During the Cold War, relations between the US and Soviet Union were eased when Cliburn won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958, at the age of 23.
Relations had grown cold after Colombia accused Venezuela of harbouring Farc rebels.
What teetered in the balance that week was not only the whole fabric of Russian-American relations since the cold war, but the principle of democratic control over Russia's army.
We have recognized that the hostility that characterized US and Soviet relations during the Cold War has ended, hostility that was enshrined in the doctrine of mutual assured destruction and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
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There was a brief thaw in relations when the Cold War ended, because with the Red Navy gone the U.S. Navy needed to highlight its relevance to fighting ashore, but the more common pattern is for the Navy to constantly question the requirement for Marine assets like vertical-takeoff jets and maritime prepositioning ships (which store warfighting supplies in likely areas of conflict).
But Asia's rise since the end of the cold war has complicated Japan's external relations.
In Russia, however, reactions to Obama's election victory have been muted at a time when relations between the two countries are near Cold War levels.
But African countries, especially, have blown hot and cold, sometimes granting recognition and then withdrawing it, often depending on their relations with Morocco and Algeria.
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On the surface, relations between the UK and Russia may be better than at any time during the Cold War, but scratch deeper and there is still great uncertainty.
No pun intended, because relations were much worse a year ago when Moscow shut off natural gas supplies during a bitter winter cold spell.
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