1983 ⟶ Samantha Smith's Visit to the Soviet Union

Ten-year-old American child Samantha Smith accepts the invit...
Timelines Logo
Year
1959
1982
1983
1985

🇺🇸 Khrushchev's US Visit and Disneyland Denial

Khrushchev visits U.S. for 13 days, and is denied access to Disneyland. Instead, he visits SeaWorld (then known as Marineland of the Pacific).⟶
Khrushchev's US Visit and Disneyland Denial (1959)
KhrushchevUSCold WarDiplomacyPoliticsTravelCulturePropaganda

📜 Reagan Denounces Soviet Human Rights Abuses

President Ronald Reagan signs P.L. 97-157 denouncing the government of the Soviet Union that it should cease its abuses of the basic human rights of its citizens.⟶
Reagan Denounces Soviet Human Rights Abuses (1982)
ReaganHuman RightsSoviet UnionCold WarIdeologyPropagandaUS Foreign Policy

👤 Andropov Becomes Soviet Leader

Yuri Andropov becomes General Secretary of the Soviet Union.⟶
Andropov Becomes Soviet Leader (1982)
AndropovSoviet UnionLeadershipCold WarPolitical TransitionUSSR

🕊️ 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

👿 Reagan Labels Soviet Union 'Evil Empire'

In speech to the National Association of Evangelicals, Reagan labels the Soviet Union an "evil empire".⟶
Reagan Labels Soviet Union 'Evil Empire' (1983)
ReaganSoviet UnionCold WarIdeologyPropagandaUS Foreign PolicyEvil EmpireRhetoric

☢️ Soviet Union Announces Nuclear Test Moratorium

Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet Union begins what it has announced is a 5-month unilateral moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons. The Reagan administration dismisses the dramatic move as nothing more than propaganda and refuses to follow suit. Gorbachev declares several extensions, but the United States fails to reciprocate, and the moratorium comes to an end on February 5, 1987.⟶
Soviet Union Announces Nuclear Test Moratorium (1985)
Soviet UnionNuclear WeaponsArms RaceCold WarMoratoriumReagan AdministrationNuclear TestingPropaganda