The Cuban Revolution significantly impacted Cold War politics by establishing Cuba as a socialist state aligned with the Soviet Union. This revolution, which culminated in 1959 under Fidel Castro, posed a direct challenge to U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere, leading to heightened tensions between superpowers. The U.S. implemented economic sanctions and sought to undermine Castro's government, culminating in events like the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. Cuba's alignment with the USSR also brought nuclear missiles to its shores, triggering the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war and intensified the ideological struggle of the Cold War.