Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was a Cuban revolutionary, Cuban prime minister and later the

23rd Cuban president. He was born in 1926 as the son of a wealthy Spanish farmer. He was studying
law at University of Havana. After helping in fights against right-wing governments in the Dominican
Republic and Colombia, he planned to take down the Cuban President Fulgencio Batista by recruiting
poor Cubans, collecting weapons and attacking Moncada Barracks. Just like one Cuban national hero
did it before. The attack was a failure: his forces were cought and he had to run to the mountains to
make a guerilla base. Shortly after he was imprisoned, but was released one year after. After the
release, Castro traveled to the United States and later Mexico where he formed a new revolutionary
group with his brother Raul and Che Guevara called The 26th of July Movement, in memory of the
lost battle. Returning to Cuba, Castro led the Movement in a guerrilla war against Batista's forces.
After Batista's fall in 1959, Castro became the Prime Minister of Cuba. That moment is known as the
Cuban Revolution.

The United States tried to stop Castro's government by economical blockades,counter-

revolutions and unsucessfull attempts of assassination. It is said that the Central Inteligence Agency
tried to kill Castro over 600 times! Also, the United States launched an offensive by sending Cuban
refugees in an invasion in 1961 at the Gulf of the Pigs. Castro realized that his position is threatened
and looked for help at the Soviet Union. Also, he allowed Soviets to place nuclear missiles in Cuba,
starting the biggest affair of the Cold War. American president John F. Kennedy blocked Cuba by sea
forcing the Russian president Nikita Hruov to return the missiles back to Russia.

Inspired by Marx and Lenin, Castro made Cuba a one-party, socialist state under Communist Party
rule. His main goals were investing into education and health system, which made Cuba one of the
most desired places to live today. Also, Castro supported revolutionary groups in Nicaragua and
Grenada to help them establish their own governments, as well as sending troops to help in Yom
Kippur War and Angolan Civil War. Helping other countries and fighting the imperialistic system gave
Castro fame and support worldwide making him the Secretary-General of the Non-Aligned
Movement.

Castro was faced with the problem of globalisation and decaying Cuban economy after the fall of his
strongest partner in 1991, the Soviet Union. That time is known as the Special Time. Castro had to
find a new economical strategy and decided to visit China to ask for help and ideas. When he
returned to Cuba, he realized that experiments with private entrepreneurship were not working and
decided to give up on them. Instead, he stated that the only way to achieve economic growth is to
preserve a one-party state, limit private entrepreneurship, and quickly eliminate political opponents.
In 2006 Castro had serious health issues and decided the best was to leave Cuba to his brother Raul.
That was the last time he appeared in public. He died in 2016, aged 90.

Opinions about Castro are split. Some people consider him a good leader, while other think
he is just another selfish communist dictator. I dont agree with his political ideology, but I respect
him for taking quick actions for his country he loved the most. Once, he was asked when will he
shave his beard, take off the uniform and stop smoking cigars.

He replied:When the revolution is over! .

Domagoj ovi