Fidel and Cuba are inseparable

PART ONE: http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20060926/54285310.html 

PART TWO: http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20061005/54552410.html 

PART THREE: http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20061006/54581545.html 

19:25 | 26/ 09/ 2006

MOSCOW.(Vitaly VOROTNIKOV's RIA Novosti interview) - Cuban leader Fidel Castro Ruz, who marked his 80th birthday last month, has been and remains a bright political figure.

He leaves neither his friends nor foes indifferent. What kind of man is Fidel? Why has he attracted millions of supporters and followers? Former Soviet Ambassador to Cuba and Chairman of the RSFSR Council of Ministers (1983-1989) Vitaly VOROTNIKOV gave an interview about Fidel Castro to RIA Novosti defense commentator Viktor LITOVKIN.

Question: As you know, I asked you for an interview about Fidel Castro in connection with his 80th birthday and his illness. Let's wish him a speedy recovery. You worked with him for many years, met him often, and discussed different subjects. When did you first see him? What impression did he produce on you?

Answer: It is both easy and difficult to answer this question. It is easy because I've already written several books about Fidel Castro and am now finishing another one. I know a lot about him and met him often. But it is difficult to describe him in a medium as laconic as an interview. Moreover, it is impossible to talk about him without talking about Cuba's relations with the Soviet Union and Russia. Fidel and Cuba are inseparable... But let's try.

We met for the first time in Voronezh in 1972. I was the first secretary of the city's regional Party committee. Fidel was in the Soviet Union on an official visit and arrived in Voronezh to see the performance of the nuclear power plant. He was planning to build one in Cuba and to launch an electronics industry. Voronezh was the right place. Fidel could see the first units of the nuclear plant - both low-power ones and units with huge capacities, up to a thousand megawatts. He was accompanied by Alexei Kosygin, chairman of the U.S.S.R. Council of Ministers, and Konstantin Katyshev, who was the secretary of the Party's Central Committee on cooperation with the socialist countries. This is how we met.

Fidel produced on me, as on many of my friends, a very strong impression. Probably, one of the factors was the evaluation of his personality, which we had already heard about. He had had a special aura around him since the 1960s. He had been to the Soviet Union before his trip to Voronezh, and we knew about his complicated relations with Nikita Khrushchev, who was then the first secretary of the Party's Central Committee. Their relations were unequivocal. On the one hand, Khrushchev praised him to the skies, but on the other, he took quite a few steps which did harm to Cuba, our relations with it, and its leader...

Q: Could you be more specific?

A: I'm sure you remember the Caribbean crisis in 1962 and its resolution. In addition, our advisers flooded Cuba. They were not very considerate, interfering in Cuba's domestic affairs and imposing their decisions on Cuban experts, decisions which had nothing to do with the established way of life or local traditions. This lasted for quite a long time.

I had to deal with these problems as early as 1979, when I went to Cuba as ambassador. On the eve of my departure, Alexei Kosygin advised me to think about how we ought to develop economic relations. Cuba was growing strong, we could not treat it as an incapable country and impose our decisions on all the problems it was facing. We shouldn't have tried to carry out what we advised. Quite often, our instructions did not correspond to the local climate, Cuban traditions, or the economic situation...

Of course, our consultants were using Soviet experience, but it did not always apply.

Q: What did they advise?

A: They advised, for instance, that Cuba should be fully self-sufficient in food. But this was simply impossible. Cuba cannot grow grain because it's too hot there. What could it do with Russian seeds in a tropical climate? To use a metaphor, on Cuba these seeds immediately fatten up, get sick and rot. My wife and I also tried to grow radishes, lettuce and other vegetables, which we were used to at home, but nothing good came of it. They grow tall, but there are no roots.

Our specialists made many mistakes in land amelioration and construction. On one occasion I had to send a chief adviser home to the U.S.S.R. He was the former deputy chairman of the State Committee for Construction. He had arrived in Cuba with Soviet building standards and rules, which were based on our climate - for dwellings with thick walls, heating and so on... When I asked him why, he said that he was planning to build in the usual way, as he did at home. Naturally, this was expensive, ineffective, and unnecessary for Cuba. But our advisors were not embarrassed in the least.

They did not understand that the Cubans would do much better if they grew sugar cane, sold sugar, and bought grain and all other vegetables they could not cultivate locally, like tomatoes and cucumbers. By the way, those were only on the tables of the elite, which brought them from the U.S. and Canada, while common people ate local products. Cuba's nature is bountiful and allows a diet with vitamins and many other tasty things.

Q: Bananas and pineapples?

A: Bananas and pineapples are the least important. There are many other kinds of fruit in Cuba. I don't remember all the names but papaya and mango are more useful and tasty.

These contradictions were piling up during Khrushchev's rule. He was angry when advisors came back and reported: "We are telling them what to do but they are not listening." They did not listen with good reason. But the approach was the same even when I was there, 10-15 years after Khrushchev.

Talking about my first meeting with Castro in Voronezh, I can say that we were full of admiration for him. People gathered in the streets. Fidel was very different from other foreign visitors in his manners, attitude to people, erudition, curiosity, and even his looks. We went to the aviation plant, which produced the Tu-144, a passenger jet similar to the Concord. By the way, Fidel liked the plane very much. But he is one of those who do not trust words and demand that they be backed by real indicators - economic or political ones.

When we entered the plane and took our seats, and Alexei Tupolev (son of the famous aircraft designer) started talking about the jet's high quality, speed, and comfort, Fidel showered him with specific questions: "What is the flying range? How much fuel does it need? What is its noise level?" Alexei quoted the figures. Fidel took a napkin and started doing calculations. After a while he replied: "No, it doesn't suit us. It's expensive and noisy." Indeed, the jet was very noisy, and this was one of the reasons why it was given up. "Besides, it won't reach Cuba without refueling, and a stopover will make it even more costly. You are hoping to get a range of 6,000 km, but right now it is only 4,000 km. You still have to work on it a lot. But we congratulate you on such an interesting aircraft, and hope that you have enough specialists to make it fly to Cuba without refueling. In that case, we'd buy it."

We then went to the Elektronika plant, where Fidel was particularly interested in all processes linked with semi-conductors.

Q: Is that the plant which produced the first Soviet videotape recorders?

A: It did, but they were of little importance. The plant primarily worked for the military. Later on, its General Director Vladislav Kolesnikov was appointed Minister of the Electronic Industry and retained this position until his death.

We visited the nuclear plant, too. Fidel stuck his nose into every hole, including the reactor of the units under construction. Some units were operational, while others were being put into operation. The workers gave him a very hearty welcome. I still have the photos. Then we went to some sugar beet plantations.

I told him how sugar beet is grown, and how sugar is made from it. He was very surprised that the production technology was so complicated and did not believe that beets may contain as much sugar as cane. The beets were still rather small, but we took some, he cleaned them, tasted, and said: "Indeed, it is sweet. But I don't believe it is 15% sugar." But beetroot is in fact 15% sugar. The problem is that we have to process it rather fast, while they cut their sugar cane and can work on it all year round. There is no rush, whereas we have to do it in two or three months and make quite an effort. As a result, we'll get a yield of merely 11%-12% sugar, which is the average output of sugar cane.

Later on we had lunch. This was also very important, and our Moscow bosses were quite pleased with us. The lunch took place at my dacha, which was helpful. At that time people did not have rich homes as some do now and there was hardly any place where Fidel could stay. I had a three-room house on the banks of the Usmanka, a small river, but it could not accommodate all the guests. We put tables right on a glade in front of the house, and arranged a "small feast." This was in June, the summer of 1972 was very hot and dry...

Q: This was when the turf was burning in the Moscow suburbs...

A: Yes, indeed. Our lunch lasted for about four hours. Kosygin and Fidel had a very interesting and serious conversation. At that time Fidel was leaning strongly towards China. But the situation in China did not give him many opportunities to get help. Alexei Kosygin apologized to Castro for our mistakes in relations with Cuba and explained what opportunities we had for further cooperation. He was very convincing, and Fidel obviously admired him. Kosygin felt the same about Fidel. Later on a resolution of the Party's Central Committee described Castro's trip to Voronezh as very important, interesting, and well organized. I even received an acknowledgement of thanks for it. Up to Kosygin's illness and death, Fidel was asking me when I was in Cuba: "How is Kosygin? How is he doing? What can we do to help him?"

Even at that time, not to mention today, Cuba had very high standards of medical care. When Kosygin died, Fidel sent a long letter to the party Central Committee and to Brezhnev personally, expressing his deep condolences to all of the bereaved relatives and friends, and conveying his heartfelt gratitude for his lavish aid to revolutionary Cuba. This was in 1980.

After the meeting in Voronezh I was promoted to a job in Moscow. In 1975, I was appointed first deputy chairman of the RSFSR Council of Ministers and started working in Moscow. To be honest, it was not easy for me to adapt myself to Moscow traditions. When I worked in Kuibyshev, Samara, and later Voronezh, I was an independent man and did what I saw fit. Of course, there were many problems; I had to coordinate my decisions with my superiors and was responsible for my actions. But this responsibility allowed people who wanted to do something meaningful to show their potential. I'd say that I did really well in Voronezh. For me this was the most fruitful period. In Moscow, everything proved to be much more complicated. But at long last, I got used to it. I'm a mechanical engineer by training, and I started working at a plant at 16. I didn't have a bent for ideological, propaganda, or party work, and I was much better versed in economic matters or bodies of executive authority. Up to this day I don't know whose initiative it was, but in 1979 I was sent to Cuba as ambassador. This was a bolt from the blue. I was told that Fidel remembered his trip to Voronezh, and when he looked at a list of candidates, he asked for my appointment.

I don't quite believe this explanation because at that time I had problems in my relations with the Chairman of the RSFSR Council of Ministers Mikhail Solomentsev, and the Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Mikhail Suslov, who was also supervising the Foreign Ministry. He talked to me before my departure for Havana. I said: "Why should I go? I'm 53, I'm already old, not very healthy, and the tropical climate won't be good for me." But at that time it was not possible to refuse - if I was told to go, I had to go.

Q: According to the principle: "If the Party says jump, the Komsomol says how high?"

A: Exactly. But I have to say that eventually this proved to be a very good option for me, and Cuba lived through a very interesting period. Working as a diplomat, I gained new and useful experiences. I met not only Fidel and other Cubans, but also foreign diplomats and spokesmen for the department of U.S. interests in Cuba.

Q. But at that time, the United States did not have any diplomatic relations with Cuba.

A: No, and the department of U.S. interests worked at the Swiss Embassy. The Embassy was located in a small house, while the department occupied a huge building on the most prominent place on the coast of the ocean in downtown Havana. It had hundreds if not a thousand of American specialists. True, we were not lagging behind, either.

I got on well both with Fidel and his brother Raul, with whom I made real friends, as well as with other Cuban leaders. I tried to do things that would be interesting and useful for Cuba and for us, of course. I didn't want our interests compromised. I tried to enforce discipline and make sure that we didn't leave a bad impression on Cuban specialists. I traveled a lot about the island, visiting construction sites, plants, and military units. We had about eight to nine thousand specialists in Cuba.

Q: Were they only civilian or also military?

A: Both. We had a big group of army consultants and a military unit. It helped establish the Cuban army, to train officers and men. In effect, Castro's army was a guerilla force. It had heroic exploits to its credit, but it also committed many mistakes during the hostilities in the late 1950s.

What kind of man is Fidel? Why has he attracted millions of supporters and followers?

Former Soviet Ambassador to Cuba (1979-1982) and Chairman of the RSFSR Council of Ministers (1983-1989) gave an interview about Fidel Castro to RIA Novosti.

Question: There are quite a few explanations of why Fidel Castro has chosen socialism for Cuba rather than capitalism. Some say that he became a zealous Communist because of the United States. Is this right?

Answer: Fidel himself has given a detailed answer to this question. A number of journalists, who know him well, have also written much about this. Fidel's development as a personality is very interesting. He was born into a peasant family. His father Angel Castro came to Cuba with Spanish troops. But they were routed and left the island. A poor peasant from Galicia, a northern province of Spain, he saved some money and returned to Cuba. He started a farm, and gradually built it up to thousands of hectares of land, becoming a latifundist. Castro's father had hundreds of hired workers. He married a beautiful, hard-working, and very religious Cuban woman. Angel was a devout Catholic himself. They had four children, and gave them a decent education, although their communication with hired workers, who lived nearby, had an influence on them.

Fidel told me: "I didn't have bourgeois habits - I had nowhere to get them from." His parents did not want to raise him and other children as peasants, but the family lived a peasant life. "We grazed cattle - cows and sheep, and tended geese. We used to mix with the poor, and I knew how they lived. Later on, Fidel went to study in Santiago de Cuba and Havana. It was at the capital university that he became politically active. The Cuban Communist Party was very weak. People treated it like "the devil with horns." He could not have Communist views, and was not ready for them.

Q: He didn't accept communist ideas?

A: No he didn't - not at that time. This is how he described his own attitude to communism: "Studying Marx, Lenin, and other socialist and communist leaders, I started thinking that it would be difficult to apply to Cuba what these admittedly progressive figures were trying to do in defense of popular interests." When Fidel graduated from the university, he already had a plan of armed struggle. He believed that his compatriots were ready to oust the corrupt Batista government, that it would be very easy to topple it, and create good living conditions for the people.

You know the rest. The assault on the Moncada Barracks ended in tragedy. Fidel and his friends were tried, and put into prison. But Castro is a brilliant lawyer. He knew law inside out and managed to win public opinion and build his defense in such a way that they were set free in two years. They left for Mexico, from where 81 people, led by Fidel, reached Cuba on a small yacht, the Granma, in 1956. The war broke out, and ended in a coup d'etat.

The Americans did not have a clue as to what road Fidel might choose. Having become Prime Minister, he launched anti-capitalist policy - nationalized banks and industry, gave every peasant family from 60 to 70 hectares of land, and carried out revolutionary reforms in education.

As a result, his relations with Washington deteriorated.

Q: They say he dispossessed his own family...

A: It would be wrong to say so. His family gave its land to the peasants who worked on it. His father was no longer alive by that time, and his mother did not have any objections. She was a deeply religious woman, and saw how unjust life in Cuba was. She understood that something had to be changed but was adamantly against the communists. Only in the last years of her life did she finally believe that if her sons supported the communists, they would not do any harm to Cuba.

Eventually, Fidel wanted to tell the nation where it was moving, and what goals were ahead. He had to explain his intentions to the people. But there was no radio or television, and all he could do was to meet with the people. I am not going into great detail here, because all this has been described more than once. Many ask why Fidel makes such long speeches. He does it in order to explain to semiliterate people what is being done on Cuba and how, what the government wants to achieve, and how it is fighting American expansion and the economic blockade.

Q: Did Fidel make friends with the Soviet Union when he was seeking protection from the U.S.?

A: Needless to say, the Americans provoked and accelerated this process. If it had not been for their impudent aggression in Playa Heron, which ended in total defeat, our relations might not have developed so fast. Washington still perceives Cuba and Fidel as its enemy.

Q: Did the U.S. landing in the Bay of Pigs, when Fidel appealed to the U.S.S.R. for help, become a turning point in our relations?

A: Not really. Cuba's contacts with the Soviet Union started somewhat earlier. Teams of young volunteers came to Cuba for the safra season -- to help harvest the sugar cane. They told Cubans about life in the U.S.S.R. Relations grew stronger, and eventually we built a military bridgehead there. When the Americans found out how far we had gone, they decided to take action before it became too late. They told the Soviets that they would impose a full blockade on Cuba if the Soviets did not withdraw their missiles. The Cuban crisis broke out, and Nikita Khrushchev made a decision to withdraw the missiles. But Fidel did not know about it.

Q: You mean the decision to withdraw the missiles?

A: Yes. It was a unilateral decision. Fidel did not object to it, but he was furious that he hadn't even been told, that he had been ignored as some satellite, and put into a humiliating position... This was a heavy blow to Soviet-Cuban relations. Cooperation still continued in some fields. Our advisors at some Cuban plants were trying to help. But Fidel turned for support to China and North Korea. True, he realized before long that any contacts with Pyongyang made little sense because North Korea had a completely different system. Fidel focused his attention on relations with China, but at that time cooperation did not prove to be as effective as he hoped.

His meeting with Alexei Kosygin in 1972 provided a fresh impetus for new relations with the U.S.S.R. There was a program for developing different industries, and more qualified advisors were chosen for each branch, defense included. They were helping Cuba to do what it wanted rather than act on instructions from Moscow.

Q: Aren't Cuba's current serious economic difficulties, its food rationing system, a consequence of this "aid"? Or have they been caused by the U.S. blockade or the attitude of new Russia, which has left Cuba to its fate? Was Russia unable to continue the relations which the U.S.S.R. had with Cuba?

A: There is a grain of truth in this. The main reason is probably that Boris Yeltsin simply ditched it without any ceremonies. This was very rude. On his instruction, everything was brought back to Russia in a matter of days - consultants, advisers, and equipment. In effect, he severed all contractual relations with Cuba.

Q: Why did he do this?

A: He saw it as an opportunity to demonstrate his ambitions of the leader of a country which had opted for capitalism and acted strictly on the advice of U.S. instructors. In the early 1990s, there were crowds of them in the Kremlin and in Russia in general. He had them in every ministry, every industry, and close to himself. This was not the only thing he did. He took many actions in order to win favor with the West, primarily, the United States. He said: "I flew over the Statue of Liberty twice when I was in America, and forgot all about socialism and communism at once. I realized that this was a country we should learn from. It is free and independent, and life there is luxurious." Yeltsin lived a luxurious life anyway, drinking and eating as much as he wished. He did not worry about the country, actions by his advisors or other members of his entourage.

Putin has gradually cleared the mess, but by that time it had already affected our relations with Cuba. Cooperation with Russia accounted for 80% of its economy, and when it was disrupted, Cuba headed for disaster. However, it was during Gorbachev's reforms and perestroika that Fidel realized that Cuba had gone too far along the Soviet road. He decided to move away from what was seen as a dogmatic political platform.

In the early stages of perestroika we did not plan to give up the socialist system. We were trying to transform it, and create the impetus for productive labor. We wanted to have competition and different forms of ownership, but keep the main structures under government control. I mean the Army, the main industries - oil, coal and other raw materials, metallurgy and energy production. Other spheres, such as services, the food and light industry would be gradually transferred into private hands, and develop in a competitive environment.

Fidel started working on this. He began establishing contacts with other countries, including capitalist ones, and setting up joint ventures. He decided to take this road when I was still there, and we discussed it. He wanted to invite the Canadians and Japanese to work at plants in the processing, chemical and mineral fertilizer industries. I replied that it was worth trying but without losing state control over them. He agreed: "Of course, we won't survive without it." They began to attract investment, and establish joint ventures, which should hopefully give a boost to the economy, improve working conditions, bring in new technologies, and result in higher wages. When people earn more, they can spend more and encourage the development of consumer industries.

Q: Why did Cuba fail?

A: Cuba did not fail, and this is why it survived. Some theorists and economists predicted complete bankruptcy for it. Fidel's decision to cooperate with some capitalist countries and give up certain political slogans was of great help to Cuba.

Q: Did he give up the leading role of the communist party?

A: No, this role is immutable in Cuban society. The main changes took place in the economy. It was re-oriented in favor of tourism. Together with Spanish, Italian, and other specialists, they built top-notch hotels providing excellent services along the wonderful coasts of Cuba. They had golf courses, casinos - everything one could think of. Cuba's tourist mecca is Varadero. It is closed to the public at large, and is totally crime-free. Tourist business became more and more profitable. Eventually, it contributed more to the GDP than any other industry, leaving behind even sugar cane production.

Then they decided to promote contacts with other countries in high tech and raw materials industries. They started cooperation with Canada in the nickel industry. Although Russian specialists had worked there quite well before, and had done a great deal, the Canadians brought with them more modern technologies, and the Cubans doubled or tripled their nickel production.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20061006/54581545.html

Q: What happened with Russian interests in Cuban economy?

A: We gave up this work under Yeltsin, and have had no interests there since then. Cuba started cooperation with Mexico in oil production. With us the Cubans produced a mere 300,000 tons of oil, and we could not supply them with the equipment they needed. We kept saying that its transportation was too difficult, that Cuba was too far, that we had to meet our own requirements. At that time, the U.S.S.R. produced about 630 million tons of oil a year. In this situation the Cubans had to turn to Mexico. This was when I was still in Cuba.

I called Chairman of the U.S.S.R. Planning Committee Nikolai Baibakov: "Comrade Baibakov, we are missing our gain. Why don't we supply Cuba with what it needs?" He replied: "What can I do about it? I'm being torn apart, and barely manage to supply what we need ourselves." Today, Cuba produces about five million tons of oil, covering almost half of its requirements. Moreover, the Cubans have discovered a gas deposit. The improvement of relations with Venezuela has given them access to more oil. In other words, the economy supports politics. This is what we did not have under perestroika. Our economy was run down by politics.

I often go to Cuba, almost every other year. Last time I was there a year ago. I have to say that now Cubans live better than they did in our time. It sounds paradoxical, but it's true. In effect, they have free trade, which involves a huge workforce. Employees of joint ventures receive part of their salaries in hard currency. They cannot keep all of it, and give some of it to the state of their own free will for social needs - children still receive free clothes, textbooks, food, and tuition. Students do not pay for university education either.

Cuba has free foreign currency exchange, but the state controls this process. Officially, this does not apply to the dollar because of the provocative U.S. policy. It is still possible to exchange it, but not buy anything with it.

Q: Do they have shops like our Beryozka in Soviet times, where goods were sold for special checks?

A: They have similar shops, where you can buy things for euros or convertible pesos. They have such currency in Cuba... You can buy all you want with it in special shops, particularly in tourist areas and in Havana. Every Cuban who has foreign currency or convertible pesos can spend them there.

They have opened the agricultural market. It is now completely free. Everyone can buy and sell anything he or she grows, or makes. In addition, they have what we call flea markets, where you can find anything you need in everyday life - arts and crafts, embroidery, jerseys, socks... Cuba has gone further than we did in the Soviet times. Those who say that life in Cuba has become worse are entirely wrong - they don't know what to compare it with.

Even the way Cuba looks has changed. There are many foreign cars. They have ours, too - they cooperate with the VAZ plant. People are well dressed. True, they still have a food rationing system, but it applies only to certain items, and they cost very little. But it guarantees that everyone will have enough to eat. If he or she works, gets a pension, or has more than one job, this will be an addition to the rationed products, to milk...

Q: To rice, meat...

A: No, not to meat. Staple foods are rice, dairy products, pasta, flour, fruit and vegetables. Fruit are dirt-cheap because there are plentiful. Mango trees grow by the roads, and you can pick as many as you wish, not to mention coconuts. They don't even go as food products.

We have discussed why Fidel Castro enjoys high prestige with the Cubans. One more reason is his ability to be flexible, and to influence the economy even in the conditions that have been imposed on Cuba by America, and by us as well. People see for themselves that life is getting better, roads and housing are being built, wages are growing, and shops have goods to buy... And they appreciate it all.

Q: But let's return to Fidel's personality. What kind of man is he?

A: He is a truly unique man. Today, some prominent actors, writers, and political leaders are often called great, often posthumously. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't. But Fidel is really a great man, a legend. It is common knowledge that he is very educated. He is brilliant at international and domestic law, and well versed in religion. He is in his element in any religious dispute. He knows arts very well. I was surprised that he has a good grasp on modern art.

I don't understand modernism or abstractionism, but Fidel encourages them in Cuba, and knows a lot about them. He is very familiar with literature. He also knows history inside out - both Latin American and of the rest of the world. Fidel is a man of encyclopedic knowledge. He deals with specific economic aspects, and studies them from scratch to finish. For instance, he wanted to organize cheese production in Cuba. The Cubans did not know what cheese was. But Fidel went to France, sent people there to learn the trade, bought the equipment, and cheese production started in different places.

Now when you are invited to Cuban homes, the hosts always serve many brands of cheese on a wooden tray at the end of dinner - choose what you like. Credit for this goes to Fidel. At one point he got interested in Russian cuisine. By the way, he is a good chef himself, especially when it comes to seafood. Generally, he is undemanding about food, and eats everything his diet permits. He takes good care of himself, and does sports not to put on weight. He used to come to our residence once or twice a month, and I always treated him to our dishes - dumplings, pies, or pancakes. He always asked me how they were cooked and from what products.

We met not only at the offices, at my residence, but during holidays, or visits to plants... Some meetings were accidental. I'd go to a plant, and see Fidel there, or he'd come to a place where I was, and we'd always find the time to talk. We spent holidays together, too. I saw him in different situations, and I can say that he is a very modest man with excellent manners. He is emotional, of course, but he does not give vent to his emotions very often. Usually, he does it in his public speeches, but when he talks to people, he is very attentive.

Very few statesmen or politicians are able to listen to people and to hear what they are saying. He listens carefully, especially if he is interested. If someone talks too much, and it doesn't make any sense, Fidel would try to gently change the subject. He does not like idle talk. He's also suspicious of people who talk much but do little. Sometimes, he even stops seeing them.

Fidel is very democratic with ordinary people but does now allow familiarity. He doesn't kiss or hug anyone, but can pat a friend's shoulder. People are very attracted to him.

Fidel does not try to create some impression. This is what he is - very different. He laughs, but not very often. He prefers to smile. He can be serious, reserved or merry. But he can work himself into a state as well. When I told him that our troops had entered Afghanistan, he almost jumped: "How come? When? Why? I've written to Brezhnev about the situation there. You shouldn't have done this!" But after a while, he calmed down and said in an even voice: "What should be done now? This will evoke such a stir in the world. We must take some action. How can I help you? How can we influence public opinion?" He added: "What should be done not to drag it out? This means bloodshed, you will be at war..."

The main thing about Fidel Castro is that he has been and remains our friend no matter what. A true friend is the best quality a politician can have. I wish him excellent health, and hope to meet him again more than once.