The intervention of Soviet troops and equipment in Cuba was code-named Operation "Anadir." The final order setting it up was signed on May 24, 1962 by Soviet Defense Ministry marshal Radion Malinovsky and the Chief o the General Staff, Marshal Matvei Zakharov. The deployment of the forces and their transportation was planned in three echelons.⁷

The first echelon (June-July) consisted of the movement of a squadron of surface ships [etc. etc.] / The second echelon (July-August) / The third echelon (August-October) [etc.]

The movement of these ships was accomplished under conditions of strict combat readiness with the pretext of a two-to-three-day naval exercise south of the Bermuda Islands in the Caribbean Sea. Ships stopped at several ports along the route to refuel and take on additional necessar4y provisions.⁶

Prior to the movement of these ships, a military delegation . . . went to Cuba by air. . . .

Upon their arrival in Havana, the delegation was received by Fidel and Raul Castro. The Soviet officers briefed the Cubans on Nikita Khrushchev's plans and ideas. At the meeting, Fidel Castro told them that Cuba was ready to take necessary risks and assume a share of responsibility to serve the cause of world socialism and the struggle of oppressed peoples against American imperialism. Marshal Biruzov later remarked that he received the impression that it was not the Soviet Union who stretched out a helping hand to Cuba, but that it was the Cuban revolutionary government that was helping the Soviet Union to reach its own goals. the delegation soon returned to Moscow to an early session t of the . . . Central Committee . . . ⁹

Later in June, Raul Castro, Cuban Minister of Defense, traveled to Moscow as is brother's confidential emissary to discuss the details and basic principles of the treaty between the two countries. The talks between Castro and the Soviet leaders were strictly secret with attendance severely restricted. . . .

The treaty provided that each country's military units would remain under the command of their respective governments. Soviet troops in Cuba were to abide by Cuban laws. Residence in Cuba by Soviet troops was to be only on a temporary basis. The treaty was to last for five years, after which it could be renewed if both sides desired. It was to be made public in November 1962 during a planned visit by Nikita Khrushchev to Cuba. The draft treaty was initialed by Raul Castro and Marshal Radion Malinovsky.¹⁰