Cuban revolutionary Raul Castro: biography, photo

Raul Castro, a representative of the legendary Cuban family, a person who creates history, arouses great interest among the public. The life of Cuba is changing because of its more than 50 years of activity. Raul Castro, a biography whose years of life are inextricably linked with the history of this sunny country, is a striking example of a politician who lives in the interests of his state.

Childhood and family

June 3, 1931 in the family of the Cuban landowner appeared boy - Raul Castro. Father - Angel Castro Argis owned large tracts of land where sugar cane was grown, which brought him a decent income. Mother, Lina Rus Gonzalez, is a simple cook. Both of them were illiterate, they were married only after the family had five children. But they educated all children and taught them how to love their homeland. In total, the family had seven children, Raul became the fourth, he had 2 more brothers and 4 sisters. His father from his first wife had five children, so the boy had a lot of relatives. Young Castro studied at a Jesuit school, first in Santiago de Cuba, where he was expelled along with his brothers, and later in Havana he graduated from a Jesuit college.

Youth

In 1948, a new student appeared at the University of Havana - Raul Castro. Photos in his youth represent a young man with a burning eye, he was noted for his impulsiveness and radicalism. At the university Raul studied social sciences and public administration, this knowledge was useful to him later. Although he studied rather mediocre. In his student years Raul became a member of the student movement, he joined the socialist idea and even joined the Socialist Party. Together with his brother Fidel, he participated in student demonstrations, protested against the ruling regime of Batista. He actively defended his left-wing views, advocating nationalist ideas.

In 1952, the dictator Batista came to power in Cuba, supported by American capital and ignoring the national interests of the country, making it a US protectorate. He broke off diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, which established partnership relations during World War II, began to pursue a tough pro-American policy, from Cuba to the US, the products were exported for a pittance, the population was poor. This caused widespread discontent, especially among the youth, to which Raul Castro belonged. The Castro brothers occupied a prominent place in the partisan liberation movement. In 1953 a group of students led by Fidel and with the participation of his brother Raul attempted to capture the Moncada barracks in Santiago, but failed. Some of the rebels were captured, including Raul, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison. But in 1955, under the amnesty, held under public pressure, both Castro go free.

Revolution

Raul Castro, whose biography is permeated with revolutionary ideas and events, already from an early age thought about the fate of his country, he never gave up hope to see Cuba free and prosperous. After leaving prison, Fidel and Raul leave for Mexico, fearing persecution. There the senior Castro heads the movement "July 26" in honor of the events of 1953. And Raoul actively conducts propaganda work, while adhering to pronounced pro-communist views, while Fidel was a supporter of moderate nationalist policies.

At this time, Raul meets Ernesto Che Guevara and leads him to his brother's group, together they create the nucleus of a new political force for the liberation of Cuba. Many supporters of Castro were destroyed in the course of repression. At this time in Cuba, political assassinations and torture were the norm. But the remaining group of 12 people in December 1956 secretly on a yacht to Cuba, breaks camp in the Sierra Maestra and from there begins to wage an active guerrilla war.

They organize a series of strikes throughout the country, by the spring of 1957 in the Castro army - already several thousand people, it waged a constant war with government forces. Resistance in the country, thanks, among other things, to the propaganda efforts of Raul Castro, has increased. In 1957, the partisan detachment attacks the presidential residence, many thousands of women are held in Havana, who demand to stop the murders. The frightened Batista immediately announces "democratic" elections, in which his protégé is the main candidate. But the people already understand his tricks and do not come to the polls. Concerned by the situation, the US authorities decide to evacuate Batista to Spain, where he will spend the rest of his life. And in Cuba on January 1, 1959, the army, led by the Castro brothers, occupies Havana and proclaims a revolutionary regime change.

The famous brother

Cuban revolutionary Raul Castro all his life is closely associated with his elder brother Fidel. They led the liberation war along side, together they raised the country after the fall of dictator Batista. At the same time Raoul professed from the very beginning communist views and had a strong influence on his older brother, leading him later to this ideology. Raul was less charismatic and therefore did not seek to take the first positions in the movement and in the country. He easily gave the role of the first violin to the older Castro, but at the same time he was always a reliable rear for his brother. Later he became the man who established friendly relations with the Soviet Union, which helped the country to rise. Between the brothers there were always friendly relations, although at times they argued about the further path of the country.

Becoming a politician

After the victory of the revolution in Cuba, Raul Castro took over the management of the province of Oriente. Fidel did not want to introduce his brother to the higher echelons of power, since the younger brother was hot and held too radical views. Raul assumed the leading role of his brother and supported him in every possible way, he conducted his policies on the ground and even dealt with the destruction of his opponents.

Raul Castro never changed his socialist views and gradually he was able to win over his older brother. In February 1959, Fidel Castro holds the post of head of government, and the younger Castro becomes the head of the armed forces of the country. He headed the Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces for a total of 49 years, a world record for the duration of his tenure. By his efforts, the army of Cuba has grown to 50,000 people, it not only protected the security of the country, but also participated in the liberation movement in Ethiopia and Angola.

Political career

Fidel Castro eventually trusts his younger brother more and opens the way for him not only to manage the army, but also gives more political authority. In 1961, Raul became deputy chairman of the Central Planning Council, where he worked with his longtime comrade Che Guevara. In 1962 he worked as the second secretary of the leadership of the United Revolutionary organizations. Since 1963, he became the second person after Fidel in the United Party of the Socialist Revolution of Cuba. Under his efforts, the party is renamed the communist one, and its views became the basis for state ideology. In 1965, he is a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, heads the commission on the armed forces and state security. Since 1962, Raul Castro is deputy prime minister, then he is renamed first deputy, then deputy chairman of the State Council, in fact, he remained the second person in the state for all the years of Fidel's rule. He was an unchanged deputy of the National Assembly of People's Power for 25 years. In addition, Raoul actively engaged in foreign policy and the economy of the state. It was he who met with the leadership of the USSR to establish relations and provide fraternal assistance to a new socialist state, initiated the softening of economic restrictions on the development of tourism, and implemented reforms in agriculture. The financial sphere of the country was almost completely subordinated to Raoul.

Head of State

In 1997, for the first time Fidel Castro at the congress of the party of Cuba called Raul his possible successor. As the older Castro grew older, more power fell on the shoulders of his younger brother. In 2006, Fidel was made a heavy operation, and the authority to manage the country was temporarily, but unofficially, assigned to Raul Castro. His elder brother's health worsened, he appeared less and less in public. In January 2008, parliamentary elections are held, in which the younger Castro circumvents 1 percent of his brother. In February 2008, Fidel officially announced his departure from the first post of the state. On February 24, 2008, Raul Castro, whose photo swept all media in the world, became the president of Cuba.

Changes in Cuba

President of the new format, a reformer - such epithets are bestowed on the press by the new President Raul Castro. The policy of Cuba under him is undergoing a number of significant changes. First of all, he actively engaged in foreign relations, met with the leaders of Latin American countries, came to Moscow and even announced his readiness to meet with the US president, and such a meeting was held in 2015. In 2009, the United States lifts the restriction on Cuba's membership in the Organization of American States, and begins a policy of easing relations between the United States and Cuba. This leads to the fact that the embargo on the supply of Cuban goods to America is lifted, and flights between countries are opened. At the same time in Cuba, exhausted by sanctions, a difficult economic situation develops, and it is precisely the solution to this problem that Raul Castro regards as his main task. He carries out a number of liberal reforms, allows mobile phones to be used by residents of the country, allows farmers to determine their own plans for growing certain crops, tries to attract tourists and investments in the economy, and permits the privatization of public housing. Life is slowly starting to get better, although the president and the country still have a lot of problems. In 2013, the people of Cuba once again entrusted Raul with the leadership of their country.

Awards

For his life Raul Castro has received many awards, the most honorable are the title of Hero of the Republic, the Order of Maximo Gomez, Camilo Cienfuegos, the title of soldier of the liberation and underground war, and the Order of the Soviet Union: Lenin and the October Revolution, the Order of the Orthodox Church for help in the construction of churches .

Leadership style Castro

The statesman Raul Castro was formed as a leader in the revolutionary struggle. He was distinguished in his youth by rigidity and intransigence. Life has softened his temper a little, but he remains an authoritarian leader, does not tolerate opposition, rigidly defends his point of view. At one time, Raul was an active participant in the repression of Fidel Castro, and the glory of the decisive leader behind him remains.

Family and Children

Raul Castro, whose personal life is extremely interested in the media and the people, spent his entire life with a woman whom he had met in his youth. Back in 1956, in a rebel camp in the mountains, he meets the daughter of the manager of the alcohol company Vilmu Espin. Young people united love for their homeland and a common idea. In 1959, they married and lived together until her death in 2007. She led an active public work in the country, performed the duties of the first lady, after Fidel divorced his wife. The couple had four children. Their daughter Mariel Castro is an activist for the protection of the rights of sexual minorities.