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25 Years Ago in Northeastern Asia

Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev, who began the "de-Stalinization" of Russia, introducing more freedom into the Soviet system, is removed from power by his political opponents is 1964. His position had been weakened by the Cuba crisis and the break in relations with Red China. Leonid Brezhnev, born 1906, becomes the main leader. Brezhnev stays in power until his death in 1982. During this time, the Russian economy grew and the standard of living increased, but not at the same rate as in Western Europe, Canada and the United States. The Soviet Union remained a virtual dictatorship, with effective rule in the hands of a small clique of men at the top of the Communist Party and the military. Repression by the police forces against political opponents was severe. The military arms race against the United States would eventually result in the near collapse of the Soviet economy in late 1980s. But the Western economies also suffered due to massive spending on military equipment.

Border skirmishes along the Russian-Chinese frontier in 1969 lead to some serious fighting. All-out war between the two major communist powers is avoided through negotiation.

In 1966, the Russian probe Venus 3 becomes the first space vehicle from Earth to reach Venus. In 1971, the Soviet Union launches the space station Salut 1. The United States launches its Sky Lab space laboratory in 1973.

The Soviets limited contact with the rest of the world, what British leader Winston Churchill had called the Iron Curtain. Few Russians were allowed to leave the Soviet Union, and those that tried to do so without permission could face severe punishment. However, many people, called "defectors", still tried. One of the most notable defectors was the ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, who defected in Montreal, Canada in 1974.

The Soviet Union's isolation was slowly eased. In 1970, the Soviet Union signs a treaty with West Germany, renouncing the use of force. Richard Nixon becomes the first American president to visit the Soviet Union, making an official visit in May 1972.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986, the Ukraine, sees the first major meltdown of a nuclear reactor, releasing clouds of radiation that affect a wide area of eastern Europe and the western Soviet Union. This disaster further erodes the weakening strength of the ruling Communist Party, and is a major factor in the collapse of the Soviet Union itself between in 1991.

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