The problems of Soviet-British relations have always attracted the attention of Soviet historians. Their works deal in detail with such important issues as the objective prerequisites for the development of these relations in various fields, the struggle between two trends - positive and negative-within the ruling circles of Great Britain on relations with the USSR, the foreign policy concepts of the main parties of Great Britain, and the peculiarities of Soviet-British relations at different stages of their development .1These problems, as well as the changing role that Great Britain plays in the international arena, the specifics of Soviet-British relations in the post-war period, and in particular in the years of detente, are discussed in detail in the book by V. G. Trukhanovsky and N. K. Kapitonova "Soviet-British Relations. 1945-1978" (Moscow, 1979). The authors make a reasonable conclusion that in the 70s, during the period of detente, Soviet-British relations rose to a new level. At the same time, they also point to the activation of detente opponents in the UK. Soviet-British relations at the turn of the 70s-80s are considered in generalizing works on the history of foreign policy of the USSR 2 . In recent years, works have also been published on the specifics of the formation and implementation of British foreign policy .3 However, there are practically no works specifically devoted to Soviet-British relations during this period, the peculiarities of this stage of their development, and the new factors that determined their character at the turn of the 70s and 80s. This article attempts to show the main lines of development of political relations between the USSR and Great Britain during the reign of the conservative government of Thatcher.
The Soviet state has always supported normal and stable relations with Great Britain, which is one of the most developed countries in the West. It is a nuclear power, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, a clos ...
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