5 Things You Forgot Happened During the Cold War
Not long after the end of World War II, George Orwell published his essay “You and the Atom Bomb.” In it, he considered the repercussions of the Atomic Age following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the political implications of a world “which was at once unconquerable and in a permanent state of ‘cold war’ with its neighbors.” It wasn’t the first use of the term “cold war,” but it was the first in reference to the precarious state of global affairs in the aftermath of the first nuclear strikes.
The Cold War began in 1947 as an ideological and geopolitical battle for global influence between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies (the Western Bloc and Eastern Bloc). It reached its peak with the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962, when the world faced the very real and terrifying threat of a global thermonuclear war.
The Cold War lasted for almost 45 years, ending with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. In such a prolonged period of tension and intrigue, some details are easily forgotten. Here are some of the most fascinating but at times overlooked events that took place during the period, from political tantrums about Disneyland to one man who may very well have saved the world.
Nikita Khrushchev Wasn’t Allowed To Visit Disneyland
In September 1959, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev embarked on a state visit of the United States. It didn’t take long before Khrushchev — a famously irritable man — started to complain. Initially, while visiting the Agricultural Experiment Station in Maryland, he allegedly complained that the pigs were too fat and the turkeys too small. A few days later, following a tour of the 20th Century Fox Studios in Hollywood, he had a prickly argument with studio head Spyros P. Skouras regarding the merits of communism.
His anger peaked, however, when he was told he would not be allowed to visit Disneyland as the crowds created too much of a safety hazard. Khrushchev was furious. He made no attempt to hide his displeasure at not meeting Mickey and friends, stating, “I would very much like to go and see Disneyland. But then, we cannot guarantee your security, they say. Then what must I do? Commit suicide? What is it? Is there an epidemic of cholera there or something? Or have gangsters taken hold of the place that can destroy me?” Thoroughly riled, he left Los Angeles the next morning.
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The FBI Built a Tunnel Under the Soviet Embassy in Washington
In 1977, the Soviet Union began building a new embassy in Washington, D.C. Fears immediately arose within the United States Intelligence Community that the new embassy could serve as a hub for Soviet spying activities, including eavesdropping on communications from the White House and the U.S. Capitol. In response, the U.S. began digging a tunnel underneath the embassy from a nearby building — in what was known as Operation Monopoly — from which they could monitor Soviet communications. Construction began in 1977, but the secret tunnel didn’t become fully operational until the early ’90s. The whole project was a huge and costly failure, partially due to the clandestine activities of Robert Hanssen, a double agent in the FBI. In 2001, Hanssen was arrested on charges of spying for Russia, at which point Operation Monopoly became public knowledge. It's not entirely clear when the double agent informed Russia of the tunnel’s existence.
Mathias Rust Flew to Moscow With a Message of Peace
In May 1987, a 19-year-old amateur pilot named Mathias Rust decided to illegally navigate through Soviet airspace — and what was then the largest air defense system in the world. He took off from Helsinki in a single-engine Cessna and flew 550 miles to the center of Moscow, where he promptly landed next to Red Square, a stone’s throw from the Kremlin. It was a stunning achievement, not only because of the real risk of being shot down, but also because Rust had only 50 hours of flying experience.
The West German teenager was driven by a noble cause. He explained how he wanted “to build an imaginary bridge between West and East,” and how he thought “every human on this planet is responsible for some progress and I was looking for an opportunity to take my share in it.” He carried with him a 20-page world peace manifesto that he planned to deliver to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Rust was arrested immediately after landing, and later sentenced to four years in prison (he served 14 months before being released). How far Rust managed to advance peace is impossible to say, but his daring flight did result in a swathe of high-profile firings and demotions, including the Soviet defense minister and the commander of the country's air defenses.
The Black Sea Bumping Incident
The idea of two Russian frigates deliberately ramming into two American ships sounds like something that could spark a wider conflict. But the Black Sea bumping incident of 1988, in which that very thing occurred, was resolved fairly amicably — and fortunately, considering the Cold War tensions of the time. The incident occurred when the cruiser USS Yorktown and the destroyer USS Caron sailed close to the Crimean coast, partly to challenge the Soviet claim of a 12-mile territorial water limit. (The U.S. argued there was only a 3-mile international limit on the respective territorial waters.) The two vessels were shadowed by two Soviet frigates, one of which, the Bezzavetnyi, had previously warned the Yorktown it would “strike their ship with own” if the Americans entered Soviet territory. It was not an empty threat. The Bezzavetnyi closed to within 50 feet of the Yorktown before slamming up against it. The second Soviet frigate did the same to the Caron. Thankfully for all involved, there was no direct intention to sink either ship, no weapons were fired, and no wider escalation ensued.
Stanislav Petrov May Have Saved the World
If it weren’t for Stanislav Petrov, the Cold War — and potentially the trajectory of human life on Earth — could have come to a devastating end. Petrov, a lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Air Defense Forces, was on duty on September 26, 1983, when his early-warning satellite system detected what appeared to be five approaching U.S. nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles. Had he followed Soviet military protocol and reported an incoming American strike, he likely would have set in motion a full nuclear retaliation. Instead, Petrov kept calm and reported a false alarm, reasoning that if the United States really wanted to start a nuclear war, it would launch far more than five missiles. Petrov was correct, and the false alarm was later discovered to have been the result of the Soviet satellite warning system confusing the sun’s reflection off clouds for incoming missiles. By keeping his cool, Petrov potentially prevented a full-scale nuclear war.
