Khrushchev's deployment of missiles in Cuba was actually
in response to America's menacing nuclear presence in Europe (pointing toward the USSR) and to its attempts to overthrow the Cuban government.
Wikipedia...
In response to the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, and the presence of American Jupiter ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey against the USSR with Moscow within range, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev decided to agree to Cuba's request to place nuclear missiles in Cuba to deter future harassment of Cuba. An agreement was reached during a secret meeting between Khrushchev and Fidel Castro in July and construction on a number of missile sites started later that summer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_CrisisIndeed one can draw parallels between then and now. Putin's actions are very much in response to what he sees as NATO encroachment on Russia's borders, including the progressive installation of a "missile defense shield"...
In April 2007, NATO's European allies called for a NATO missile defence system which would complement the American national missile defense system to protect Europe from missile attacks and NATO's decision-making North Atlantic Council held consultations on missile defence in the first meeting on the topic at such a senior level. In response, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin claimed that such a deployment could lead to a new arms race and could enhance the likelihood of mutual destruction. He also suggested that his country would freeze its compliance with the 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE)—which limits military deployments across the continent—until all NATO countries had ratified the adapted CFE treaty.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_missile_defence_system
by 
You did what? 
