Topped by five golden domes the Our Lady of Kazan cathedral is the first Russian church to be opened on the Caribbean island and the consecration was attended by Cuban President Raul Castro, the head of foreign relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Kirill, Russian diplomats and members of Cuba’s Russian community.

At the opening of the church Metropolitan Kirill said: “This is a monument to Russian-Cuban friendship and all the efforts that have preserved our relations, including during the most difficult moments of the Cold War.”

Plans to construct the church were approved during the tenure of former president Fidel Castro four years ago, and its building was paid for mostly by the Cuban government.

Following the consecration Metropolitan Kirill bestowed orders on behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church to Raul and Fidel Castro during a meeting of Cuba’s leaders in the State Council building. The former was awarded the Order of Holy Prince Daniel of the True Faith while the latter received the Order of Glory and Honour.

Addressing the Cuban leadership Metropolitan Kirill said: “In the name of the holy Patriarch Alexei and in the name of the Russian people, we sincerely thank you for the construction of a Russian orthodox cathedral in Havana. We were quite concerned about that construction. We know that Cuba is not a very rich country yet and that it was not very easy to build the cathedral. But it was excellently done, very quickly and today, there is a magnificent monument to Russian-Cuban friendship in the old district of Havana.”

The erection of a Russian church in Cuba is further evidence that Moscow and Havana are intent on rebuilding relations with each other, which deteriorated sharply following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

During the Cold War the USSR was Cuba’s most ardent friend and ally and indeed its protectorate. And the Soviets were granted military bases on Cuban territory, which was regarded by Moscow as a crucial counterweight to the American military presence in Turkey.

Given that Cuba is only 90 miles from the southern coast of Florida, it enabled the Soviet Union to monitor American military activities in Washington’s own backyard. This situation reached its climax in 1962 when the Soviet government installed medium-range ballistic missiles in Cuba, resulting in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

However, with the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 and the economic turmoil which plagued the Russian state during the 1990s Cuban-Russian relations waned considerably as Moscow withdrew from the international arena. This culminated in 2001 when the Russians closed down their Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) cite in Lourdes, near to Havana.

But today the Russian bear is a resurgent power and has begun the process of clawing back much of its lost superpower status. Fearing that the West, in particular the United States, is intent on enclosing Russia and weakening its power and influence through NATO’s continued eastward expansion and by Washington’s planned missile defence shield for the Czech Republic and Poland, the Kremlin is looking again to Cuba as a means to countering the perceived American threat. One senior US official recently commented that the Russian Federation “has strategic ties to Cuba again, or at least, that’s where they’re going.” To try and restore close relations with Havana a Russian delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, a close friend of Vladimir Putin, visited Cuba in late July and discussed with President Castro ways by which Russia could help the Caribbean island recover from hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The Russians also discussed economic co-operation, including oil exploration off the Cuban coast. In addition to this, the Russians announced in September their intention to assist Cuba in developing its own space centre.

These renewed contacts have prompted speculation by western military officials and commentators that Moscow could again establish a military presence on Cuba, possibly in the form of refueling posts for Russian strategic aircraft and naval vessels.

It is clear that the Russian and Cuban governments are now exploring ways of reestablishing closer relations, and the catalyst for this is the perception that Washington harbours plans which threaten the security of both countries. From a Russian perspective, establishing some sort of military presence on the island of Cuba would symbolise that while Washington is the dominant outside power in Russia’s former backyard of Eastern Europe, the Russians are now moving into America’s-the Caribbean and South America.

With the exception of Colombia and to a certain extent Chile, Moscow is fast becoming the most influential foreign force in South America (Venezuela and Bolivia are already in Russia’s orbit). As regards the Caribbean, the Russians have already begun to forge close relations with their Cold War ally Nicaragua following the return to power of Daniel Ortega.

So if Russia is to rekindle its former influence in Cuba, shock waves would be sent through the corridors of power in Washington.

While it is extremely unlikely that Russia will again deploy ballistic missiles to Cuba, the opportunity of having a military presence on an island which is only 90 miles off the American coast will not be lost by the Kremlin for it would enable the Russians to counter America’s presence in Eastern Europe and its attempts to intrude into the former Soviet space.

Contact our America Desk

Sign up for our free weekly security newsletter info@religiousintelligence.com



Copyright © 2008 ReligiousIntelligence.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

To request reprint rights please contact info@religiousintelligence.com