young people, their joint work on the shock construction sites of the USSR and Cuba.

The collection concludes with a historiographical essay by Z. Sokolova on Russian and Soviet studies, various publications and literature on Cuban issues. The author provides evidence of a steady increase in the number of publications and an increase in the scientific interest of Soviet specialists in Cuba.

In general, the collection shows the fruitfulness of joint efforts of Soviet and Cuban scientists to study the most important aspects of relations between our countries and thereby strengthen the friendship between their peoples. Our Latin American studies will now have to comprehensively study the economic, scientific, technical, and cultural cooperation between the two countries, the relations between production teams of factories and factories, and the Soviet Union's assistance in training specialists for foreign languages.?national economy of Cuba.

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