Eastern promise: Armed with Nasser’s anticolonial doctrine, Qaddafi also became a fast ally of the Soviet Union, which recognized his revolutionary government just three days after King Idris was overthrown. Qaddafi’s Soviet relationship provided quick access to weapons and diplomatic ties with other nonaligned states, further distancing him from an increasingly skeptical United States. Today, Libya retains a Soviet air, boasting large city squares and massive housing projects. Above, Qaddafi with Soviet leaders in 1976.