Cuban leader Fidel Castro first came to the USSR in the spring of 1963, and according to various sources, his visit lasted about 37-40 days. During this time, he also visited Uzbekistan. He visited Tashkent, Samarkand and the Fergana Valley.
During the arrival of Fidel Castro in Tashkent, thousands of people came to meet him, the streets where the motorcade with the Cuban leader was passing, even had to be cordoned off so that those who wanted to see Fidel simply would not trample him. The leader of the Cuban revolution made such a strong impression on people, eyewitnesses say.
In Tashkent, Fidel Castro expressed a desire to visit a local department store. He was given five rubles to buy something for himself. Fidel chose trousers belt for himself. He was taken to the cash register, at which none other than the Minister of Trade of Uzbekistan was already sitting. Not only did the obese official not fit in the cashier's chair, he simply did not know how to turn the knob to open the cash register. The head trade chief was covered in sweat while he served Fidel, who literally bombarded him with questions about the daily routine and trade peculiarities of an ordinary Soviet department store. In the end, the minister never gave him a check for the purchase.
In Uzbekistan, Castro not only visited the unique monuments of Samarkand and the beauties of the newly opened Tashkent Sea, but also sat behind the wheel of a tractor in one of the collective farms in the Fergana Valley. Impressed by his skills, the farmers presented the commandant a traditional Uzbek chapan and skullcap.
Let me remind you that Fidel Castro died at the age of 90. He served as head of the Council of State and Council of Ministers of Cuba for 30 years, starting in 1976. He also served as commander-in-chief and directed the country's national defense council.
He handed over his powers to his brother Raul in 2006 due to the deteriorating health condition.