Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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This video looks at Able Archer 83, a NATO training exercise so realistic that the Soviets thought it might be the real thing.

00:00 A Close Shave
01:06 The Cold War
01:54 The End of Détente
02:53 Operation RYAN
04:05 Tensions Rise
05:47 The Exercise
06:47 The Soviet Response
08:09 How Close Did We Come?
10:13 What If the Cold War Went Hot?
12:55 Nuclear Armageddon
15:30 What Does Able Archer Teach Us?

Watch the full interview with Oleg Gordievsky: bit.ly/4qQpOzt or iwm.org.uk/collections/search?query=Oleg+gordievsky&pageSize=30&media-records=records-with-media&filters%5BwebCategory%5D%5BFilm%5D=on

Explore and licence the film clips used in this video: film.iwmcollections.org.uk/collections/_dAX1wKap

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