The USA and Russia, it seems, are now being pulled together
by the exigencies of the times and, in the interest of world peace, are
exploring ways to cooperate with each other rather than follow their old
adversarial trajectories. This was more than obvious in the greetings message
that President Putin sent to President Barack Obama last Christmas. The US
Secretary of State, John Kerry’s visit to the Kremlin is also a case in point.
And this was all happening despite Putin’s Crimea campaign and the fact that US
ally Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet over Syria.
Russia (as the USSR) and the USA have been traditional rivals since the end of
World War II. Both were contemporary superpowers in their time. When the USSR
was dismantled, some say, following American machinations, the USA was left as
the world’s only superpower. But while the rivalry progressed in the 50s, 60s
and 70s, it produced some interesting aspects. Both tried to one-up each other
during this period. They raced against each other on the ground in terms of
military forces and arms and in space with their respective rockets and
satellite programs.
In fact the US and Russia have a long history of trying to outdo one another.
Many bilateral rivalries have occurred between the two throughout their tumultuous
history.
After World War II, an arms race between the US and the Soviet Union ignited,
with both powers vying to be kings of advanced weaponry. This technological
rivalry naturally evolved from mere rocket-based arms to the exploration of the
cosmos, as both nations raced to put a satellite, an animal, and a man into
orbit. The Soviets darted fast out of the gate, launching the Sputnik 1 and
Sputnik 2 (with Laika the dog in tow) into orbit in 1957. However, when the US
astronauts, the Soviet cosmonauts and President John F. Kennedy entered the
picture in the 60s, the race really heated up. On April 12, 1961, the Soviets
catapulted Yuri Gagarin — a pilot in the Soviet Air Force who had once fled his
village from a German invasion — into orbit.
Not to be outdone, President Kennedy soon addressed Congress and the nation and
demanded that the US put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Heeding
the call, American astronaut John Glenn one-upped Gagarin by orbiting the Earth
three times in 1962. The next year, Cosmonaut Valentia Tereshkova became the
first woman in space. And so a back-and-forth power-and-prestige grab ensued
and lasted until the end of the decade. On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil
Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin touched down on the moon. Moments later, when
Armstrong announced that “the Eagle has landed” and stepped onto the moon, the
space race had been won. In 1972, chess player Bobby Fischer took it on himself
to topple the Soviet Union’s almost 25-year dominance in the sport when he went
up against current world champion Boris Spassky. Given the bilateral relations
between the two countries at the time, it’s no surprise that the 21-game match
in Reykjavik, Iceland, drew worldwide interest. Despite some infuriating
disappearing acts and seemingly high- maintenance demands from Fischer, the
eccentric American genius ultimatelyproved victorious (and even won a rematch
against Spassky in 1992) and is considered by many to be the greatest chess
player who ever lived.
In the 80s, Ronald Reagan challenged Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader of the
Soviet Union. Standing in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on June 12,
1987, Reagan firmly commanded Gorbachev to “Tear down this wall!” This was the
infamous Berlin Wall, which separated East Germany from West Germany. Twenty-nine
months later the wall fell.
The thawing relations between the America and Russia were marred after Turkey
shot down a Russian fighter jet. It was feared that Russia would retaliate but
it decided not to in all probability because a Russian attack on a Nato country
would have been akin to an international war. The change in US policy towards
Russia became too obvious when US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Moscow.
This was pursuant to the efforts being made to organize talks aimed at ending
the Syrian civil war.
Historically Pakistan has hardly enjoyed cordial relations with the USSR. After
fragmentation of the USSR into smaller republics, Russia was always seen by
Pakistan’s ruling junta as a foe rather than a friend. Lately, the Russian
regime has been making a deliberate attempt to bridge the confidence gap but
animosity spread over decades is not likely to turn into friendship easily
through Pakistan has recently purchased some advanced military helicopters from
Russia. Both countries need to work harder to forget the past but many factors
continue to haunt the relationship, the worst being the ever-changing
geopolitical scenario which often turns friends into foes or the other way
round.
Since its independence, Pakistan has remained under the umbrella of US foreign
policy. It provided airbases to the US from which spy planes would snoop on the
USSR. At one stage, the USSR even threatened to attack these bases. One
important factor that ruined potential Pakistan-USSR relations right in the
beginning was cancellation of Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan’s visit to the
USSR as he chose to go to the US at the eleventh hour.
Pakistan always enjoyed cordial relations with China and is known as its ‘time-tested
friend.’ This often restricted Pakistan’s relations with the US, India and the
USSR. Later, Pakistan’s relations with China were condoned by the US due to its
growing trade ties but Russia has always remained a foe in the Pakistani
perception.
Russia and the United States have always maintained diplomatic relations, but
the already strained relations between Russia and the U.S. have greatly
deteriorated due to the Ukrainian crisis and the Syrian Civil War. Even then,
despite the tensions between both countries, the United States and Russia are
still willing to cooperate and work together on international issues such as
security and international peace – and that is the silver lining for world
peace.
