Yuri Andropov dies

A Soviet interceptor destroyed a civilian airliner that had strayed into Soviet airspace, killing all 269 people aboard. Moscow’s initial secrecy and denial compounded the loss and intensified...

A Soviet early-warning system indicated a U.S. missile launch; duty officer Petrov judged it a false alarm rather than escalating the alert. The incident shows how nuclear risk depended on human...

The annual command-post exercise practiced nuclear release procedures during a period of acute mistrust. Declassified records show Soviet intelligence closely watched it; historians debate the scale...

After NATO began deploying U.S. intermediate-range missiles in Europe, the Soviet delegation left the talks. The arms-control breakdown heightened fear among European communities living under the...

Warsaw Pact states declined to set a resumption date for negotiations on mutual troop reductions in Europe. The suspension narrowed a major arms-control forum during a period of heightened nuclear...

The elderly Chernenko succeeded Andropov, continuing the rapid leadership turnover of the early 1980s. The choice highlighted the aging of the political elite and the narrowing space for reform.

The USSR cited security concerns and alleged anti-Soviet hostility as reasons for non-participation. The boycott was retaliatory in the context of the 1980 Moscow boycott and again made athletes carry...

The Reagan administration proposed meetings in September to discuss resuming negotiations on strategic and intermediate-range nuclear weapons and antisatellite arms. The proposal came after years of...

The Games proceeded amid a Soviet-led boycott by the USSR and several aligned states. Athletes who were absent lost an opportunity to compete, while hosts and organizers framed the event as a...

Chernenko’s death ended another brief leadership tenure and accelerated a generational transition at the top of the CPSU. The Soviet Union faced stagnation, a costly Afghan war, and loss of confidence...