The Cuban missile crisis was a direct result of America having missiles deployed in Italy & Turkey.

Russia was simply attempting to level the playing field so to speak.

We didn't know it at the time but it turns out that the Russians were far more concerned about a first strike from America & its allies.

When you have a hostile country deploying nuclear missiles just a few hundred miles from your border you have every right to be concerned and act accordingly.

If Kennedy wouldn't have agreed to remove the missiles from Turkey & Italy there most likely would have been a war.

For some reason the west seems think that Russia should allow the west to build up offensive forces on their doorstep, and not do anything about it.

Obviously Russia disagrees.

Do you mean a Marxist analysis of the Cuban missile crisis... or a Stalin-era Russian analysis of the Cuban missile crisis?

Oh boy! This is awesome. I actually went to Cuba over the summer so I think I can help you out here.

One of the destinations I made sure to visit was the Morro Cabana military park. They have a sort of memorial to the Cuban missile crisis there. I unfortunately did not take any pictures of the plaques, but I will try to convey the overall message of the park to you as best as I can. I realize that this is not ideal for you but it is the best I can do. I found a couple pictures of the park online (they aren't my pictures), so that may also help you visualize the park.

The first thing you need to know is that in Cuba there is no such thing as the Cuban missile crisis. If you ask a Cuban citizen what it was like during the Cuban missile crisis they are going to look at you quizzically and ask, "what is that?". In Cuba it is called the Crisis de octubre, which literally means the crisis of October.

While they still call it a crisis, it is for a different reason. You need to understand that The Revolution strongly believed the United States to be the biggest threat to Cuban sovereignty. There are numerous documents (cuban-american treaty, platt ammendment, etc) that prove the United States has more than just a neighborly interest in the island. However, the most damning evidence of U.S. aggression is the failed Bay of Pigs invasion which took place in April of 1961; just a year and half before the Cuban missile crisis in October of 1962. The Bay of Pigs invasion was still fresh in the minds of the Cuban people.

The reason they call it a crisis is because it was the absolute closest the United States has ever come to starting a full blown war against Cuba since the revolution took control of the government. For the Cuba, having nuclear missiles was no crisis. The crisis was that the United States was trying to control Cuba with military might. The Cubans saw the naval blockade as North American aggression designed to impede Cuba's ascent to sovereignty. The United States was flat out telling Cuba that they couldn't have nuclear missiles, but that the U.S. could. That didn't sit well with Cuba. They believed that they had the same right as the U.S. to possess nuclear missiles.

The most heated moment of the whole event was when the USAF U2 spy plane piloted by Rudolf Anderson was shot down in Cuba. Kennedy's levelheadedness during this event is the only reason the world exists today. Nearly every General at his disposal said that they would launch an attack at the first sign of aggression by Cuban forces, with or without the support of the Commander in Chief. Luckily, word of the downed aircraft didn't get to the Generals until long after the Crisis was over. The wing of the plane now sits at Morro Cabana, open to the elements and not guarded at all. You can literally have a sit down on the wing of the plane that almost ended the world. In the background of the photo you can see replicas of the nuclear arms that were once stationed in Cuba. They also have a couple anti-aircraft guns and a plane set up there. No idea if those are the AA guns that shot down the U2, they're just the ones on display.

The U2 spy plane being shot down was (and is) considered a victory by the Revolution. It asserted Cuba's sovereign right to protect it's airspace from invasion. It also showed Cuba's "restraint" with nuclear arms. They believe the fact that they didn't fire any of their Luna or Sopka short range missiles (local commander was authorized to fire without extra permission in the event of an invasion) while the U.S. blockaded and flew planes over them (considered an act of war) proved that they were responsible enough to possess nuclear arms.

Even though they were disarmed by the Soviets, Cuba still considered it a victory when the U.S. pledged to never invade Cuba again, and to withdraw their nuclear missiles from Turkey.

If you want to learn more, I would suggest reading some of Che / Fidel's speeches. They don't even necessarily have to be about the Cuban missile crisis, because the message remains consistent every time they speak publicly. They truly believed in the revolution and Cuban exceptionalism. They didn't want to be pushed around and used any more.

tl;dr: United States is trying to bully Cuba by hypocritically telling them that they couldn't have nuclear missiles. Cuba sees itself as responsible by showing restraint and only shooting at the planes that flew into their airspace to spy on them. Even though Cuba ultimately is disarmed of nuclear missiles, it sees the event as a victory because the U.S. publicly pledges not to invade Cuba ever again, and the United States removes its missiles from Turkey. The strength of the Cuban people overcomes the aggression of North American imperialism, Patria o Muerte!.

Well it's difficult to attribute to give a singular analysis to the communist side considering how differently Cuba approached the issue compared to the Soviets. Considering Latin America is my area of study I'll give you the Cuban perspective.

To understand how Cuba ended up at the centre of the situation you have to know how deep their historical ties are with the USA. Following the Spanish-American War and the Cuban War of Independence Cuba was placed under American military administration between 1898-1902. Some Americans favoured total annexation during that period and it was America that many Cubans looked toward as the ideal republic after which they could fashion their new nation. The Platt Amendment of 1901 served as an American justification for placing Cuba firmly within its sphere of influence and was passed by the American senate and then placed in the new constitution of Cuba.

However, six decades of American influence that was seen as morally degrading (Havana was filled with casinos, brothels, and American mob influence kind of in a way that Las Vegas is today) and imperialistic led Cuba to sour towards the US. Coupling that with the American-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista where police were literally murdering people in the street meant conditions were such that Castro's July 26 movement was a welcome change to the status quo (in very simplified terms). Cuba, formerly America's staunches ally and well within their sphere of influence (I would argue more so than any other country in the world at this point), veered sharply left and aligned itself with America's enemies. Foreign capital was nationalised, the friendly regime was deposed, and communism arrived on America's doorstep.

The new Cuban government was justifiably wary of America attempting to reassert their control. Only two years following the revolution JFK completely embarrassed himself with the Bay of Pigs invasion. From the Cuban perspective the Bay of Pigs confirmed that an American invasion was inevitable. At the same time there was a growing feeling amongst the Cuban leadership that they were infallible (there's a specific word for this that has slipped my mind) following the unlikely success of their revolution and the total victory at the Bay of Pigs. Being simultaneously threatened and emboldened was a very dangerous thing.

When the Missile Crisis happened a year later it became a question of national sovereignty for Cuba. Not only did capitulating and removing the missiles mean allowing the USA to exert control over the country to an extent, but the existence of the missiles on Cuban soil provided both a deterrent against invasion and a strong position for Cuba in any future war.

Eventually, of course, the Soviets and Americans brokered a deal that would disarm the missile sites. Khrushchev was not nearly as enthusiastic about the prospect of destroying America in the name of socialism and reached the agreement against the wishes of the Cuban government. The crisis just sort of fizzled out and so too did American and Cuban relations.

Considering you're writing a speech you'll probably want to have some actual sources, so I'm going to recommend The Armageddon Letters from the Balsillie School of International Affairs at the University of Waterloo. It's a bit hyperbolic at times and it's kind of a strange 'cross-platform' model in its analysis of the Cuban Missile Crisis but it gives a pretty good overview of all points of view in the conflict (Castro, Khrushchev, Kennedy). There are several short films worth watching on that site.

An interesting book on the depth of the American relationship with Cuba prior to Castro's revolution is A Cultural History of Cuba During the U.S. Occupation, 1898-1904 by Marial Iglesias Utset.