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Samantha Smith: America’s Youngest Ambassador
Samantha was the girl from Manchester, Maine, who, in 1982, as a ten-year-old, wrote to Soviet leader Yuri Andropov, questioning his commitment to world peace.
Shortly after receiving the letter, Andropov invited Samantha and her parents to tour the Soviet Union, which they did in a highly publicized two-week visit. The Maine State Museum’s collection includes objects and photographs from that visit.
In 1982, at age 10, Samantha Smith of Manchester, Maine, sent a letter to Yuri Andropov, leader of the Soviet Union, asking him why he wanted “to conquer the world or at least our country.” Andropov answered Samantha’s letter, telling her he didn’t want to go to war and that the Soviets only wanted peace. Shortly after receiving the letter, Andropov invited Samantha and her parents to tour the Soviet Union, which they did in a highly publicized two-week visit. The Maine State Museum’s collection includes objects and photographs from that visit. Tragically, in 1985, at the age of 13, Samantha was killed along with her father in a plane crash as the plane attempted to land at Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn Regional Airport.
Samantha Smith’s letter to Yuri Andropov
Yuri Andropov’s response (English translation)
Yuri Andropov’s original letter in Russian
Samantha holding the response letter from Yuri Andropov
Artek Camp Uniform worn by Samantha
Images from Russian Photographer Vladimir Mashatin
Political Cartoons
Russian Stamp of Samantha Smith
