BMUN LXIX JCC

In March of 1953, Joseph Stalin, premier of the Soviet Union, died suddenly leaving an enormous power vacuum at the center of Soviet leadership. While Nikita Khruschev would eventually be his long-standing successor, the transition of power was neither linear nor smooth. Khruschev strategically allied himself with key members of the soviet presidium, including Giorgi Malenkov, chairman of the presidium, and Georgy Zhukov, Marshal of the Red Army, to oust (and even sometimes execute) members whom he felt posed a threat. Over the next 5 years, through his cunning he brought himself from the bottom of the council of ministers to the premier of the Soviet Union, usurping power from Malenkov and demoting Zhukov and bringing his allies to the center of power of the USSR ("Leadership of the Soviet Union"). By the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Khruschev was the unchallenged and feared leader of the USSR, and his rise to power ensured that most within the Soviet leadership would n...

         The Cold War was marred by proxy wars. Modern-day Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan, and others are defined by Soviet and American intervention over the course of the 20th century. As of the start of this committee, the Korean was is a decade old and over, and the Vietnam War is being fought without American and Soviet ground troops, and conflict in Afghanistan is not on anyone's minds. Korean War: The Korean War broke out in 1950 as the USSR armed North Korean communist insurgents in an effort to install communist rule throughout the Korean Peninsula. While these forces did manage to break through the 38th parallel, they were soon driven back by UN forces led by the United States. These forces formed a peace at the 38th parallel years after fighting. After the conclusion of the last battle of the war, neither side felt truly victorious. On the American side, they had managed to repel the Communist forces back to territory that was divided at the end of the S...

 A critical component of this crisis will be managing public sentiment while conducting your military/diplomatic operations. To best manage public sentiment, an understanding of the public's perception of the ongoing Cold War is crucial. Remember that the Cuban Missile Crisis is just a small section of the conflict.  A brief timeline of the crisis: 1945: Occupation of Berlin, WWII ends, Birth of Communist governments in Vietnam and Korea. 1947-1950: USSR + Iron Curtain, Israel is formed, NATO founded, Mao creates the PROC, Red Scare. 1950: North Korea invades South Korea and the Korean War begins. 1953: Stalin Dies, Korean War armistice 1954: French Leave North Vietnam. 1956: Khrushchev denounces Stalin 1960: U2 Spy Plane shot down over USSR, dissolution of US-Cuba relations 1961: Bay of Pigs, US involvement in Vietnam War begins 1962: US-Cuba trade stops, USSR agrees to arm Cuba Pictures of the missile sites are taken October 14th and IDed on the 15th Our committee begins Oct...