Premier Brezhnev and President Nixon.

1972
Soviet-US relations enter a period of détente, which continues through the early 1970s. President Nixon visits Moscow, and he and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev reach agreements on arms control and sign several accords on Soviet-US cooperation in space exploration, the environment, and trade.

The thaw in the Cold War allows for greater cooperation among scholars in Eastern Europe and the USSR and the United States. American exchange scholars are given opportunities to conduct research on topics previously defined as sensitive, such as anthropology, law, and political science.