The Cuban Revolution is one of the great events of human history. The small island was completely dominated by US imperialism until the revolution of 1959 shattered the Batista dictatorship and introduced a nationalised planned economy in the years following the revolution. Since then impressive achievements in health care and education have been met with loud shouts of "dictatorship" from the bourgeois press. What was the background to the revolution and why did it develop in the way that it did? Where is Cuba going today?