12 February 1961Venera 1 LaunchMstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh
The Soviet planetary programme launches Venera 1 toward Venus, beginning a long series of dedicated Venus missions.
Historical records for Russia in 1961, rendered directly from the World History Database and ordered by month, day and event.
The Soviet planetary programme launches Venera 1 toward Venus, beginning a long series of dedicated Venus missions.
Appointed First Secretary of the Komsomol Krai Committee
Appointed First Secretary of the Komsomol Krai Committee
1st man to orbit the Earth, Vostok -1
The achievement marks first human spaceflight as an important Russian scientific milestone.
1st man to orbit the Earth, Vostok -1
Pilots Vostok 1 during the first human journey into outer space.
Yuri Gagarin completes the first human orbital spaceflight, a major Soviet achievement under Khruschev.
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.
Soviet law expands capital punishment to specified major economic crimes.
Capital punishment is extended to include economic crime
Meets Kennedy & will settle with East Germany if the west signs a peace Treaty
Meets President John F. Kennedy in Vienna for tense discussions on Berlin, Laos and nuclear issues.
Renews pressure for a German peace settlement and threatens a separate treaty with East Germany.
Agrees with Kennedy on the goal of a neutral Laos governed by a coalition rather than direct superpower confrontation.
Russia & the USA agree to enforce a truce within their areas of influence. Kennedy & Khrushchev meet to avoid direct confrontation between USA & Russia
Announces the Defence budget will be increased by 30%
Announces a major increase in Soviet defense spending during the renewed Berlin confrontation.
Begins a visit to Britain where he is greeted by ectstatic crowds
The achievement marks first full day in orbit as an important Russian scientific milestone.
Pilots Vostok 2 on a flight lasting more than twenty-four hours.
The Soviet Union launches Gherman Titov on Vostok 2 for a day-long orbital mission.
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
Supports East German measures sealing the border between East and West Berlin.
The border between East & West is sealed off
The border between East & West is sealed off
Construction of the Berlin Wall begins
The fortified Berlin Wall begins taking shape after the initial closure of the sector boundary.
Construction of the Berlin Wall begins
Ends the Soviet nuclear testing moratorium and orders a new series of weapons tests.
Kerensky records his position on democratic programme in exile.
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.
The Soviet Union detonates the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear device ever tested.
The Soviet Union detonates Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear explosive ever tested.
Stalins body is removed from the Kremlin
Stalins body is removed from Lenins side in the Mausoleum on Red Square
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.
Congress votes to remove Stalins body from the mausoleum on Red Sqr
Stalingrad is renamed Volgograd as de-Stalinization reshapes Soviet public symbols.
The United Nations General Assembly adopts the McCloy-Zorin Accords
The United Nations endorses agreed United States-Soviet principles for future general and complete disarmament negotiations.
The United Nations General Assembly adopts the McCloy-Zorin Accords
A Comecon council session approved the Basic Principles of the International Socialist Division of Labour, which talked of closer coordination of plans and of "concentrating production of similar products in one or several socialist countries"
Comecon adopts principles for closer coordination and specialization among member economies.
A Comecon council session approved the Basic Principles of the International Socialist Division of Labour, which talked of closer coordination of plans and of "concentrating production of similar products in one or several socialist countries"
A Comecon council session approved the Basic Principles of the International Socialist Division of Labour, which talked of closer coordination of plans and of "concentrating production of similar products in one or several socialist countries"
1st manned space flight
Systematically investigates and reproduces the oscillating reaction discovered by Belousov.
The continuing flight from East Germany through Berlin intensifies pressure for a Soviet-backed border closure.
Overall operations for the construction of the Berlin Wall are directed by Marshal Ivan Konev, commander in chief of the GSFG
Appointed Member of Central Committee of the Communist Party
Appointed Commander in Chief of the USSR civil defence forces
Heads the newly formed Party-state control commission
Overall operations for the construction of the Berlin Wall are directed by Marshal Ivan Konev, commander in chief of the GSFG. East German President Walter Ulbricht persuaded the Soviets that an immediate solution was necessary & that the only way to stop the exodus was to use force
Refugees from east Berlin to west Berlin creates a shortage of labour & skills
Overall operations for the construction of the Berlin Wall are directed by Marshal Ivan Konev, commander in chief of the GSFG
Announces he intends to support "wars of national liberation"
Appointed Deputy Prime Minister
Albania is expelled from the Comecon
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
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