As war rages in Ukraine, Reagan's historic mission to Russia has lessons for us today
Fox News
In May 1988, President Ronald and Nancy Reagan made a historic trip to Moscow, in the heart of the Soviet Union.
FILE – MOSCOW, RUSSIA - MAY 31: In this handout from the White House, U.S. President Ronald Reagan (2nd R) shakes hands with a boy as Mikhail Gorbachev (R) looks on during a tour of Red Square May 31, 1988 in Moscow, Soviet Union. ((Photo by Pete Souza/White House via Getty Images)) FILE – MOSCOW - MAY 30: President Ronald Reagan speaks at the Moscow Summit May 30, 1988 in Moscow, USSR. Reagan makes his first visit to the Soviet Union for the superpower summit with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. ((Photo by Dirck Halstead/Getty Images)) FILE – MOSCOW: President Reagan waves to Muscovites as first lady Nancy Reagan holds on May 29 during a walkabout in Moscow's popular Arbat Street on the first day of their visit to the Soviet Union. Soviet and American security men appeared to panic as the crowd surged forward, kicking out and dragging people away. ( ) FILE – Left to right: former US President, Ronald Reagan (1911 - 2004), former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, his wife, Raisa (1932 - 1999), American publishing executive Steve Forbes and former US First Lady Nancy Reagan (1921 - 2016) at the Forbes Magazine 75th Anniversary celebration at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, 11th May 1992. ((Photo by Barbara Alper/Getty Images)) FILE – MOSCOW, USSR - 16 SEPTEMBER 1990: former US President Ronald Reagan and President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, on 16th September 1990. ((Photo by Wojtek Laski/Getty Images)) FILE – Ronald and Nancy Reagan greet Raisa and Mikhail Gorbachev for a gala dinner given at the White House. ( ) FILE – MOSCOW - MAY 30: President Ronald Reagan speaks at the Moscow Summit May 30, 1988, in Moscow, USSR. Reagan makes his first visit to the Soviet Union for the superpower summit with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. ((Photo by Dirck Halstead/Getty Images))
I’ve often thought of their stories of an empire on the brink of falling, and of Reagan’s unwavering conviction that given an opportunity, people will always choose freedom. That message has new resonance today.