1983 ⟶ Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Shot Down

Civilian Korean Air Lines Flight 007, with 269 passengers, i...
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1963
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1983

🇫🇷 France Withdraws Navy from NATO's North Atlantic Fleet

France announces that it is withdrawing its navy from the North Atlantic fleet of NATO.⟶
FranceNATOCold WarEuropeMilitaryAlliancePolitics

🇪🇬 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat Assassinated

President Anwar Sadat of Egypt is shot and killed in Cairo during the annual victory parade.⟶
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat Assassinated (1981)
EgyptAssassinationAnwar SadatMiddle EastPoliticsCold WarTerrorismMilitaryLeadership

💥 Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Shot Down

Civilian Korean Air Lines Flight 007, with 269 passengers, including U.S. Congressman Larry McDonald, is shot down by Soviet interceptor aircraft.⟶
Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Shot Down (1983)
Cold WarNuclearAviationUS-Soviet RelationsMilitaryInternational IncidentPoliticsAccident

🕊️ Samantha Smith's Visit to the Soviet Union

Ten-year-old American child Samantha Smith accepts the invitation of Soviet leader Yuri Andropov and visits the Soviet Union with her parents. Smith had written to Andropov to ask if he would "vote to have a war or not?". Smith's letter, published in the Soviet newspaper Pravda, prompted Andropov to reply and invite the girl to the USSR. The widely publicized event leads to other Soviet–American cultural exchanges.⟶
Samantha Smith's Visit to the Soviet Union (1983)
Cold WarCultureUS-Soviet RelationsPeacePropagandaChildrenMediaExchange

🚩 Soviet Union Intervenes in Sri Lankan Communist Party Ban

Sri Lankan government bans all its major communist parties claiming they were involved in ethnic riots, Soviet Union intervenes to unban the parties.⟶
Soviet Union Intervenes in Sri Lankan Communist Party Ban (1983)
USSRSri LankaCommunismCold WarAsiaPoliticsForeign policyIntervention

🚨 Soviet Nuclear False Alarm Incident

The 1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident occurs. The U.S.S.R. nuclear early warning system reports launch of multiple U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles. Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov, an officer of the Soviet Air Defence Forces, correctly identifies them as false alarms. This decision is seen as having prevented a retaliatory nuclear attack based on erroneous data on the United States and its NATO allies, which likely would have resulted in nuclear war and the deaths of hundreds of millions of people.⟶
Soviet Nuclear False Alarm Incident (1983)
Cold WarNuclearUSSRDefenseMilitaryEarly Warning SystemPetrovCrisisAccident