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Samantha Smith: America's Youngest Cold War Ambassador

© Meg Greene Malvasi

In 1982, Samantha Smith, a 10-year-old American, wrote a famous letter about the Cold War to President Yuri Andropov of the Soviet Union.

"Dear Mr. Andropov," she began, "My name is Samantha Smith. I am 10 years old. Congratulations on your new job. I have been worrying about Russia and the United States getting into a nuclear war. Are you going to have a war or not? If you aren't, please tell me how you are going to not have a war. . . . God made the world for us to live together in peace and not fight."

Samantha's Letter is Published in the Pravda

In April, 1983, Samantha received a phone call from a news reporter for United Press International. He had seen a copy of Samantha's letter in the Pravda, the official state newspaper of the Soviet Union.

Samantha wrote to the Soviet ambassador in Washington, D. C. The ambassador called Samantha and told her to expect a letter from President Andropov. When Samantha arrived home with the letter, her yard was crowded with reporters and photographers from all over the country.

Samantha's Trip to the Soviet Union

President Andropov's letter to Samantha compared her to Becky Thatcher in Tom Sawyer. He called Samantha "courageous and honest," telling her that the Soviet Union was "trying to do everything so that there will not be war between our countries."

At the close of his letter, Andropov invited Samantha to visit the Soviet Union. In July, Samantha visited Moscow and Leningrad, and traveled to the Artek Pioneer Camp where she met members of the "Young Pioneers," a youth group similar to the U.S. Scouts.

Over the next 2 years, Samantha had television appearances and speeches, and published a book entitled Journey to the Soviet Union. She traveled to the Children's International Symposium in Kobe, Japan, and gave a speech in which she suggested that Soviet and U.S. leaders exchange granddaughters for 2 weeks every year.

Samantha's Death and Legacy

Tragically, in August 1985, Samantha and her father were killed in an airplane crash. The Soviet government issued a stamp in her honor, and also named a diamond, a flower, a mountain, and a planet after her. A life-size statue of Samantha was dedicated near the Maine state capitol in Augusta.

In October 1985, Samantha's mother established the Samantha Smith Foundation, which sponsors a student exchange program between the United States and the Soviet Union.

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