Student colectivos in the USSR during the Cold War 1960s: shaping Cuba’s ‘New Man’ from abroad

Abstract

As Cuban–Soviet relations strengthened throughout the 1960s, Havana sent a significant number of becarios (scholarship holders) to the USSR. This was intended to improve Cuba’s technical advancement, but it was also part of a broader attempt to build, through education, what Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara coined as ‘Cuban New Man’. To ensure the students’ adherence to socialism and avoid dissatisfaction with the revolution, Cuban leaders asked the students to organise themselves in colectivos, which assembled all students enrolled in the same Soviet institution. Although these organisations were constantly monitored by a state officials, many Cubans eagerly assumed a leading position within colectivos, guaranteeing the observance of strict discipline and contributing to strengthening the bond between the students and the revolution, ultimately reinforcing Cuban socialism’s New Man.