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Anti-Nuclear Peace Movements

This online collection offers a rich array of primary source documents that capture the dynamic debates surrounding nuclear disarmament and international security during the late Cold War period. Spanning from the early 1980s to the early 1990s, the archive includes speeches, pamphlets, posters, and correspondence from organizations such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), Youth for Multilateral Disarmament, and the Coalition for Peace through Security. Key topics include the UK’s deployment of Cruise and Trident missiles, Soviet-American relations, grassroots peace movements, and the divisive politics of disarmament advocacy. The documents reveal both the impassioned activism of peace groups and the counter-efforts by government and opposition organizations to frame disarmament as either a moral imperative or a geopolitical vulnerability.

Popular Documents

May 1990

'Nevada-Semipalatinsk' Antinuclear Movement (Kazakhstan, USSR), Chronology of the Movement 1989-1990

A timeline describing the conception and subsequent activities of the Nevada-Semipalatinsk Nuclear Movement. Special attention is given to Kazakh-U.S. cooperation, acts of protest, and nuclear tests carried out by the USSR. The timeline ends with the International Citizens Congress for a Nuclear Test Ban in May 1990.

December 6, 1983

Letter, Yuri Zhukov, President of the Soviet Peace Committee, to Bruce Kent

In this letter, Zhukov sets out how, from the Soviet perspective, the Soviets have been working towards peace but the deployment of Cruise and Pershing missiles in Western Europe derailed arms control talks in Geneva and has made the international situation markedly worse. He invites the CND to work with the Soviet Union "to further our common struggle for a nuclear-free Europe."

October 22, 1983

Official Programme [for the Hyde Park Rally], Oct. 22 [1983]

This is the official programme from the Hyde Park rally, including the programme of events.

March 2, 1990

Letter, Olzhas Suleimenov to Matthew Evangelista

A letter from Olzhas Suleimenov welcoming participants to the upcoming International Citizens Congress for a Nuclear Test Ban. Suleimenov describes the recent successes of the Nevada-Semipalatinsk Movement and explains that forming a united voice with the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War will lead to future victories.

October 1, 1983

Letter, Yuri Zhukov to Members of the CND

In this letter, Zhukov invites the CND to cooperate with the Soviet Peace Committee to prevent the deployment of Cruise and Pershing missiles in Western Europe. He also draws attention to a peace rally held in Moscow, likening this to the demonstrations being held in Western Europe in opposition to the Euromissiles.