Détente (French for 'relaxation') is the easing of strained relations, especially in a political situation. The term is often used in reference to the general easing of relations between the Soviet Union and the United States in 1971, a thawing at a period roughly in the middle of the Cold War. In the Soviet Union, détente was known in Russian as разрядка ("razryadka", loosely meaning 'relaxation of tension').