Moscow in History

Dolgoruki founds Moscow

Dolgoruki builds the 1st Kremlin

Causes the Metropolitan See to be transferred to Moscow

Ivan I strengthens Moscow through cooperation with the Golden Horde

The memory of Metropolitan Peter supports Moscow's growing church prestige

Succeeds as Grand Prince of Moscow, son of Prince Daniel of Moscow

The black death reaches Moscow

Succeeds as Grand Prince of Moscow, son of Ivan I

Succeeds as Prince of Moscow

The Tartars recapture Moscow

The Mongols sack Moscow & end its independence

The Tartars recapture Moscow

Succeeds as Tsar of Russia

Succeeds as Prince of Moscow

Succeeds as Tsar of Russia

Transforms the Kremlin into his residence

Succeeds as Tsar of Russia. Calls himself "sole ruler, Tsar of all Russia"

Appointed Co-Regent of Russia

Marries Sophia, niece of the last Byzantine Emperor

Establishes Russian protectors of Orthodox Christianity

Stops paying tribute money to the Mongols

Ivan III builds the Palace of Facets, the first great Kremlin palace

Ivan III builds the Palace of Facets, the first great Kremlin palace, religious leaders proclaim Moscow "the third Rome", heir to Rome, Constantinople

Ivan III builds the Palace of Facets, the first great Kremlin palace

Religious leaders proclaim Moscow "the third Rome", heir to Rome, Constantinople

Decides to make his son Vasily his successor in preference to his nephew Dmitry

Cathedral of St. Michael, Moscow, outstanding example of Italian High Renaissance

Rules under the Regency of his Mother, 1533-1538

Becomes Metropolitan of Moscow and head of the Russian Orthodox Church, beginning a tenure lasting until 1563.

Assumes full power

Renewal of the Empire through absolute autocracy

Crowned Tsar of Russia, 1st Tsar. 1st Russian ruler to use the title of Tsar formally

Marries Anastasiya Romanovna

Convenes the 1st National Assembly, Zemski Sobor

Convenes the 1st National Assembly, Zemski Sobor

Under a "Petitions Chancery" individuals can bring their grievances to the Tsar

The Law Code, sudebnik, is promulgated

Ivan IV (the Terrible) builds St. Basils Cathedral, Red Square, Moscow; painted onion domes become symbol of Russia, epitome of Russo-Byzantine architecture

Ivan IV supports establishment of the Moscow printing house

Fyodorov begins printing the Apostol at the Moscow Print Yard

Metropolitan Macarius dies after shaping church and literary policy

Seizure & burning of Moscow

Kills his son Ivan

Death of Ivan, Ivan IVs son

Succeeds as Tsar

Gains influence after Feodor I succeeds Ivan IV

Becomes Tsarina consort when her husband Feodor I succeeds Ivan IV

Present at court during the final days and death of Ivan IV

Dies in Moscow on 18 March Old Style, 28 March New Style

Succeeds Ivan IV as Tsar of Russia

Crowned Tsar and Autocrat of all Russia in the Dormition Cathedral

Death of Theodore I, end of the Riurikid line

Succeeds as Tsar

Succeeds as Tsar

Succeeds as Tsar

Abdication of Basil IV

The Poles attack the city of Moscow

Appointed Patriarch of Moscow

Death of Boris Shein, executed

Found guilty of treason after the Battle of Smolensk & executed

Found guilty of treason after the Battle of Smolensk & executed

Succeeds as Tsar of Russia. Alexiss tutor, Morozov, runs the Government, 1645-1659

The rebellion leeds to the drafting of a new code of law, Sobornoe Ulozhenie

Works as a scribe on the 1649 law code commission

Serves on the drafting commission for the Sobornoye Ulozheniye of 1649

Works as a scribe on the compilation of the Sobornoye Ulozheniye

Heads the special commission that drafts the Sobornoye Ulozheniye for the Zemsky Sobor

Serves on the commission preparing the new Russian law code under Tsar Alexis I

Copies of the Sobornoye Ulozheniye are issued to Moscow government offices as a guide to law and administration

The patriarch and consecrated clergy take part in the upper house of the Zemsky Sobor that approves the code

After the Moscow uprising and the 1649 assembly, Morozov loses his dominant place as court favourite

Parliament produces the Code of Law, Ulozhenie, to redress widespread discontent

The Zemsky Sobor adopts the Sobornoye Ulozheniye, the great law code of Muscovite Russia

The Ulozheniye legally binds peasants more tightly to landowners and helps define hereditary serf status

Appointed Chief Minister

Begins to reform the Russian Church on the Greek Church

Launches his first major war against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Accepts the Cossack submission to Moscow

Threatens to resign to speed up Church Reforms, to his surprise the offer is accepted

A Moscow uprising breaks out over copper coinage, hardship and government policy.

Rules Muscovy during continued conflict and negotiations with Poland-Lithuania.

The peasant leader, Razin, is executed in Red Square

Death of Theodore III, without isuue, news of his death sparks the Moscow uprising

Overthrown and confined after Peter I gains control

Takes effective control after the fall of the regent Sophia

Remains co-tsar but becomes politically marginal after Sophia's fall

Marries Eudoxia Lopukhina

Traditional clothing is banned, subjects must wear traditional dress

Sets about reforming the Russian calendar

Peter I seeks a Baltic outlet and challenges Sweden's control of the eastern Baltic.

Peter I joins Augustus II and Frederick IV in the anti-Swedish coalition.

Peter I declares war on Sweden after securing peace with the Ottoman Empire.

After Narva, Peter I begins urgent efforts to rebuild and reform the Russian army.

Nikita Repnin is associated with the rebuilding of Russian forces after the Narva disaster.

Peter I orders new artillery production after the loss of guns at Narva.

Peter I refuses to abandon the Baltic war despite the heavy defeat at Narva.

Peter accelerates military reconstruction after the defeat at Narva.

Peter celebrates Erestfer as an important recovery after Narva.

Peter authorises renewed operations against Swedish positions in Livonia.

Peter continues rebuilding the Russian army after the defeat at Narva.

Peter authorises publication of the first issue of the Vedomosti newspaper.

Crowned Empress Consort

Crowned Tsar of Russia

Birth of Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov

Issues the "Greek Plan", to restore the Byzantine Empire under a Romanov Emperor

Issues the "Greek Plan", to restore the Byzantine Empire under a Romanov Emperor

Issues the "Greek Plan", to restore the Byzantine Empire under a Romanov Emperor

Strangled in his bed during a Kremlin coups by drunken Russian Officers. Russian officers declare Alexander Emperor

Death of Paul I

Is crowned Emperor of Russia in Moscow several months after succeeding Paul I.

The French forces burn Moscow

Appointed Metropolian of Moscow

Helps suppress the Decembrist uprising

Helps suppress the Decembrist uprising

Helps suppress the Decembrist uprising

Succeeds as Tsar of Russia.

Is crowned Emperor of Russia in Moscow after succeeding Nicholas I.

Tells Moscow nobles that it is better to abolish serfdom from above than wait for it to end through revolt.

The emancipation settlement requires many peasants to make long-term redemption payments for land allotments.

Removes some corporal punishment. Reduces length of service from 25 to 16 years. Creates the office of Chief of Staff. Creates military districts

Encourages Serbs & Bulgarians in their unsuccesful revolts against Turkish rule

Encourages Serbs & Bulgarians in their unsuccesful revolts against Turkish rule

Begins a policy of repression against universities after an attempt on the Tsars life

Passes the Conscription Act for all levels of Russian Society. Men are liable to service at the age of 20 with each district providing a quota

Passes the Conscription Act for all levels of Russian Society. Men are liable to service at the age of 20 with each district providing a quota

Conscription comes into effect

1st performance of, "Swan Lake" staged by the Russian Imperial Ballet in Moscow

The Jury refuse to convict because of Trepovs repressive measures. Shot by Vera Zasulich

Assassinates Trepov the Chief of Saint Petersburg Police

Death of Fyodor Fyodorovich Trepov, assasinated

The Jury refuse to convict Zasulich because of Trepovs repressive measures

To support his family and pay his tuition fees, he daily writes short, humorous sketches and vignettes of contemporary Russian life, many under pseudonyms such as "Antosha Chekhonte" and "Man without a Spleen". Gains admission to the medical school at Moscow University

Emancipates Serfs but fails to check pogroms & growing pan-slavism

Emancipates Serfs but fails to check pogroms & growing pan-slavism

Crowned Tsar of Russia

Birth of Boris Leonidovich Paternak, son of a painter & pianist

Decrees the expulsion of Jews from Moscow

The achievement marks lyapunov stability theory as an important Russian scientific milestone.

Completes foundational work on stability of solutions to differential equations.

Birth of Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov, son of peasant parents born in Moscow

The Art Theatre commissions more plays from Chekhov & stages Uncle Vanya

Chekhov suffers a major haemorrhage of the lungs while on a visit to Moscow and, with great difficulty, is persuaded to enter a clinic, where the doctors diagnosed tuberculosis on the upper part of his lungs and ordered a change

The play so impressed the playwright Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko that he convinced Konstantin Stanislavsky to direct it for the innovative Moscow Art Theatre

Assassination of Nikolai Petrovich Bogolepov

Death of Nikolai Petrovich Begolepov, assassinated

A student rebellion takes place at Moscow University

A student rebellion takes place at Moscow University

Attempts to make the Zemstva a branch of the Ministry of Interior

Assassination of Dimitri Sergeevich Sipiagin

Death of Dimitri Sergeevich Sipiagin, assassinated

Appointed Conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre

Authorizes Gapons Assembly

Appointed Member of Duma

Dismissed as Minister of the Interior after demonstrations in Saint Petersburg

The Tsar's uncle is assassinated

Assassinates Grand Duke Sergei with a bomb.

Is killed by Ivan Kalyayev in Moscow.

The Tsar's uncle is assassinated

Helps organise liberal professional groups demanding reform.

The Duma has advisory powers but is without legislative authority. Signs a manifesto summoning the Imperial Duma

The Duma has advisory powers but is without legislative authority

Issues a manifesto promising speech, assembly rights and elections to the Duma.

Welcomes limited constitutional reform after the manifesto.

Helps found the Constitutional Democratic Party.

His death becomes a rallying point for Moscow workers.

Commands forces suppressing the Moscow armed uprising.

Supports Bolshevik agitation during the December uprising.

Takes part in revolutionary activity during the uprising.

Faces armed revolt in Moscow after the manifesto.

Socialist Revolutionaries support armed resistance in Moscow.

Orders repression as armed revolt spreads in Moscow.

Uses artillery against rebel districts in Moscow.

Revolutionaries resist government troops in Moscow districts.

The government suppresses the Moscow uprising.

1st State Duma, elected by universal male suffrage, meets for 73 days

Passes a law allowing peasants to leave their communes & set up as individual farmers

Appointed Chairman of the Council of Minister's, 1st term

The new fundemental laws for the constitution are made public

The 1st Duma is opened by the Tsar

The 1st Duma is closed by the Tsar

The Socialist revolutionary maximalists make a failed attempt on stolypins life

The Socialist revolutionary maximalists make a failed attempt on stolypins life

Stolypin announces a reform program. Under Stolypins constitutional law ethnic groups must speak Russian in their lands. Stolypins electoral law allows ethnic groups into the Duma. Stolypins electoral law allows ethnic groups in the Duma. Stolypins allows ethnic groups in the Duma but they must speak Russian in their lands. Members of the Duma must speak Russia in their ethnic lands

The franchise is restricted & the 3rd Duma meets for its full 5 year term, 1907-12

Stolypins allows ethnic groups in the Duma but they must speak Russian in their lands. Members of the Duma must speak Russia in their ethnic lands

The franchise is restricted & the 3rd Duma meets for its full 5 year term, 1907-12

Restricts the electoral franchise to guarantee a conservative majority in the Duma

Stolypins allows ethnic groups in the Duma but they must speak Russian in their lands. Restricts the electoral franchise to guarantee a conservative majority in the Duma

The 2nd Duma meets in 1907 for 102 days

The 2nd Duma is opened by the Tsar

Stolypin announces a reform program

The 2nd Duma is closed by the Tsat & a new electoral law is passed

The 2nd Duma is closed by the Tsat & a new electoral law is passed

The 3rd Duma is opened by the Tsar & remains open until 1912

The 3rd Duma is opened by the Tsar & remains open until 1912

Developed military alliance between France & Russia

A Jewish police informer, the incident provokes anti-Jewish tension

The Duma opposes the Tsars war policy & becomes critical of the Royal regime

The 4th & last Duma opens, 1912-1917

The 4th & last Duma opens

Appointed Chairman if the Alln Union of Zemstvos

Dismisses the Prime Minister for liberal tendencies & removes Duma immunities

Dismisses the Prime Minister for liberal tendencies & removes Duma immunities

Appointed Chairman if the Alln Union of Zemstvos

Appointed Chairman of the Council of Minister's, 2nd term

Responsible for Russias mobilization plans

Handed a written declaration of war from the German Ambassador Count Portales

"long-proved fiendship must succeed with Gods help in avoiding bloodshed"

"long-proved fiendship must succeed with Gods help in avoiding bloodshed"

Develops an activated-charcoal filter protecting soldiers from poison gases.

Appointed Chairman of the Alln Union of Town Councils

Appointed Chairman of the Union of Zemstvos

Appointed Chairman of Zengor

The achievement marks chemical protection filter as an important Russian scientific milestone.

Dismissed as Minister of War

The Duma is reconvened for 6 weeks

The Government authorizes the creation Municipal Council organisations. The Government authorizes the creation a national Zemstvo

The Government authorizes the creation Municipal Council organisations

The Government authorizes the creation a national Zemstva

The Government authorizes the creation on national Zemstvo. The Government authorizes the creation a national Zemstvo

Most Minister's request that the Duma be allowed to form a cabinet

Most Minister's request that the Duma be allowed to form a cabinet

The Duma is prorogued

Appointed Vice Minister of War in the Kerensky Government

Appointed Vice Minister of War in the Kerensky Government

The Tsarleaves Moscow for Mogliev, the security of Moscow is entrusted to Beliaev

Duma & Soviet representitives reach agreement on the basis of an 8 point program

Disturbances spread to Moscow

Formation of the Moscow Soviet

Duma & Soviet representitives reach agreement on the basis of an 8 point program

Duma & Soviet representitives reach agreement on the basis of an 8 point program

The Provisional Government meets Michael & persuades him to reject the crown

The Provisional Government meets Michael & persuades him to reject the crown

The Provisional Government meets Michael & persuades him to reject the crown

The Provisional Government meets Michael & persuades him to reject the crown

Michaels renunciation of the throne is made public

The Police Department is abolished

The Provisional Government dismisses all governors & their deputies

The Provisional Government dismisses all governors & their deputies

Defines Russias war aims

The Provisional Government introduces state monopoly on the grain trade

The Provisional Government introduces state monopoly on the grain trade

1st Bolshevik demonstrations in Petrograd & Moscow

1st Bolshevik demonstrations in Petrograd & Moscow

Returns to Moscow via Japan & Siberia

Returns to Moscow via Japan & Siberia

Resigns as Foreign Minister

Supports Bolshevik agitation as unrest spreads beyond Petrograd.

Kerensky orders the arrest of Lenin and the other leading Bolsheviks, accusing them of inciting revolt with German financial backing

Anti-government demonstrations also spread beyond Petrograd to Moscow and other cities.

The Provisional Government schedules Constituent Assembly elections for 12 Nov

The Provisional Government schedules Constituent Assembly elections for 12 Nov

The Provisional Government schedules Constituent Assembly elections for 12 Nov

Addresses the Moscow State Conference seeking national unity.

Receives conservative support during the Moscow State Conference.

Warns that military collapse threatens revolutionary Russia.

Receives applause from conservative officers and public figures.

Completes the occupation of Moscow

The Bolsheviks gain Moscow

The Bolsheviks gain Moscow

Bolshevik forces gain control of Moscow after prolonged street fighting against forces loyal to the former government.

Bolsheviks gain control of Moscow after heavy fighting.

The Bolsheviks gain Moscow

Overthrows the Kerensky Government

Appointed Head of the Central Statistical Administration

The Congress of Soviets cede their primacy of power to the Government

Workers must register with Labour Exchanges if unemployed. Labour exchanges are set up by decree. Employers can only employ labour through Labour Exchanges

Dissolves the Constituent Assembly & "establishes the dictatorship of the proletariat"

Issues a decree abolishing the Constituent Assembly

Issues a decree abolishing the Constituent Assembly

Declaration of the USSR

The Bolshevik Government moves to Moscow

The Bolshevik Government moves to Moscow

Spiridonova condemns the Brest-Litovsk settlement as Left Socialist Revolutionaries break with the Bolshevik government over peace with Germany.

Bukharin leads Left Communist opposition to Lenin's policy of accepting the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

Lenin and the Soviet government leave Petrograd for Moscow because the former capital is vulnerable to German attack.

The capital moves to Moscow while Petrograd remains symbolically important.

Sverdlov works from Moscow as the Soviet government establishes the city as the new national capital.

Becomes People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs and takes a leading role in building the Red Army.

Lenin secures ratification of the Brest-Litovsk treaty by the Fourth All-Russian Congress of Soviets.

A Decree outlaws the purchase & leasing of industrial & commercial business. A Decree compels all securities & bonds to be registered with the Government

The Soviet government introduces compulsory military training for workers as it builds a more disciplined Red Army.

Savinkov organises an underground anti-Bolshevik network preparing armed resistance against Soviet rule.

Inheritance is abolished

The Soviet government strengthens emergency grain procurement powers as urban food shortages worsen.

Lenin's government faces a widening military crisis as clashes with the Czechoslovak Legion spread along the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Presides over the opening of the Alln Congress of Councils of National Economy

The Soviet government introduces compulsory military service as the civil war expands and volunteer recruitment proves insufficient.

The Soviet government creates Committees of Poor Peasants to support grain procurement and weaken wealthier village households.

The Soviet government nationalizes major industrial enterprises as state control of the wartime economy expands.

Issues the decree nationalising large-scale industry during War Communism

A Congress Opens in Moscow & approves the Soviet Constitution

Sverdlov presides when the Fifth All-Russian Congress of Soviets opens amid growing conflict with the Left Socialist Revolutionaries.

Spiridonova supports the Left Socialist Revolutionary challenge launched after the assassination of the German ambassador.

Spiridonova is detained after Bolshevik forces suppress the Left Socialist Revolutionary uprising in Moscow.

Sverdlov presides as the Fifth Congress adopts the first constitution of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

Writes articles in Pravda & Izvestiia saying Nicholas II was shot trying to escape

Writes articles in Pravda & Izvestiia saying Nicholas II was shot trying to escape

Helps suppress the rebellion of the Socialist Revolutionaries

Helps suppress the rebellion of the Socialist Revolutionaries

A train is constructed for Trotsky to command the Red Army

Leaves Moscows in his command train, "a flying apparatus of administration"

Lenin is seriously wounded by gunfire after addressing workers at the Michelson factory in Moscow.

Death of Fanya Kaplan, executed

The Soviet government formally announces the Red Terror amid civil-war violence and attacks on Bolshevik leaders.

The Soviet government annuls the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk after Germany's defeat in the First World War.

Lenin chairs the Council of Workers' and Peasants' Defence created to coordinate the Soviet war effort.

The Soviet government ends the separate Committees of Poor Peasants and merges their functions into local soviets.

A Labour Code providing for males & females between 16 & 50 to render "labor service"

The Soviet government adopts a labour code regulating compulsory labour obligations and employment under the new state system.

Appointed Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Communist International

Appointed Chairman of the Moscow Soviet

Helps issue the invitation to the First World Congress that establishes the Communist International in Moscow.

The new manifesto is adopted

Writes the manifesto adopted by the Communist International's First World Congress addressing workers internationally.

The Politburo, Orgburo & secretariat of the Russian Communist Party are created

The Politburo is first composed of Lenin, Trotsky, Kamanev, Bukharin & Stalin

The Politburo is first composed of Lenin, Trotsky, Kamanev, Bukharin & Stalin

The Politburo is first composed of Lenin, Trotsky, Kamanev, Bukharin & Stalin

The Politburo is first composed of Lenin, Trotsky, Kamanev, Bukharin & Stalin

The Politburo, Orgburo & secretariat of the Russian Communist Party are created

The Politburo is set up to control the Central Committee of the Communist Party. The Politburo is formally set up at the VIIIth Communist Party Congress. The Politburo is first composed of Lenin, Trotsky, Kamanev, Bukharin & Stalin

The Politburo is first composed of Lenin, Trotsky, Kamanev, Bukharin & Stalin

The Politburo, Orgburo & secretariat of the Russian Communist Party are created. The Party is renamed the Russian Communist Party

The amnesty is withdrawn in 1922. Announces an amnesty to all members of the Socialist Revolutionary Party

Becomes the leading chairman of the Communist International

Represents German communists at the founding congress of the Communist International

Participates in early Communist International deliberations

Sponsors the founding congress of the Communist International

The 3rd International is founded to propogate the idea of world revolution

Supports the Comintern as a tool of international revolutionary strategy

Helps shape revolutionary propaganda for the Communist International

Links Hungarian revolutionary politics with the new Communist International

Takes part in building the Communist International's early organization

Contributes to early Communist International doctrine

27 countries attend the 2nd meeting of the Comintern in Moscow

27 countries attend the 2nd meeting of the Comintern in Moscow

"We do not permit the legal existence of those who strive to compete with us"

The Supreme Economic Council runs 37,000 businesses with a workforce of 2 million

Contributes to the manifesto of the Communist International's Second World Congress.

The Government issues a supplementary decree nationalizing most small scale industries. The Supreme Economic Council runs 37,000 businesses with a workforce of 2 million

Forwards the 21 Points requiring national parties to impose disciplined guidlines

The Supreme Economic Council runs 37,000 businesses with a workforce of 2 million

The Supreme Economic Council runs 37,000 businesses with a workforce of 2 million

Russia recognizes the independence of Lithuania under the Treaty of Moscow

Russia recognizes the independence of Lithuania under the Treaty of Moscow

Russia recognizes the independence of Lithuania under the Treaty of Moscow

Russia recognizes the independence of Lithuania under the Treaty of Moscow

Russia recognizes the independence of Lithuania under the Treaty of Moscow

Russia recognizes the independence of Lithuania under the Treaty of Moscow

Helps shape ideological debate at the Communist International

Promotes conditions for parties joining the Communist International

The Government issues a supplementary decree nationalizing most small scale industries

Appointed Member of Central Committee

Appointed Chairman of the Azerbaijani Cheka

Appointed Chairman of the Azerbaijani Cheka

Builds links between Italian communists and the Communist International

Power is ceded from the Government to the Politburo

Trade is legalized & by the mid 1920s GDP is restored to the levels of 1913. The NEP is introduced after the failure of War Communism. The economy is controlled by the state. Light industry & agriculture reverts to private ownership

Sees the revolt as a grave threat during the civil war crisis.

Orders the rebels to submit to Soviet authority.

Supports security measures during the rebellion.

Backs the party line against the Kronstadt revolt.

Supports the Bolshevik response during the party congress.

Argues at the party congress that the revolt must be defeated.

Links the revolt to the wider crisis facing Soviet power.

Addresses the party congress while Petrograd remains under pressure.

Supports party unity against the rebellion.

Uses the crisis to justify tighter party discipline.

Defends the suppression as necessary for Soviet survival.

The League of Nations rejects Russia's membership

Dismisses leading Russian diplomats including ambassadors in London, Washington & Rome

Decides SRs are guilty of trying to overthrow the Bolsheviks in 1919

The Secret Police, Cheka, becomes the OGPU

Works in the executive apparatus of the Communist International

Decides SRs are guilty of trying to overthrow the Bolsheviks in 1919

Appointed General Secretary of the CPSU

The Secret Police, Cheka, becomes the OGPU

Appointed Member of Politburo

Holds SR death sentences open & have them executed if they undermine the Communists. Decides SRs are guilty of trying to overthrow the Bolsheviks in 1919

Relaxes the NEP at the 10th Party Congress after peasant disturbances

The Government supports the Kuomingtang led by Sun Yat-sen & forms an alliance

The Government supports the Kuomingtang led by Sun Yat-sen & forms an alliance

Exiled from Russia because of conversion from Marxism to the Orthodox Church

Negotiates Russian entry into the League of Nations with a permanent seat

Retires from the leadership of the Bolshevik Party after a stroke

Retires from the leadership of the Bolshevik Party after a stroke

Appointed Chairman of the All-Union Central Executive Committee

Influences Communist International strategy after Lenin's death

Exiled to Italy

Appointed Inspector of the Cavalry

Appointed Member of Politburo

Appointed Member of Triumvirate ruling Russia after Lenins death

A mausoleum is constructed in Red Square where Lenins embalmed body lies in public

Appointed Commander of the Moscow Military District

Appointed Chairman of the Communist International, Comintern

Appointed Chairman of the Communist International, Comintern

Appointed Commissar

Stalins "Socialism in one country" conflicts with Trotskys "Permanent Revolution". Removes Trotsky as Commissar of War

Completion of the "First Symphony"

Appointed Member of Politburo

Appointed Peoples Commissar for War & Navy

Attends the Fourteenth Communist Party Congress as a non-voting delegate.

Appointed Ambassador of Italy

Trotsky, Zinoviev & Kamanev present their case against the party leadership

Appointed Member of Politburo

Appointed Member of Politburo

Appeals to the rank & file & addresses a demonstration staged at an aircraft factory

Appeals to rank & file party cells & addresses a demonstration at an aircraft factory

Has Zinoviev ousted from the Politburo. Has Trotsky ousted from the Politburo

Dismissed from the Politburo during Stalins purge of the Opposition

Dismissed from the Politburo after calling Stalin "the gravedigger of the Revolution"

Releases Lenins Testsament to the Press

Expels all opposition from the International during a Comintern Executive meeting

Expels all opposition from the International during a Comintern Executive meeting. At the 15th Congress expels 75 of the Opposition & 18 Democratic Centrists

The Opposition forwards its case to the Politburo against "Socialism in one country"

Forces a discussion of Lenins Testament at the Plenum. Criticizes Stalin at the Plenum. Claims the Politburo has betrayed the Revolution

Decides to break the truce with the internal Communist Party opposition

Recants his opposition to Stalin & is allowed back into the Communist Party

Meets the Chinese Communist Party Leaders to exercise his influence over them

Signs the Kellog Pact

From 1928 to 1991 the entire course of the economy was guided by a series of Five-Year Plans

The "Plan Era" of 5 year economic plans lasts from 1928-1939. Replaces the New Economic Policy with the 1st 5 Year Plan, the market is eliminated. Peasants are forced to join collectives or state farms. From 1928 to 1991 the entire course of the economy was guided by a series of Five-Year Plans. Detailed plans for food production are laid down by Gosplan

The slogan "The five year plan" in 4 years is adopted as quotas are revised upwards

Sent by his local party to the Stalin Industrial Academy

Is sent by the Communist Party to study at the Stalin Industrial Academy in Moscow.

The word "opposition" is no longer used

Litvinov Protocol between Russia, Estonia, Latvia & Poland renouncing war

Appointed First Secretary of the Moscow Gorkom

Becomes secretary of the Communist Party organization at the Industrial Academy.

Appointed Member of Politburo

Appointed Member of Politburo

Announces his murderous purges are "purifying the Soviet Union"

Takes charge of the Bauman district party organization in Moscow.

Moves to lead the Krasnaya Presnya district party committee later in the year.

Appointed Head of the Commissariat for Internal Transcaucasian Republics

Expelled for a 2nd time from the Communist Party

Moves into the senior ranks of the Moscow City party organization as its second secretary.

Appointed First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Azerbaijan

The achievement marks foundations of probability theory as an important Russian scientific milestone.

The Soviet state prioritises heavy industrial expansion while consumer-goods targets lag behind official plans.

Publishes an axiomatic foundation for modern probability theory.

Stalin launches the Second Five-Year Plan, emphasizing heavy industry, transport, steel, coal and continued central planning.

The Moscow metro is completed

The USSR is recognized by the USA, to counteract Japans rise in the Far East

Appointed Member of Central Committee

Appointed Member of Central Committee Secretariat

Is elected a member of the Communist Party Central Committee.

Appointed Chairman of the Central Committee

Observes blue light emitted when charged particles move rapidly through a medium.

Appointed Editor of Izvestiya

Agrees a mutually defensive pact with France

The achievement marks luminescence in water as an important Russian scientific milestone.

Advances into senior Moscow party leadership during his rapid rise through the Communist hierarchy.

Appointed Head of the NKVD, Secret Police

Heads a police organisation to control the militia, concentration camps & intelligence

Assumes overall leadership of the Communist Party organization governing the Soviet capital.

Litvinov also actively facilitates the acceptance of the USSR into the League of Nations where he represents his country from 1934-1938

Russia joins the League of Nations

The USSR is admitted into the League of Nations

The USSR joins the League and gains a Council seat.

Appointed Marshal of the Soviet Union, 1 of 5 Marshals

Becomes first secretary of the Moscow Regional Communist Party committee.

Composes, "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini"

Zinoviev, Kamanev & 17 others are tried for the murder of Kirov. Tried in secret & sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Tried for a 2nd time in secret & sentenced to a long term of imprisonment. Forced to admit the "moral & political responsibility" for Kirovs assassination. Exonerated for the assassination of Kirov

Zinoviev, Kamanev & 17 others are tried for the murder of Kirov. Tried for a 2nd time in secret & sentenced to a long term of imprisonment. Forced to admit the "moral & political responsibility" for Kirovs assassination. Exonerated for the assassination of Kirov

Participates in the political oversight surrounding the opening of the first Moscow Metro line.

Yezhov is made Commissar for Internal Affairs to unmask the Trotsky-Zinoviev plot

Stalin has Kamanev & Zinoviev purged & then executed. Show trials are held in Moscow during the "great purge"

Made Commissar for Internal Affairs to unmask the Trotsky-Zinoviev plot

Accusations are made against Zinoviev for his life during a show trial

Show trials are held in Moscow during the "great purge"

Death of Grigory Yevseyevich Zinoviev, executed

Found guilty of charges during a show trial & shot

Establishes the USSR Supreme Soviet, supreme agency of state power in the Soviet Union

Arrested during the Moscow trials

Co-develops the theory explaining the radiation observed by Pavel Cherenkov.

Appointed Commander of the Transbaikal Military District

Appointed Commander of the Transbaikal Military District

Appointed Commissar of State Security

Participates in Stalin-era purges while leading the Moscow party organization.

The achievement marks superluminal radiation as an important Russian scientific milestone.

Composes, "The 5th Symphony"

Show trials are held including Radek & Pyatakov

Show trials are held including Radek & Pyatakov

Sentenced to imprisonment

Appointed Commander of the Moscow Military District

The Nyon powers sign their apporoval of their decisions

Appointed Adviser to Chiang Kai-shek

Proposes a 4 power conference to discuss the anschluss, turned down by Britain. Delivers a report warning Russia about anshcluss between Germany & Austria

Appointed Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, Head of State

Appointed Chairman of the Soviet State Bank

Death of Aleksei Ivanovich Rykov, Stalin has Rykov purged & then executed

Appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Russia

Stalin has Rykov purged & then executed

Stalin has Rykov purged & then executed

Delivers a report warning Russia about anshcluss between Germany & Austria

Appointed Head of State for Russia, 2nd term

Appointed Head of the NKVD, Secret Police. Appointed Head of the NKVD, during the war it carries out purges & executions

Stalin has Rykov purged & then executed

Stalin has Rykov purged & then executed

The only prominent Azerbaijani official to escape the Stalinist purges

States Russia will honour its Treaty to defend Czech if the west does the same

States Russia will honour its Treaty to defend Czech if the west does the same

Becomes a candidate member of the Politburo as his national influence expands.

Will help Czech against Germany if Romania & Poland allow passage of Russian troops. Rumania & Poland refuse to allow passage of Russian troops

Russian troops begin to clash with the Japanese on the border of Manzhouguo

Signs the Geraman-Russisan Non Aggression Pact with Ribbentrop in Moscow

Proposes staff talks & a conference to condemn German aggression. Proposes staff talks & a conference to allow Russian troop access to Czech

Litvinov criticized the exclusion of the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia from the Munich conference.

Appointed Peoples Commissar for the Textile Industry

Appointed Member of Communist Party

Attacks Britain & France for rejecting collective security for fear of revolution. Attacks Britain & France for rejecting collective security due to fear of revolution

Becomes a full member of the Communist Party Politburo.

Appointed Member of Politburo, full member

Meets an Anglo-French mission to discuss the defence of Poland if attacked by Germany

Invites Ribbentrop to Moscow for 23 August. Hitler cables Stalin accepting the draft NAZI-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

Includes secret protocols dividing Europe into zones of influence

Russia & Germany will not attack each other for 10 yrs with an option for 5 more yrs

Ribbentrop & Molotov meet & split Poland in 2

Russia is given land east of the Narew-Bug-San line. Russia is given a free hand in Lithuania. Ribbentrop & Molotov meet & split Poland in 2

Ribbentrop & Molotov meet & split Poland in 2

Russia is given land east of the Narew-Bug-San line. Ribbentrop & Molotov meet & split Poland in 2

The Soviet Germany Boundary & Friendship Treaty is signed

Appointed Deputy Commisar of Defence

Appointed Deputy Chairman of Sovnarkom

Commands the Twentieth Army during the Battle of Moscow

Appointed Chairman of the Council of Peoples Commissars

The Moscow-Volga Canal is completed

Awarded the Order of the Red Banner after the Battle of Moscow

Helps organize the defence of Moscow

Signs the Treaty of Friendship with the new Government of Yugoslavia

Informed that 3 groups of German spies had been caught inside the Russian border

Announces over the radio to the Russian people that Germany has invaded Russia

Appointed Supreme Commander of the Soviet Armed Forces

Appointed Supreme Commander of the Soviet Armed Forces

Warns Russia of the danger of the German invasion. Addresses the Russian people as "brothers & sister"

Warns Russia of the danger of the German invasion during a broadcast

Reduces armies to 5 or 6 divisions so they are more mobile & less of an aerial target

Appointed Chairman of the recently formed State Defence Committee

Appointed Member of recently formed State Defence Committee

Appointed Member of recently formed State Defence Committee

Appointed Member of recently formed State Defence Committee

Ordered by Stalin to organize a new Bryansk Front to defend Moscow

Part of the administration is moved but Stalin stays in Moscow

Guderian takes Yeremenko by surprise when he begins to attack Moscow

The Germans begin their final offensive to take Moscow

The operation "Taifun" to take Moscow commences

The operation "Taifun" to take Moscow commences

Ordered by Stalin from Leningrad to create a new western front to defend Moscow

Ordered by Stalin from Leningrad to create a new western front to defend Moscow

Prepares to evacuate his HQ from Moscow

Beria brings in several regiments of the NKVD in to preserve order. A state of siege is declared

Announces, "If they want a war of extermination they shall have one"

Stages a symbollically important parade in Red Square

The Germans begin their 2nd offensive against Moscow

Orders that "there be no further falling back". Orders Rokossovsky to hold the line at Kryukovo with the remants his Sixteenth Army

Some German units advance into the southern suburbs of Moscow

The Soviet counter offensive hits the unsuspecting German army. The German attack on Moscow is contained. German forces lose mre than 500,000 men, Hitler's biggest loss to date. 720,000 Russian soldiers drive back 800,000 Germans

1st Shock Army & the Sixteenth Army attack the inner side of the German salient

Launches an attack of the German inner salient with the Sixteenth Army

Plans a counter-offensive at the meeting of the Stavka & State Defence Committee

Plans a counter-offensive at the meeting of the Stavka & State Defence Committee

Churchill meets Stalin at the Kremlin

Stalin has the impression that Churchill promises to invade France in 1943. Churchill visits Stalin & says there can be no invasion of Europe in 1942. Churchill visits Stalin & promises that south east Europe will be attacked in 1943

Churchill visits Moscow to discuss second front issues with Stalin, Soviets suspicious over Allied strategy in Mediterranean, demand action in NW Europe

The future of Austria as an independent state is assured

Appointed Deputy Commissar of Foreign Affairs

While in office follows a policy of advocating co-operation with the west

Supports the alliance of Turkey with the Allies during a meeting with the Allies

Supports the use of Swedish airbases to invade north France at a meeting with the Allies

It is agreed after Germany is defeated Austria should regain independence. Agreed to form the European Advisery Commission to divide Germany into military zones

Establishes the principle of an international organisation to for international peace

Signed by the USA, Russia, China & Britain

Establishes the principle of an international organisation to keep international peace

Establishes the principle of an international organisation to for international peace

Final day of the Moscow Conference

Churchill flies to Moscow & discusses postwar Europe with Stalin

Stalin suggests to Churchill that Romania should be 90% Russian 10% British

The Soviet Government publicly proposes that a future Polish-Soviet boundary follow approximately the Curzon Line with possible adjustments favourable to Poland.

Explains that the military situation prevents him from leaving the Soviet Union for a distant conference.

The Lublin Committee to set up a communist infrastructure in Poland meets Stalin. The committee subordinate the Poles fighting with the Russians to Russia

Molotov claims the Curzon Line had support from all three major Allies at Tehran, prompting concern about Roosevelt's actual position.

Stalin tells Mikolajczyk that acceptance of the Curzon Line as the Soviet-Polish boundary is essential before a broader political settlement can proceed.

Stalin says the Curzon Line must remain the basis of settlement but allows that final demarcation could shift seven or eight kilometres in places.

Stalin tells Churchill that final demarcation may allow small local changes but not a major alteration transferring Lwow west of the Curzon-based frontier.

Suggests that the next Big Three meeting take place in the Black Sea area.

States that a location on the Soviet Black Sea coast would be the most suitable conference site.

Again asks that the conference be held in one of the Soviet Union's Black Sea port cities.

Opposes postponing recognition of the Soviet-backed Lublin Committee until the Big Three conference.

Rejects part of the American formula for Security Council voting before the Yalta negotiations.

Solzhenitsyn is taken to the Lubyanka prison in Moscow, where he is beaten and interrogated

Signs the Treaty of Friendship & Alliance with the Government of Chiang Kai-Shek

Signs the Treaty of Friendship & Alliance with the Government of Chiang Kai-Shek

Accepts the Allied code name Argonaut for the forthcoming Malta and Yalta conference arrangements.

Signs a Soviet treaty with the Polish provisional government as disputes continue over implementation of the Yalta settlement.

Molotov signs the Polish-Soviet state frontier treaty establishing the boundary broadly along the Curzon Line with specified deviations in favour of Poland.

Any favarouble references to the Tsars are removed from school text books

Appointed Commander in Chief, Land Forces

Replaces the Council of Peoples Commissars as the Government of Russia. Founds the Council of Minister's. Commissars become ministers

A cult of Stalin begins

Appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, 1st term

Performs pioneering experimental transplantation of the heart and lungs in animals.

Appointed Member of Politburo

Appointed Member of Politburo

Stalin orders Beria to "finish off the outlaws in the shortest possible time"

Stalin orders Beria to "finish off the outlaws in the shortest possible time"

Stalin orders Beria to "finish off the outlaws in the shortest possible time"

Stalin orders Beria to "finish off the outlaws in the shortest possible time"

Appointed Head of the Soviet Control Committee

The achievement marks thoracic organ transplantation as an important Russian scientific milestone.

Marshal Tito is personally received by Stalin during his visit to Moscow

Walks out of the Allied Control Commission

US Secretary of State Burns protests about how Russia has stripped assets from Hungary

Orders the launch the Communist Information Bureau in response to the Marshall Plan

Appointed Deputy Prime Minister of the USSR

Moves for a German Peoples Congress to remove Allied control in Germany

Creates an Economic Commission for Eastern Germany

Creates an Economic Commission for Eastern Germany

Leads Soviet uranium and plutonium bomb research.

Proposes reunification of Germany & international control of the Ruhr. Proposes centralized German Government at a meeting of Foreign Minister's, not accepted

Russia demands $10 billion in reparations & control of the Ruhr, this is not agreed. A conference opens in Moscow to discuss the development of post-war Germany

Forces the Eastern block & Russia to reject the Marshall plan

Yugoslavia is expelled from the Cominform. The German D-Mark is banned from circulation in the FDR

Soviet reactor work uses uranium for plutonium production.

Appointed Member of Politburo

Russia withdraws from the Allied Control Council, followed by the Berlin Blockade

Appointed Vice Chairman of the Council of Minister's in Poland

Appointed First Secretary of All-Union Central Committee

Develops a layered design concept for an early Soviet thermonuclear device.

Appointed Member of Politburo

Supports the creation of the German Democratic Republic

Resigns as Commissar of Foreign Affairs

Returns to Moscow as a Central Committee secretary and senior Moscow party leader.

The achievement marks sloika concept as an important Russian scientific milestone.

Comecon is established at a Moscow economic conference January 5-January 8, 1949, at which the six founding member countries are represented

Comecon is established at a Moscow economic conference January 5-January 8, 1949, at which the six founding member countries are represented

Comecons foundation is publicly announced

Resumes leadership of the Moscow regional party organization after leaving Ukraine.

Mao Tse-Tung has talks with Stalin in Moscow

Appointed First Secretary of the Kharkov Obkom

The achievement marks magnetic fusion confinement as an important Russian scientific milestone.

Promotes agricultural reorganization around the capital while rebuilding his position in Stalin's inner circle.

Co-proposes the tokamak approach for confining hot plasma with magnetic fields.

Britain appeals to Moscow to ask North Korea to stop the war, Russia declines

Discovers a chemical reaction whose concentrations change repeatedly over time.

The achievement marks chemical oscillations as an important Russian scientific milestone.

Promotes large planned agricultural settlements before retreating after the proposal draws criticism from Stalin.

Appointed Member of Central Committee

Appointed Member of Communist Party

The Russian Communist Party is renamed the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Appointed Deputy Chair of the Council of Minister's

The Soviet Committee of State Security, KGB, is formed

Appointed Member of Presidium of the Central Committee

The Politburo is renamed the Presidium, it is the inner council & supreme body

Appointed Member of Presidium of the Central Committee

Appointed Chief of State Security

Russia proposes a 4 power conference on the unification & rearmament of Germany

Russia proposes a 4 power conference on the unification & rearmament of Germany

Enters the Law Faculty of Moscow State University

Attends the Nineteenth Party Congress and remains among the senior figures of the enlarged party Presidium.

Advances into the senior Soviet party leadership after the Nineteenth Communist Party Congress.

Appointed Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, Head of State

Appointed Commander in Chief in East Germany

Appointed First Deputy Minister of Defence

Returns from exile after Stalins death

Appointed First Secretary of the Leningrad obkom

Appointed Head of State for Russia

Appointed Member of Politburo, Candidate Member

Appointed 2nd Secretary of the Communist Party of the Ukraine

Presides over a tribunal which sentences Lavrenti Beria to death

9 Russian & 6 Jewish doctors confess to the murder of Andrei Zhdanov

9 Russian & 6 Jewish doctors confess to the murder of Andrei Zhdanov

Stalin arrests & charges 9 Kremlin doctors for plotting to kill Russian leaders. Outbreak of the Doctors Plot

9 Russian & 6 Jewish doctors confess to the murder of Andrei Zhdanov

Receives promotion to lieutenant general while serving in senior military political administration.

Is transferred to senior political administration in the Soviet Navy after Stalin's death.

Suffers from a stroke, doctors are frightened to treat him

Appointed Chairman of the Council of Minister's

Death of Joseph Stalin

Appointed First Secretary of the Communist Party

Enters the collective leadership struggle that follows Joseph Stalin's death.

Funeral of Joseph Stalin

Resigns as 1st Secretary

Appointed Chairman of the Council of Minister's of Azerbaijan

Tried for being a British agent, undermines relations between Russian nationalities

Has Beria arrested for allegedly staging a coup

Supports the leadership coalition that arrests Lavrenti Beria and removes him from the post-Stalin power struggle.

Has Beria arrested for allegedly staging a coup

Supports removal of officials associated with Beria as the new leadership restructures the security apparatus.

Helps Russia test its own Hydrogen bomb

Appointed Member of Soviet Academy of Sciences

Appointed First Secretary of the CPSU

Is elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Marries Raisa Titorenko, a philosophy student at Moscow University

Marries Mikhail Gorbachev, then a student at Moscow University

Has Beria executed

Beria is executed after being removed from power and tried by the Soviet leadership.

The Soviet Presidium approves transfer of Crimea from the Russian republic to the Ukrainian republic during his leadership.

Launches his "Virgin & Idle Lands" programme to increase sown areas

Launches the Virgin Lands campaign to expand grain cultivation in Kazakhstan and other eastern regions.

Supports the agreement under which Austria becomes independent and permanently neutral.

Manages to manoeuvre Malankov from his position as First Secretary

Begins dismantling selected aspects of Stalin's political legacy before the Twentieth Party Congress.

Reaffirms Sino-Soviet relations

Orders occupation of Hungary after a debate in the Politburo

Begins the policy of de-Stalinization

Recognizes the Independence of West Germany

Recognizes the Independence of West Germany

The Soviet Union formally ends its state of war with Germany.

Russia declares an end to belligerency with Germany

Helps force Georgy Malenkov from the premiership, strengthening Khruschev's position in the collective leadership.

Resigns as Prime Minister after a budget to reduce arms expenditure is rejected

The Warsaw Pact Organisation is founded

Graduates from the Law Faculty at Moscow University

Appointed Adviser to the Council of Minister's

Appointed Member of Presidium of the Central Committee

Appointed Member of Central Committee

The Cominform is abolished to improve relations with the West & Yugoslavia

During the Twentieth Party Congress Krushcev attacks Stalins cult of the individual

During the Twentieth Party Congress Krushcev attacks Stalins cult of the individual

During the Twentieth Party Congress Krushcev attacks Stalins cult of the individual. Decrees the end of the cult of the individual

Dimissed for undermining the Communist Party's authority in the armed forces

Expelled from the Government for Stalinist activities & failure to depose Kruschev

Publicly attributes the fabricated Doctors' Plot to Stalin-era political repression and antisemitism.

Develops the Fermi-liquid description of interacting electrons in metals as long-lived quasiparticles near the Fermi surface.

Appointed Head of the Russian Land Forces

Says that the plot was instigated by Stalin to begin an anti-semitic purge

Accelerates review and rehabilitation of many people imprisoned or condemned during Stalin's purges.

Promotes peaceful coexistence with capitalist states as an official theme of Soviet foreign policy.

Returns to Moscow as a Secretary of the Communist Party Central Committee.

Makes a speech in closed session demolishing Stalins supposed infallibility

Opens the Twentieth Party Congress and presents a report emphasizing peaceful coexistence and economic competition.

Denounces Stalin as a criminal & that unreconstructed Stalinists are no better

Delivers the secret speech denouncing Stalin's cult of personality, purges and abuses of power.

Death of Mir Dzhafar Abassovich Bagirov, executed

Executed for treason

Executed for treason

The Central Committee adopts a resolution condemning the cult of personality and its consequences.

The Central Comm passes a resolution "overcoming the Cult of the Individual"

Joins the Soviet leadership decision to reverse course and use military force against the Hungarian uprising.

Khrushchev reinforces Soviet political backing for Egypt as pressure mounts on the invading powers.

Sends forceful warnings to Britain and France during the Suez Crisis and demands an end to their military intervention in Egypt.

Bulganin sends threatening messages to Britain, France and Israel demanding an end to the attack on Egypt.

Appointed Ambassador of Mongolia

Appointed Member of Anti-Party Group against Khruschev

Becomes a full member of the CPSU Presidium, later renamed the Politburo.

Receives responsibility for strategic missile, defense and heavy-industry matters within the party leadership.

Appointed Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Minister's

Appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, 2nd term

Dismissed, placed in charge of a Kazakhstan power station

Dismisses those opposing transferring economic planning from Government to party

Appointed Member of Politburo

Transfers economic planning from the Government to the party

Reorganizes industrial management around regional economic councils, reducing the authority of many central ministries.

Zhou Enlai visits Moscow

Meets Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai during talks on Communist bloc relations.

Faces an attempt by senior Presidium rivals to remove him from the party leadership.

The Party Presidium votes to dismiss, but only the Central Committee can do this

Wins Central Committee backing against Molotov, Malenkov, Kaganovich and their allies.

Defeats the "Anti-Party Group" & becomes the undisputed leader of the Soviet Union

Holds senior party responsibility for defense industries during the period of the first Sputnik launch.

Removes Marshal Georgy Zhukov from the defense ministry and party Presidium after fearing his political independence.

Appointed Chairman of the Council of Minister's

Dismissed after the defeat of the "Anti-Party" group

Promotes an education reform linking secondary schooling more closely with practical and industrial work.

Appointed Member of Politburo, Candidate Member

Becomes deputy chairman of the Central Committee bureau responsible for the Russian Soviet republic.

Directs preparation of the Seven-Year Plan intended to accelerate chemicals, energy and consumer production.

Suspends aid to the Chinese nuclear programme

Appointed First Deputy Prime Minister of the USSR

Becomes Chairman of the Council of Ministers, combining the premiership with Communist Party leadership.

Demands that Western powers end their occupation rights in West Berlin and proposes transforming it into a free city.

Challenges Western NATO powers over their occupation rights and military presence in Berlin.

The category "enemies of the people" is eliminated

The Soviet legal system removes the Stalin-era category of enemies of the people.

Uses the Twenty-First Party Congress to launch the Seven-Year Plan and proclaim progress toward communism.

Debates Vice President Richard Nixon at the American National Exhibition over consumer living standards and rival political systems.

Days before an Allied summit the Russians capture a US U-2 spy plane over Russia

Dies near Moscow

Expands political and economic ties with Fidel Castro's Cuba.

Appointed Member of Politburo

Strengthens relations with Fidel Castro's government as Cuba moves closer to the Soviet Union.

Appointed Member of Politburo

Becomes Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, serving as the Soviet Union's head of state.

Orders Soviet technical experts withdrawn from China as the Sino-Soviet split intensifies.

Uses the Francis Gary Powers espionage case to condemn American aerial reconnaissance over the Soviet Union.

Systematically investigates and reproduces the oscillating reaction discovered by Belousov.

Refugees from east Berlin to west Berlin creates a shortage of labour & skills

Announces he intends to support "wars of national liberation"

Receives the title Hero of Socialist Labour while serving as Soviet head of state.

Joins the Communist Party of the Soviet Union while working in the Sverdlovsk construction sector.

Appointed Deputy Head of the Propoganda Dept of the Central Committee

The achievement marks reaction-diffusion patterns as an important Russian scientific milestone.

Declares Soviet political support for anti-colonial and national liberation movements while advocating avoidance of direct superpower war.

Albania leaves the Warsaw Pact Organisation

Hosts national celebrations for Yuri Gagarin after the first human orbital flight.

Khrushchev protests the invasion, calls on Kennedy to end the attack and promises assistance to Cuba.

Announces the Defence budget will be increased by 30%

Announces a major increase in Soviet defense spending during the renewed Berlin confrontation.

The Warsaw Pact calls on East Germany for "protection & control" of the Berlin borders

Warsaw Pact governments support East German measures to tighten controls around Berlin.

The Warsaw Pact calls on East Germany for "protection & control" of the Berlin borders

The border between East & West is sealed off

The border between East & West is sealed off

Construction of the Berlin Wall begins

Construction of the Berlin Wall begins

Ends the Soviet nuclear testing moratorium and orders a new series of weapons tests.

Congress votes to remove Stalins body from the mausoleum on Red Sqr

The Central Committee plenum adopts a new Party programme replacing that of 1919

The new party programme describes the CPSU as the party of the whole people rather than solely the proletariat.

Defined as a party of the whole people rather than a dictatorship of the proletariat

By 1980 "distribution according to need" should be in place

Proposes a 20 year plan to usher in a communist society

Opens the Twenty-Second Party Congress and renews public criticism of Stalin-era repression.

Presents a new party programme promising to build the material foundations of communism within twenty years.

Stalins body is removed from Lenins side in the Mausoleum on Red Square

Stalins body is removed from the Kremlin

The Twenty-Second Party Congress adopts a new Communist Party programme replacing the 1919 programme.

Stalin's body is removed from Lenin's Mausoleum following renewed condemnation at the Twenty-Second Party Congress.

Raul Castro agrees for missiles to be based in Cuba

Expelled from the Communist Party

Meets Raul Castro during preparations for expanded Soviet military support to Cuba.

Malinovsky supported the secret military deployment later conducted under the codename Operation Anadyr.

Approves the secret plan to deploy Soviet missiles, bombers and troops to Cuba.

Khrushchev discussed placing Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba as a means of strengthening the island's defense and Soviet strategic leverage.

Biryuzov reported favorably on the feasibility of deploying strategic missiles in Cuba after returning from the Soviet mission.

Finalizes arrangements with Cuban leaders for the secret deployment of Soviet strategic weapons.

Malinovsky supervised military planning for Operation Anadyr as Soviet forces prepared for the concealed deployment to Cuba.

Gromyko helped manage the Soviet diplomatic response after Kennedy revealed the missiles and announced the naval quarantine.

Malinovsky placed Soviet military commands on heightened alert after Kennedy announced the quarantine and demanded missile removal.

Rejects the American naval quarantine of Cuba and warns Kennedy against escalating the crisis.

Tells Kennedy that the American quarantine is unlawful and insists Soviet-Cuban relations concern sovereign states.

Khrushchev rejected the legality of the American quarantine but ordered Soviet shipping movements handled cautiously as the confrontation intensified.

Khrushchev exchanged messages with Kennedy as both governments searched for a way to prevent the naval confrontation from escalating.

Khrushchev sent Kennedy a lengthy private message proposing missile withdrawal in return for a pledge that Cuba would not be invaded.

Offers to remove Soviet missiles from Cuba if the United States pledges not to invade the island.

Proposes linking missile withdrawal from Cuba to removal of American Jupiter missiles from Turkey.

Khrushchev publicly added removal of American Jupiter missiles from Turkey to the terms he sought for resolving the crisis.

Publicly accepts a settlement based on Soviet missile withdrawal and an American pledge not to invade Cuba.

Gromyko participated in implementing the diplomatic settlement after Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the offensive missiles.

Khrushchev agrees to remove the Soviet missiles from Cuba. Khruschev removes the missiles but on the understanding the USA does not invade Cuba.

Khrushchev ordered the offensive missiles dismantled and returned to the Soviet Union under the emerging settlement.

Malinovsky transmitted orders connected with dismantling and returning the offensive missile systems after the political settlement.

Biryuzov's missile forces received orders to dismantle the Cuban launch sites and prepare the strategic missiles for return shipment.

Orders Soviet offensive missiles in Cuba dismantled and returned to the Soviet Union.

Khrushchev defended the settlement to Soviet leaders while implementation shifted toward dismantling, shipment, and verification.

Divides regional party organizations into separate industrial and agricultural structures in a controversial administrative reform.

Khrushchev continued correspondence with Kennedy about verification and the remaining questions surrounding Soviet military equipment in Cuba.

Khrushchev resisted American demands over Soviet IL-28 bombers while negotiations continued after the ballistic missiles were dismantled.

Khrushchev accepted removal of the IL-28 bombers, clearing the principal remaining obstacle to ending the American quarantine.

Responds to a poor harvest by arranging large grain purchases from Western countries.

Emerges as Khrushchev's principal deputy in the day-to-day management of the Communist Party.

Spends nearly 5 days alone in Vostok 5, the longest solo space flight to date

Spends nearly 5 days alone in Vostok 5, the longest solo space flight to date

Returns from the ceremonial head-of-state post to active work in the Central Committee Secretariat.

The Soviet Union and United States agree to establish a direct communications link between their governments.

Meets American negotiator Averell Harriman and accepts negotiations focused on a three-environment nuclear test ban.

Soviet, American and British negotiators initial the Limited Test Ban Treaty after intensive Moscow talks.

Hosts the signing of the Limited Test Ban Treaty by the Soviet Union, United States and United Kingdom.

The Limited Test Ban Treaty enters into force after ratification by the three original parties.

Sends condolences after President John F. Kennedy is assassinated and signals a desire to preserve improving relations.

Supports expanded Soviet assistance to North Vietnam after US escalation begins

Appointed Head of State for Russia

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics, created the maser, a microwave laser

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics, created the maser, a microwave laser

Appointed Member of Politburo, Candidate Member

Reinstated to the Communist Party

Appointed Member of triumvirate which takes over from Khrushchev

Wilson & Walker visit Khrushchev to reach a "friendly understanding"

Signs a twenty-year friendship treaty with East Germany.

Russia signs a 20 year Treaty of fiendship with East Germany

Faces mounting criticism from senior party colleagues over agricultural failures, administrative reorganizations and an increasingly personal style of rule.

Forms a collective leadership with Alexei Kosygin and Nikolai Podgorny after Khrushchev's removal.

Is summoned back to Moscow as party leaders prepare a coordinated challenge to his leadership.

Dismissed as First Party Secretary by a Central Committee plenum

Succeeds Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary of the Communist Party.

Helps organize the party leadership move that removes Nikita Khrushchev from power.

Is removed as Communist Party First Secretary by the Central Committee and replaced by Leonid Brezhnev.

Leaves the chairmanship of the Council of Ministers after his removal from party leadership.

Appointed Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, Head of State

Oversees Soviet military support including air defense assistance to North Vietnam

Appointed First Deputy Chair of the USSR Council of Minister's

Backs a major expansion of Soviet military aid to North Vietnam

Appointed Member of Politburo

Associated with Soviet air defense forces as missile aid to North Vietnam expands

Defends North Vietnam in Soviet diplomacy during the US bombing escalation

Backs higher agricultural investment and procurement incentives at the March Central Committee plenum.

Supports economic reforms that restore central ministries while giving enterprises limited profitability incentives.

Appointed Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, Head of State

Appointed Head of State for Russia

Resigns as the Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet

Appointed Candidate Member of Central Committee

Receives his first Hero of the Soviet Union title during his early years as party leader.

Takes the restored title of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Leads the Twenty-Third Party Congress as the title General Secretary is restored.

The achievement marks cosmological constant problem as an important Russian scientific milestone.

Appointed Head of the KGB

Appointed Member of Politburo

Represents Soviet state support for North Vietnam during the war

Relates quantum vacuum fluctuations to the cosmological constant.

Becomes defence minister as Soviet military support to North Vietnam continues

The KGB gains renewed political importance after Yuri Andropov becomes its chairman.

Supports renewed Soviet military assistance to Arab allies after the Six-Day War.

Responds to the Tet Offensive while sustaining Soviet support for Hanoi

Handles Soviet diplomacy as US-North Vietnamese talks open in Paris

Dubcek and other detained Czechoslovak leaders are taken to Moscow for negotiations with the Soviet leadership.

Oversees negotiations resulting in the Moscow Protocol after the invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Continues the large strategic weapons programme intended to achieve nuclear parity with the United States.

Keeps Soviet political and military aid flowing to North Vietnam

Uses the centenary of Lenin's birth to reaffirm Communist Party leadership and Soviet international priorities.

Supports Soviet diplomatic backing for North Vietnam as fighting continues in Indochina.

Represents Soviet foreign policy in the arms-control diplomacy around the Seabed Treaty.

Presents the principal report to the Twenty-Fourth Communist Party Congress.

Supports Brezhnev's party line during the 24th CPSU Congress.

Participates in the 24th CPSU Congress as a senior Soviet leader.

Reports on directives for economic development under the Ninth Five-Year Plan.

Presents the Ninth Five-Year Plan, emphasizing growth in consumer goods.

Elected a member of the CPSU Central Committee after the 24th Party Congress.

Continues as KGB chairman after the 24th Congress renews central party organs.

Continues as defence minister during Brezhnev's consolidated leadership.

Remains a senior foreign-policy figure as the new Central Committee begins work.

Releases the film adaptation The Twelve Chairs.

Death of Georgy Babakin, chief designer associated with Soviet lunar and planetary probes.

Dies in Moscow at age seventy-seven after several years outside public political life.

Is buried at Novodevichy Cemetery rather than receiving burial in the Kremlin Wall necropolis.

Awarded the Order of Lenin for the sixth time.

Death of poet and editor Alexander Tvardovsky.

Supports continued Soviet military resupply to North Vietnam during heavy US bombing

Condemns US bombing and mining of North Vietnam during 1972

Holds a lengthy private Kremlin meeting with Richard Nixon at the opening of the Moscow summit.

Meets Richard Nixon in Moscow during a landmark superpower summit focused on détente and arms control.

Meets Richard Nixon while the Vietnam War and Linebacker bombing remain central issues

Signs the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Richard Nixon during the Moscow summit.

Signs the SALT I Interim Agreement with Richard Nixon, limiting strategic offensive missile launchers.

Agrees with Richard Nixon on Basic Principles intended to guide relations between the two superpowers.

Concludes the Moscow summit with a joint commitment to reduce confrontation and expand peaceful cooperation.

Appointed Member of Politburo

Welcomes the Vietnam peace agreement while maintaining Soviet ties with Hanoi

Supervises Soviet military resupply to Arab allies during the war.

Exchanges urgent messages with Richard Nixon as the Yom Kippur War creates a superpower confrontation.

Participates in Soviet consultations with Henry Kissinger on a ceasefire.

Monitors postwar disengagement diplomacy after the Egyptian-Israeli ceasefire.

Hosts Richard Nixon for another summit focused on arms control, economic cooperation and détente.

Concludes the Nixon summit with a joint communiqué covering strategic arms, trade and international security.

Signs the Threshold Test Ban Treaty limiting underground nuclear weapon tests.

Sees North Vietnam victory as a success for a Soviet backed ally

Appointed Member of Central Committee

Appointed Chair of the Leningrad City Soviet Executive Committee

Appointed Editor of in-Chief of The Pravda

Appointed Member of Politburo

Appointed Editor of in-Chief of The Pravda

Defends détente while promising continued support for allied Communist governments and liberation movements.

Reaffirms détente while declaring continued Soviet support for Communist and national liberation movements.

Opens the Twenty-Fifth Communist Party Congress and addresses thousands of Soviet and foreign delegates.

Emerges from the Twenty-Fifth Party Congress with his leadership position firmly reaffirmed.

Receives the military rank Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Receives a second Hero of the Soviet Union title during his seventieth-birthday celebrations.

Chairs the commission responsible for preparing the new Soviet constitution.

Appointed Head of the Secretariat of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet

A new Soviet constitution is adopted during Brezhnev's leadership, describing the USSR as a developed socialist society.

Expands Soviet political and military backing for Ethiopia during the conflict with Somalia.

Combines the Communist Party leadership with the formal Soviet head-of-state position.

Resigns as the Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet

Becomes Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet while remaining Communist Party leader.

Promulgates the new constitution presenting the Soviet Union as a developed socialist society.

Is elected to the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union while leading the Sverdlovsk region.

Soviet Jewish emigration rises sharply during the later Brezhnev period.

Appointed Official in charge of agricultural production, under Andropov

Receives the Soviet Order of Victory, an award normally associated with senior Second World War commanders.

Hosts the signing of the Soviet-Vietnamese Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation and emphasizes its strategic importance.

Receives his third Hero of the Soviet Union title.

Joins the Politburo decision approving Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.

Appointed Member of Politburo, Candidate Member

Develops an inflationary cosmological model based on quantum corrections to gravity.

Appointed Member of Politburo

Formally opens the Moscow Summer Olympic Games amid a major Western boycott.

Discusses Middle Eastern security and Soviet-Syrian cooperation with Hafez al-Assad.

Signs a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad.

Coordinates Soviet-bloc pressure on Poland as the Solidarity movement challenges Communist Party authority.

Appointed Member of Central Committee

Appointed Member of Central Committee

Is elected to the Communist Party Central Committee at the Twenty-Sixth Party Congress.

Appointed Peoples Deputy

Linde develops new inflation models that address weaknesses in the first inflation proposal

Linde develops new inflation as a relativistic early universe model

Addresses the Twenty-Sixth Communist Party Congress before joining the party's Central Committee.

Uses the Twenty-Sixth Party Congress to call for another round of arms-control negotiations.

Opens his final Communist Party Congress with a lengthy report on domestic and international policy.

The Communist Party leadership is reconfirmed after the Twenty-Sixth Congress.

Receives a fourth Hero of the Soviet Union title late in his political career.

Supports the Polish Communist government's suppression of Solidarity after martial law is imposed.

Appointed Deputy Minister of the gas industry

Starobinsky develops an inflationary model from corrections to general relativity

Appointed Member of Presidium of the Central Committee

Makes one of his final public appearances during the Revolution Day ceremonies shortly before his death.

Death of Leonid Brezhnev

Dies near Moscow at age seventy-five after eighteen years as Soviet Communist Party leader.

Appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party

Receives a state funeral in Moscow attended by Soviet officials and foreign leaders.

Linde proposes chaotic inflation, expanding the theoretical possibilities for the early Big Bang

Appointed Inspector at the Party Central Committee Secretariat in Moscow

1983-1984, studies at the KGB High School in Moscow

The US announces readiness to negotiate long term grain sales to Russia

The Russians shoot down a South Korean civilian airliner

Appointed Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, Head of State

Russia breaks off talks with the US on medium range missiles

Russia to increase sub missiles in response to US missiles in Europe

Putin is appointed a Major

Makes a positive impression on Thatcher, "A man I can do business with"

Continues service in the USSR Supreme Soviet while remaining Sverdlovsk regional party leader.

Appointed Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, Head of State

Death of Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov, aged 69

Appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party

Margaret Thatcher meets Konstantin Chernenko. Calls for peaceful coexistence with the US

Passes papers to US diplomats which request his wife be given asylum in the US embassy

Chernenko & Mitterand clash publicly over human rights

Chernenko & Mitterand clash publicly over human rights

Makes a conference speech supporting reform & introducing "perestroika" & "glasnost"

Visits Margaret Thatcher at her invitation as an up & coming leader

Appointed Chairman of the Commission on Legislative Proposals for the USSR Soviet

Reduces vodka production by 60% & increases its price by 200% by 6 months in office

Becomes First Secretary of the Moscow City Communist Party Committee in December.

Russia announces that Chernenko is ill

Death of Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko, dies of emphysema age 73

The Politburo vote to appoint Gorbachev as Chernenkos successor. Appointed President of Russia. Appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party

1st at the politburo meeting to propose Gorbachev as a replacement for Chernenko

The Communist Party plenum ratify Gorbachevs succession

Burial of Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko, 3rd Russian leader buried in 2 1/2 yrs

Leads the funeral procession

Moves from Sverdlovsk to Moscow to head the Communist Party Central Committee construction department.

Appointed Member of Politburo

Appointed Member of Politburo

Appointed Member of Politburo

Becomes a Central Committee secretary responsible for construction policy.

Appointed Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, Head of State

Appointed Chairman of the Supreme Soviet

Takes control of the Moscow City Communist Party Committee and begins a highly visible campaign against bureaucratic privilege.

Creates a Parliament called the Congress of Peoples Deputies

Attempts to prevent private enterprise on the black market

Appointed Member of Politburo

Appointed Member of Politburo

Appointed Member of Politburo

Makes unannounced visits to shops, transport facilities and public services as part of his campaign against poor administration.

Legislation is passed allowing free enterprise. Attempts to prevent private enterprise on the black market. A law against unearned income is passed

Uses the Twenty-Seventh Party Congress to criticize administrative inertia and call for faster reform.

Becomes a candidate, non-voting member of the CPSU Politburo.

Appointed Candidate Member of Central Committee

Legislation is passed allowing free enterprise

The Comecon agrees to discuss co-operation with the European Community

Appointed First Secretary of Kemerovo

Russian forces begin to withdraw from Afghanistan

Agrees with President Reagan that Russia & the US should reach a settlement on Angola

Creates co-operative businesses in catering, services & consumer goods manafacture. New law on "socialist enerprise"

Proposes elections for party officials, a practice which is soon adopted

Proposes elections for party officials, a practice which is soon adopted

Gorbachev & Sakharov meet publicly in Moscow at the International Peace Forum

About 140 political prisoners are released

27th Party Congress

Creates co-operative businesses in catering, services & consumer goods manafacture

Creates co-operative businesses in catering, services & consumer goods manafacture

Proposes a separate agreement on abolition of medium range nuclear missiles in Europe. Drops his insistence on the curtailment of the US SDI program

Pravda announces larger constituencies & more candidates than seats in local elections

Pravda announces larger constituencies & more candidates than seats in local elections

Pravda announces larger constituencies & more candidates than seats in local elections

Proposes cuts to the US by offering to remove short range missiles from Eastern Europe

Proposes removing Russias short range missiles from Eastern Europe

Legislation allowing free enterprise comes into effect

Writes to Mikhail Gorbachev asking to be released from candidate membership of the Politburo and criticizing conservative resistance to reform.

Criticizes party conservatism and the emerging personality cult around Mikhail Gorbachev at a Central Committee plenum.

Holds a news conference & confirms Yeltsin had threatened to resign from the Politburo

Gorbachev dismisses Yeltsin as Moscow party chief

After his removal as Moscow party chief, becomes First Deputy Chairman of the USSR State Construction Committee.

In the 70th Anniversary speech says Stalins crimes were "enormous & unforgiveable"

Is removed as First Secretary of the Moscow City Communist Party Committee after criticizing the pace of reform.

A Treaty is signed ending all intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe

Appointed Chairman of the Commission on Party Construction & Cadres Policy

Appointed Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, Head of State

Appointed Deputy in the USSR Supreme Soviet Presidium, deputy head of state

Appointed Head of the International Department of the Central Committee

Appointed Member of Politburo, Candidate Member

Removes the Party from economic management

Is removed from candidate membership of the CPSU Politburo.

Announces Russias withdrawal from Afghanistan

The 4th meeting between Reagan & Gorbachev. INF Treaty ratification documents are exchanged between Russia & the USA

Appeals publicly for political rehabilitation at the Nineteenth Party Conference but receives little support from the party leadership.

Calls for multi-candidate elections for regional and local legislatures and party first secretaries and insisted on the separation of the Government apparatus from party bodies at the regional level, as well

Addresses a special Communist Party conference & outlines "a new image of socialism".

At the CPSUs Nineteenth Party Conference, the first held since 1941, Gorbachev and his supporters launched radical reforms meant to reduce party control of the Government apparatus.

Calls for multi-candidate elections for regional and local legislatures and party first secretaries and insisted on the separation of the Government apparatus from party bodies at the regional level, as well.

Addresses a special Communist Party conference & outlines "a new image of socialism"

At an unprecedented emergency Central Committee plenum called by Gorbachev in September 1988, three stalwart old-guard members left the Politburo or lost positions of power

Retires as President of the USSR

The Congress of Peoples Deputies will elect the Supreme Soviet

The Congress of Peoples Deputies will elect the Supreme Soviet

Appointed Chairman of the Gazprom, the State Gas Concern

Appointed Member of USSR Congress of Peoples Deputies

Appointed Member of USSR Congress of Peoples Deputies

The USSR Supreme Soviet is replaced by the USSR Congress of Peoples Deputies. In front of the Central Committtee says Russia must be restructured

The Head of the Presidium officially is recognized as the President of Russia

Appointed Member of Congress of Peoples Deputies

Appointed President of Russia, Head of the Presidium

Namibia proclaims its independence after Cuba withdraws

Namibia proclaims its independence after Cuba withdraws

Russian forces complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan

Appointed Member of USSR Supreme Soviet

The last Russian troops withdraw from Afghanistan. Russian withdrawal signifies a Mujahadin victory. 14,454 Russians had died in the conflict

The USSR Supreme Soviet is replaced by the USSR Congress of Peoples Deputies

Wins more than ninety percent of the vote in his Moscow district during elections to the Congress of People's Deputies.

Wins election as a USSR People's Deputy in Moscow with overwhelming support.

Appointed Member of Central Committee

Enters the USSR Supreme Soviet and uses the legislature as a platform for opposition politics.

Takes a seat in the USSR Supreme Soviet after a deputy yields a place to him.

Appointed Speaker of the Soviet of the Union

Becomes a co-chair of the Interregional Deputies Group, the first organized parliamentary opposition in the late Soviet period.

Becomes a leading figure in the opposition Interregional Deputies Group in the Congress of People's Deputies.