Time Period and Context of Event

What was happening in the Cold War during this time in the whole U.S.?

• The peace activist group traveled to the Soviet Union in 1983, a few years after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979. This increased tension as the United States thought the Soviet Union betrayed the agreement they made, Salt Treaty, that was focused on restraining nuclear arms.
• Ronald Reagan became president in 1981 and he signed the Strategic Defense Treaty which was a development of ways to increase protection from any potential Soviet Union missile attack.
• The Korean Airlines flight 007 was shot down by USSR. This raised concerns in the Seattle community regarding the travelers’ safety but the travelers were determined and they still traveled to Tashkent.

When did Seattle and Tashkent become sister cities?

• Seattle’s city council passed a resolution, Resolution 23992, that bonded Soviet Tashkent and Seattle as sister cities in 1973.
• Seattle Mayor Uhlman reunites with Uzbekistan Ambassador Kamilov. They both were involved with the initial steps in forming the sister city between Tashkent and the Soviet Union.

What was happening in Seattle?

• Target Seattle: Target Seattle: Preventing Nuclear War
• An educational event over the span of ten days that informed Seattle communities about the Cold War.
• A group of four women wrote a peace letter, advocating for peace and unity with Tashkent in 1983.
• They went to schools, churches, and local communities to attain 42,000 signatures, demonstrating how many Seattleites supported their efforts to advocate peace with USSR.