The Soviet Union and China battle against each other for Zhenbao Island.
Get this: From what I’ve heard, the USSR even seriously considered nuking China.
Over a fucking island.
I get that Sino-Soviet relations were shit, but how the fuck was it so bad that the Soviet Union wanted to fucking drop a nuke?
Especially since, by this point, China already had nukes, and most likely they would retaliate, risking the end of humanity. Especially if the United States got involved, which they threatened to do.
Can somebody explain to me why the hell this whole situation was even able to happen?
If I remember correctly, it was more than just one island (I believe there were hundreds of islands lying within the Amur river) that were in the process of settling borders disputed between USSR and PRC that date back to Russian imperialism against the Qing empire.
Of course the escalation of military conflict was amplified by the recent Sino-Soviet split.
Did the USSR genuinely consider dropping a nuke? I doubt that. They mostly tried to downplay the conflict by relying on the UN for reaching an agreeable resolution (for the ultimate sake of appearing in good light on the international stage, obviously). However this didn’t stop heavy militarization across the Sino-Soviet border and eventually clashing.
China took the nuclear threat seriously (understandably so) and I read that they’ve built fully-fledged, underground cities for emergencies. But immediately after deescalation they were demolished and buried.