Soviet Luna 15 mission launches toward the Moon

Soviet and allied forces entered Czechoslovakia to end the Prague Spring reforms. Romania did not take part. The intervention affirmed Moscow’s claim to limit the sovereignty of socialist states and...

After detention and transport to Moscow, Czechoslovak leaders signed a protocol that reversed key reform measures and accepted a continued Soviet military presence. The agreement was made under...

A Pravda article by Sergei Kovalev argued that the sovereignty of a socialist country could not override the interests of the wider socialist community. It supplied a public rationale for intervention...

The U.S. mission became the first crewed flight to orbit the Moon. Soviet leaders and scientists continued a competing lunar program; the episode illustrates how technological rivalry was sustained by...

Chinese and Soviet troops clashed on the disputed island known in China as Zhenbao and in the USSR as Damansky. The confrontation reflected unresolved border claims and a widening political split;...

The USSR and United States opened Strategic Arms Limitation Talks on offensive weapons and missile defenses. Détente reduced some risks of direct confrontation but prioritized superpower security...

The NPT entered into force after the required ratifications, including the Soviet Union’s. It established a framework for nonproliferation and disarmament but left nuclear arsenals in the hands of the...

The two governments renounced force and accepted the postwar European borders as a basis for détente. The treaty reduced confrontation between states while leaving unresolved the experiences of people...

The Nobel committee recognized Solzhenitsyn for his writing on Soviet prison camps and state repression. Soviet authorities prevented him from travelling to Stockholm; the award brought testimony...

The treaty recognized the Oder-Neisse line and committed both states to peaceful relations. The USSR supported the settlement as part of European détente; the agreement concerned borders shaped by...