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  1. On This Day: June 4, 1988 – Deadly Train Explosion Strikes Arzamas in the Soviet Union

    On This Day: June 4, 1988 – Deadly Train Explosion Strikes Arzamas in the Soviet Union

    On this day June 4, 1988, a catastrophic train explosion rocked the city of Arzamas in Gorky Oblast, USSR, killing 91 people and injuring over 1,500. The blast occurred when three cars on the freight train, each carrying hexagen (RDX), a powerful military explosive, detonated while passing...
  2. On This Day: June 1, 1988 – INF Treaty Signed by Reagan and Gorbachev Officially Takes Effect

    On This Day: June 1, 1988 – INF Treaty Signed by Reagan and Gorbachev Officially Takes Effect

    On this day June 1, 1988, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union officially went into effect. Originally signed by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on December 8, 1987, the treaty was a landmark agreement in...
  3. On This Day: May 29, 1988 – President Ronald Reagan Arrives in Moscow

    On This Day: May 29, 1988 – President Ronald Reagan Arrives in Moscow

    On this day May 29, 1988, President Ronald Reagan arrived in Moscow for his first official visit to the Soviet Union. The trip marked a major moment in the final years of the Cold War, as Reagan met with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to continue diplomatic efforts that had begun to ease...
    • Pete
    • News story
    • 1988 80s history mikhail gorbachev president ronald reagan soviet union
    • Category: On This Day in 80s News
  4. On This Day: May 8, 1984 - USSR Announces Boycott of 1984 Summer Olympics

    On This Day: May 8, 1984 - USSR Announces Boycott of 1984 Summer Olympics

    On this day May 8, 1984, the Soviet Union announced it would boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, citing security concerns and claiming the United States was using the event for political purposes. In reality, the move was widely seen as retaliation for the US-led boycott of the 1980...
  5. On This Day: May 2, 1986 - The City of Chernobyl Is Evacuated

    On This Day: May 2, 1986 - The City of Chernobyl Is Evacuated

    On May 2, 1986, six days after the explosion at Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the city of Chernobyl was officially evacuated. While the nearby town of Pripyat had been evacuated on April 27, the full evacuation of surrounding areas including the city of Chernobyl itself took...
  6. On This Day: April 28, 1986 - Soviet Authorities Acknowledge the Chernobyl Disaster

    On This Day: April 28, 1986 - Soviet Authorities Acknowledge the Chernobyl Disaster

    On April 28, 1986, Soviet authorities were forced to publicly acknowledge the Chernobyl disaster after dangerously high levels of radiation were detected at a nuclear power plant in Sweden. The Soviet Union had initially attempted to keep the incident quiet, but the spread of radioactive...
  7. On This Day: March 26 1989 The Soviet Union Held Its First Partially Free Elections

    On This Day: March 26 1989 The Soviet Union Held Its First Partially Free Elections

    On this day March 26 1989 the Soviet Union conducted its first partially free nationwide elections for the Congress of People's Deputies. This historic event marked a significant shift in Soviet politics allowing for a degree of electoral competition previously unseen in the country's history...
  8. On This Day: March 21 1980 President Jimmy Carter Announced the US Would Boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics

    On This Day: March 21 1980 President Jimmy Carter Announced the US Would Boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics

    On this day March 21 1980 President Jimmy Carter officially announced that the United States would boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The decision was made in protest of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan which began in December 1979. The boycott was part of a broader effort to...
  9. On This Day: March 11 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev Became the Leader of the Soviet Union

    On This Day: March 11 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev Became the Leader of the Soviet Union

    On this day March 11 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union making him the country's de facto leader. Gorbachev would go on to introduce major reforms including glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) which aimed to modernize...
  10. On This Day: March 8 1980 The Tbilisi Rock Festival Began

    On This Day: March 8 1980 The Tbilisi Rock Festival Began

    On this day March 8 1980 the Tbilisi Rock Festival became the first state-sanctioned rock music festival in the Soviet Union. Held in Tbilisi Georgia the festival was a groundbreaking moment for rock music behind the Iron Curtain where Western-influenced genres were often censored or...
  11. On This Day: February 20, 1986 - The Soviet Union Launched the Mir Spacecraft

    On This Day: February 20, 1986 - The Soviet Union Launched the Mir Spacecraft

    On February 20, 1986, the Soviet Union launched Mir, the world’s first long-term modular space station. Designed as a scientific and research outpost in low Earth orbit, Mir remained in space for an incredible 15 years, with continuous human occupation for 10 of those years. Mir became a major...
  12. Pete

    July, 28, 1984 - ABC Began Their Coverage of the Summer Olympic Games From Los Angeles

    On July 28, 1984, ABC started their coverage of the Summer Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, with Jim McKay and Peter Jennings as hosts. Did You Know? The Soviet Union boycotted the 1984 Olympics in retaliation for the United States boycotting the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The United States and...
  13. Pete

    July 7, 1983: Samantha Smith's Historic Invitation to the Soviet Union by Yuri Andropov

    On July 7, 1983, American schoolgirl Samantha Smith received an invitation to visit the Soviet Union from Secretary General Yuri Andropov. Smith, a 10-year-old from Manchester, Maine, had written a heartfelt letter to Andropov expressing her fears about nuclear war and her desire for peace...
  14. Pete

    July 4, 1987: First Joint Rock Concert Between the United States and the Soviet Union Held in Moscow

    On July 4, 1987, a historic joint rock concert was held in Moscow, marking the first collaboration of its kind between the United States and the Soviet Union. The event was organized to promote peace and foster cultural exchange between the two superpowers. The concert featured performances by...
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