Assess the Impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis

The crisis had major impacts on both Soviet Relations and the USA; it showed that both leaders wanted to improve communication to avoid future misunderstandings. The crisis also did not want to interfere with the overall thaw in relations signified by the gradual onset of peaceful co-existence and then détente. Therefore, as a result, in 1963 the Partial Test Ban Treaty (ending the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons) was agreed to by both nations. The Cuban Missile crisis overall saw Kennedy's popularity and reputation enhanced, and Khrushchev, who was forced to back down to the US, was forced out of power soon after. The Soviet military resented having to back down to the US, and saw it as a sign of weakness on their leader's part. Despite such a general improvement in relations, it highlighted the differences between the USSR and the US in terms of nuclear weaponry. This prompted a determined effort on the Soviet's part to catch up and achieve rough "missile parity" by the end of the decade.…