Biography
The name of the American schoolgirl Samantha Smith in the 1980s was heard from every citizen of the USSR and the United States in connection with the famous letter written during the Cold War to the Secretary-General of the Central Committee of the CPSU Yury Andropov.The subsequent visit of the girl in the city of the Soviet Union attracted widespread media and served as the beginning of its activities as the most young peacemaker and the ambassador of goodwill, who was looking for answers to questions about security and relationships between the peoples of the world's leading powers.
In 2016, Russian director Andrei Sobolev embodied the history of the American girl in the art film "Pravda Samantha Smith", and the main roles were played by Daniel Strakhov, Alina Babak and Inna Gomez.
Childhood
The biography of the American girl Samantha Reid Smith began on June 29, 1972 in the small town of Howleton, located on the border of the United States and Canada. After becoming the only child Arthur and Jane Smith, at the age of 5, she mastered grammar and expressed admiration for the Queen of Great Britain Elizabeth II.
In school years, the Samantha family moved to Manchester, on the coast of Lake Cobbossikti, where the father, who had previously worked as an instructor, received the position of teacher of literature in the largest Public University of Maine. The mother worked in the main social service of the city and all his free time devoted to the upbringing of the daughter, who became a student of primary schools of the local school in 1980.
Being an ordinary girl from America, Samantha was fond of sports and was a member of the junior team on the softball and hockey on the grass. Sunny from nature, the daughter of Smith almost did not have friends and in his spare time rode on their rollers, played on the piano and read. The books formed the character of a schoolgirl and gave rise to many questions in her head, for which parents could not always give an exhaustive answer.
It was this way that happened in the early 1980s, when the relationship between the USSR and the United States of America was at the peak of tensions because of the war in Afghanistan and the deployment of the winged missiles of Persing 2 in Europe. In this atmosphere, Time magazine has published information materials about pressure from the new Soviet leader and placed his photography on the cover.
Curious Samantha looked through the publication and wondered if the Secretary General of the USSR really wants to destroy the world with nuclear warheads. Mother could not think of anything in response and advised the daughter to write a letter to Yuri Andropov and sort out the intentions of the ruler. In November 1982, a landmark message, full of childhood concern for the safety of people around the world, was sent to the Kremlin. It reads:
"Dear Mr. Andropov,My name is Samantha Smith. I am ten years old. Congratulations on your new work. I am very worried, whether the nuclear war will begin between Russia and the United States. Are you going to vote for the beginning of the war or not? If you are against war, tell me, please, how are you going to help prevent war? Of course, you are not obliged to answer my question, but I would like to know why you want to conquer the whole world or at least our country. God created the world so that we live together and cared for him, and did not conquer him. Please let's do how he wants, and everyone will be happy. "
The letter came to the addressee and in the spring of 1983 was printed in the Diary "True", and a few weeks later, Andropov's response was delivered personally to the American schoolgirl.
The Soviet leader tried to seriously and honestly explain Samantha's position of the USSR against nuclear weapons and solemnly swore, which is not going to apply it first against America or any other country.
"We want the world - we have something to do: grow bread, build and invent, write books and fly into space. We want peace for yourself and for all the peoples of the planet. For your children and for you, Samantha, "wrote Andropov in the conclusion of the letter.In addition, the Secretary General of the Central Committee of the CPSU invited the Smith family to visit the Soviet Union in the summer of 1983 and personally to make sure the friendly intentions of the government and the desire to establish relations with the peoples of other states.
Trip to the USSR
Travel route Samantha Smith in the cities of the Soviet Union began planning a couple of months before the official consent of the American schoolgirl family. In Moscow, a small delegation arrived on July 7, 1983. The girl who received the status of a young ambassador of goodwill, met crowds of people concerned about the peaceful resolution of the Cold War and the completion of the nuclear weapons race.At first, Samantha examined the sights of the capital, which included the Kremlin, the grave of the unknown soldier, the Mausoleum of Lenin and the halls of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. I get acquainted with the history of the Soviet people, the girl honored the memory of the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, and then went on a visit to the All-Union Camp "Artek".
The children enthusiastically accepted a foreign director who honored the honor to wear a pioneer form, and during joint excursions showed it the most interesting places of the Black Sea coast. Samantha found new friends, among whom were the Leningrad schoolgirl Natasha Kashirina and other girls from different cities of the Soviet Union.
At the end of a 2-week trip to the USSR, the Smith family met the cult sites of the Northern Capital and from the diaries of Tanya Savicheva learned about the tragic events of the time of the city of the city in 1941-1944. The creative legacy of the Russian people, presented in the play based on fairy tales in the Leningrad Palace of Pioneers and Schoolchildren and Classic Palace on the Scene and Ballet Theater and Ballet, is not left.
Samantha did not manage to meet with the Secretary General of the Central Committee of the CPSU Yuri Andropov, but she met the hero of the Soviet Union - the Cosmonaut Woman Valentina Tereshkova.
Before departing home, the American girl received a huge number of memorable gifts and letters. A friendly schoolgirl was waiting for a friendly schoolgirl with her hand to the faith and fascinating a life-affirming phrase:
"Will live".Social activity
America met Samantha as a national heroine. At the State Airport Maine Ambassador of Good Will, a red carpet, limousine and crowd of enthusiastic fans with flowers were expected. In the blink of an eye, the girl became a celebrity invited by role in the popular TV series "Lime Street" and "Charles in Answer", and on the eve of the 1984 presidential campaign, Samantha took an interview with George McGovern candidates and Jesse Jackson.
At the end of 1983, the Smith family visited the International Children's Symposium in the Japanese city of Kobe and was present at a meeting with the Prime Minister of Yasuhiro Ekasanoe.
Speaking in front of the audience, Samantha shared his impressions from the previous trip and offered the leaders of nuclear powers once a year to exchange granddaughters. The girl argued that it would strengthen world security and would help establish contacts between the governments and the peoples of the states who had deadly weapons of incredible power.
These and other thoughts schoolgirl set out in the book "Journey to the Soviet Union" translated into many languages of the world. Copyright projects of Samantha subsequently inspired many young messengers of the world for international contacts and provided a meeting of President Ronald Reagan with the Soviet girl Katya Lycheva.
Death
The life of Samantha Smith was too short for the incarnation of far-reaching plans to establish peace throughout the planet. On August 25, 1985, the girl died in a plane crash of the American aircraft Beechcraft 99, hitting the trees when landing at Auburn-Lewiston Airport.The causes of the death of the youngest ambassador of good will remain a mystery, but, in the opinion of some foreign researchers, collapse is associated with disagreements between the Soviet and American authorities.
However, most historians adhere to the official version of the death of Samantha and accompanying her father, according to which the pilot did not cope with the management and in poor visibility conditions missed the runway.
The world forever remembered the smile of a bold and frank girl who conquered millions of not indifferent hearts. More than 1 thousand Americans who mourning the loss of a small heroine, who had a symbol of world security and resolving relations between the governments of the USSR and the United States, were attended at the funeral.
Memory
- In 1985, on the initiative of the Mother of the Mother of the Dead American, the Foundation of Samantha Smith, which was engaged in organizing international visits between the Soviet Union and the United States.
- Two years later, the Center for Children's Diplomacy was created in Moscow, so far the working work of youth organizations and representative offices throughout Russia.
- At the place of the death of an American schoolgirl in 1986, a monument was established by the work of Glenn Heinza, which is a full-scale image of Samantha, who made a symbol of the world - dove, and the name and bas-relief images of a small activist became the cultural heritage of different cities of Russia.