More from Ignacio Ramonet, Fidel Castro: Biografía a dos voces, Debate, Random House, 2006, pp. 325-326:
They [the Soviets] had, towards the other pro-Soviet communist parties, a highly hegemonistic attitude, no? Look, I am not one of those who criticize historical figures, demonized by the world reaction, in order to please the bourgeoisie and the imperialists. But I won't either be so foolish as to not say what I believe I have to say. Indeed, in the Soviet Union there was a tremendous abuse of power, cruelty, especially the habit of imposing the authority of a country, an hegemonic party, on the other countries and parties. We have been more than forty years maintaining relations with the revolutionary movement in Latin America, and very tight relations at that. It never occurred to us to tell anybody what they should do. Moreover, we were gradually discovering the zeal with which each revolutionary movement defends its rights and prerogatives. I remember some crucial times: When the USSR collapsed, many people felt they were left alone, us among them, the Cuban revolutionaries. But we knew what we had to do. There were active revolutionary movements in many places, carrying out their struggle. I'm not going to name names. I'm not going to do that. But I'm talking about very serious movements. In the face of such desperate situation, the collapse of the Soviet Union, they asked us if they should continue their struggle, or if they should negotiate with the opposing forces seeking peace, when one knew where that peace would lead. I said to them: "You cannot ask for our opinion about that. It's you who are conducting the struggle. It's you who will die. It's not us. We know what we have to do, what we are willing to do. But your path, you have to decide on your own." There it was, the most extreme proof of respect towards those movements. Not the intent of imposing on them -- on the basis of our knowledge and experience and the enormous respect they felt towards our revolution -- the weight of our points of view. At that time, we couldn't think about the advantages or disadvantages for Cuba of the decisions they would make: "You decide!" And, indeed, each of them, in decisive times, adopted their own line.
