| In March of 1969 hostilities broke out between the Soviet Union and China on their shared border in the Northeast. The argument was, on the surface, about Zhenbao Island, a small island in the Ussuri River which marks the border between Russia and the Chinese province of Heilongjiang. The Chinese attacked the island and the Russians retaliated by firing on Chinese positions in Heilongjiang and storming the island.
In August of 1969 there was a further border clash in Xinjiang. Both sides had built up troops on the borders in the east, north, and west of China. There were rumors that the Soviets would settle the dispute using nuclear weapons. It is thought that Moscow had spread the rumors themselves - as a threat, while having no plans to do so. That's the trouble with weapons of that type, you must make people believe that you would use them. Construction began on the Underground City in 1969.
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