Sino-Soviet Border Conflict (1969 - 1991)

Lasting 7 months, this undeclared border war erupted at the height of the Sino-Soviet split in March 1969 in the area of Zhenbao on the Wusuli River. Ten years earlier, the two allies had stood as champions of communism. Indeed, Soviet Russia played a key role in supporting Communist rebels against the nationalist Koumintang. However, relations soured over differences in ideology and leadership and although a border treaty was drawn up in 1965, Nikita Krushchev refused to sign after allegations by Mao Zedong were leaked that Tsarist Russia had stripped China of its historical territory. Accounts of the conflict vary between Chinese and Russian historians. Nonetheless, a People's Liberation Army raid on a Soviet border outpost on March 2, 1969 left over a hundred dead. Although, the conflict brought both countries to the brink of a greater war, with troops amassing on both sides, this outcome was avoided. The conflict was formally ended in September 1991 with the first border demarcation agreement.Other agreements were signed with formerly-Soviet States included Kazakhstan.