The Cold War was the "darkest moment" in human history, and the arms race caused by the hegemony of the United States and the Soviet Union made all mankind around the world live in the panic of nuclear war, fearing that a full-scale nuclear war would suddenly break out one day.
But even in such a suffocating life, there are still many people calling for peace and working for peace. One of the most moving is a 10-year-old girl from the United States.
The little girl, Samantha Smith, wrote letters to Andropov and in the United States called for peace and understanding. What is her story like? And listen to me slowly.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="6" > a letter to Andropov</h1>
On November 12, 1982, Andropov took office as leader of the Soviet Union.
At that time, at the peak of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Us media constantly exaggerated the apocalyptic sentiment of all-out nuclear war, and the reports on the Soviet Union were full of prejudice and smear.
When Andropov became the leader of the Soviet Union, the Western media naturally did not miss this opportunity, so It was natural that Andropov appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, and the whole United States was filled with negative reports about Andropov. These reports have deepened the fear of war among American civilians.
Samantha, who was born in Holden, Maine, saw similar reports in the newspapers, and she said to her mother, "Since everyone is so afraid of him, why don't you write to him and ask if he really wants to start a war?" Mom responded casually: "Then you might as well write it." ”
Unexpectedly, Samantha really immediately wrote a letter to Andropov:
Dear Mr. Andropov,
My name is Samantha Smith and I am 10 years old. Congratulations on your new job. I have always feared that the Soviet Union and the United States would fall into nuclear war. Will you vote on whether to go to war? If you're not, please tell me how you're going to help avoid war. You can choose not to answer this question, but I wonder why you want to conquer the world, or to conquer our country. God created the world for us to share and care for others, not to quarrel, to let us live in peace and to make everyone happy.
From the content of the letter, you can feel how the American media demonized the Soviet Union and Andropov at that time. Under the "influence" of the American media, in samantha's mind now, the Soviet Union seems to be a madman who wants to conquer the world and want to lay nuclear bombs all over the world.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="21" > Reply from Andropov</h1>
Samantha waited for months without waiting for a reply, until her letter landed in Pravda, the most important newspaper in the Soviet Union at the time, causing a sensation in the Soviet Union. On April 26, 1984, someone from the Soviet Embassy called Samantha and Andropov had written back to her.
The American media also learned of the news, so when Andropov's letter arrived, the American media and reporters flocked to report the reply from the supreme leader of the Soviet Union in the first place.
Andropov's reply was written on a full 3 pages, which read as follows:
Dear Samantha,
I have received letters from you, as have been many others recently received from your country and the rest of the world.
You wrote that you are worried about whether there will be a nuclear war between our two countries. You ask if we have done anything to avoid the outbreak of war. Your question is the most important question that every thoughtful person can ask. I will reply to you seriously and honestly. Yes, Samantha, we Soviets are doing everything in our power to avoid war on Earth. Today, we are very eager to live in peace, to trade and cooperate with all our neighbours on earth — far and near. This is what Lenin, the great founder of our country, taught us. The Soviet people know how terrible the war is ...
Both the United States and our country possess nuclear weapons — terrible weapons that can kill millions of people in an instant. But we don't want them to be used. That is why the Soviet Union solemnly declared to the world that we would never and never be the first to use nuclear weapons against any country. Overall, we recommend stopping their production and proceeding with the abolition of all stockpiles on Earth. In my opinion, this is enough to answer your second question: "Why are you waging war against the whole world or at least against the United States?" We don't want anything. We just want peace — we're busy doing things: growing wheat, building and inventing, writing books, and flying into space. We want peace for ourselves and for all the peoples of the planet.
If your parents allow me, I invite you to come to our country, and the best time is this summer. You will learn about our country, meet your peers and visit the International Children's Camp "Artek" at sea. See for yourself: in the USSR, everyone was for peace and friendship between the people. Thank you for your letter. I wish you all the best in your young life.
Y. Andropov
This reply letter can be said to be very high emotional intelligence, one by one, hit back at the American media's smear of the Soviet Union, and told this kind little girl that the Soviets are not demons, we also want peace, and generously invited Samantha to the Soviet Union, which means that she can see the Soviet Union with her own eyes, rather than from the American media to understand the Soviet Union.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="32" > trip to the Soviet Union</h1>
After much thought, Samantha chose to accept the invitation.
To everyone's surprise, Samantha's visit to Su Mingming was a sensational event in the two countries, and the media on both sides were reporting, but the US government rarely made a statement and chose silence, neither saying support nor saying that it was right, which was very intriguing
On July 7, 1983, Samantha and her parents officially set sail for Moscow. After Samantha's family arrived in the Soviet Union, they embarked on a fantastic journey. She was treated as a guest of Andropov and was warmly welcomed by the Soviets wherever she went.
The family traveled around in a limousine, visiting the sights of Moscow and Leningrad and learning about the history and operation of the Soviet Union. Samantha also joined what Andropov called the "Artek" international summer camp, learned Russian and Russian traditional dances and songs, and became good friends with some of her Soviet peers.
Unfortunately, Samantha was unable to meet with Andropov and could only talk on the phone. The special envoy said that he was very busy at work and could not get out of the house, but the reality was that Andropov, who had suffered from kidney disease for a long time, was already very ill at this time, and his health was deteriorating.
Samantha also received a strange phone call with only a few words repeated on the other end of the phone: "I kiss you, Samantha, I kiss you." "Just hang up.
Samantha thought it was a child's phone call, but it was actually from Valentina Tereshkova, the first female astronaut of mankind.
After a two-week visit, Samantha's impression of the Soviet Union changed dramatically.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="48" > back to the United States</h1>
After returning to the United States, Samantha became an informal peace and goodwill ambassador, advocating peaceful exchanges and nuclear disarmament between the two countries. She wrote a book, A Journey to the Soviet Union, about what americans had seen and heard in the Soviet Union, and told everyone that soviets were like "neighbors" who were equally afraid of war and longed for peace.
Samantha also became a media personality, appearing frequently in the Media and television of the United States, giving speeches to promote world peace.
At an international seminar for children, she was invited to attend, and she even came up with the idea of "granddaughter exchanges", where the leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States sent their granddaughters to visit each other's countries for two weeks a year, so that "the leaders of the two countries would not throw nuclear bombs at the countries his granddaughter was visiting." ”
This suggestion is actually equivalent to our ancient "proton", and in modern society, such a suggestion is obviously too naïve. But it is also this innocence that carries Samantha's most ardent expectations for peace.
Samantha, who became a celebrity, was even favored by the entertainment industry, and was invited by tv stations to be a show host and play roles in TV series. Originally, the future of this little girl would be bright, but unfortunately, the day was not up to the expectation, and an accident took her young life.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="56" > accidentally died</h1>
On August 25, 1985, after participating in the filming of a TV series, Samantha and her father were on a six-passenger plane preparing to return home, and on the way to lewiston-Auburn Regional Airport in Oban, Maine, the plane crashed, killing all six passengers and two crew members on board. Samantha was only 13 years old.
At Samantha and her father's funeral, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (Andropov died in 1984) and U.S. President Ronald Reagan both sent eulogies to her mother.
Although Samantha died tragically, her deeds are still widely praised.
In Russia, the kind little girl is commemorated in a variety of ways: a commemorative stamp was issued for her, a large diamond found in Siberia was named after her, a newly discovered flower, and an asteroid discovered by Russian astronomers was named after Samantha.
In the United States, several elementary schools are also named after her, and Maine legislation stipulates that the first Monday in June is "Samantha Day", and a statue of Samantha stands in the Maine Library.