The pressure came from more of a reputation standpoint. The USSR did not want to look weak to other countries. Therefore, if the Soviet Union did not protect Cuba they would lose reputability in the Cold War and inevitably look weak to other countries viewing this dilemma. The other part that put pressure on the Soviet Union was in terms of how the resolution of the Cold War went. In order to make the USSR look good, Khrushchev would have to find a suitable resolution that would make them look like they were better than the