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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Ruaridh Nicoll in Havana

Russian warship visit brings cold war frisson to sweltering Havana

a line of people leaning or sitting on a stone wall look at a grey ship in the water
People watch a ship belonging to the Russian Navy flotilla arrive at the port of Havana, Cuba, on Wednesday. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Where once vast American cruise ships disgorged mojito-thirsty holidaymakers into the crumbling streets of old Havana, now lurks the eerie darkness of the Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan.

“It looks like a dead whale,” says Adolfo García, as he queues under the scorching sun. The Kazan is off-limits, but García is hoping for a tour of the second of the four Russian naval vessels that have just docked in the Cuban capital, the frigate Admiral Gorshkov.

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