In 1982, Yuri Andropov replaced Leonid Brezhnev as leader of the U.S.S.R. In response to the change, a 10-year-old girl named Samantha Smith decided to write one of the most powerful men in the world asking him why he wanted to start a war and begging him to reconsider. She then wrote, “I would like to know why you want to conquer the world or at least our country. God made the world for us to live together in peace and not to fight.”
Her letter was eventually published in a Soviet newspaper and gained so much attention Andropov wrote back. He explained that the Soviets did not want war any more than Americans, yet, “There are nuclear weapons –terrible weapons that can kill millions of people in an instant.” Andropov wrote that these weapons complicated political matters. To finish his response, he wrote, “I invite you, if your parents will let you, to come to our country…and see for yourself: in the Soviet Union, everyone is for peace and friendship among peoples.”
Smith made the trip and became one of the most famous children in the world. When she returned to America she was presented with roses and a red carpet in Maine. She became an international sensation and began touring the World and pursuing acting. Unfortunately, in 1985 Smith was returning to Maine when the small plane she was on crashed. Smith and her father passed away in the tragedy, yet she is still remembered throughout the World.