East-West All Roads Lead to Moscow

Ivan comes home from Afghanistan, just in time for the Reagan summit

The street near the American ambassador's residence, where Ronald Reagan will be staying, has been repaved. Buildings opposite the Kremlin have been repainted in pastel colors. Even the grassy boulevard in front of a home Nancy Reagan may visit has been replanted. Like a latter-day Potemkin village, Moscow last week was being spruced up for next week's summit meeting between Reagan and Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev. But the most noteworthy preparation for the superpower sit-down was in progress about 2,000 miles from the Kremlin on the dusty, sunbaked plateaus of northern Afghanistan. There a convoy of nearly 300 tanks, trucks and...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!