Nuclear Power
Agrees with the USA to resume negotiations to reduce nuclear weapons
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1985 in Russia
Explore 49 historical events and records for Russia in 1985.
Historical records for Russia in 1985
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 40 of 49 unique records.
49Unique records
1 of 2Page
24Named events on this page
14Named people on this page
7Places on this page
January
Nuclear Power
Sends a letter to the US saying Star Wars will escalate the arms race
February
Health of Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko
Russia announces that Chernenko is ill
March
Death of Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko
Death of Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko, dies of emphysema age 73
General
The Politburo vote to appoint Gorbachev as Chernenkos successor. Appointed President of Russia. Appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party
Politburo
1st at the politburo meeting to propose Gorbachev as a replacement for Chernenko
President of Russia
Appointed President of the Supreme Soviet
President of Russia
Supports the proposal for Gorbachev as a replacement for Chernenko
General
The Communist Party plenum ratify Gorbachevs succession
Burial
Burial of Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko, 3rd Russian leader buried in 2 1/2 yrs
Burial
Leads the funeral procession
April
Armament
Russia announces a unilateral freeze of medium-range nuclear missiles
Nuclear Power
Russia announces a unilateral freeze of medium-range nuclear missiles
Nuclear Power
Announces the suspension of the deployment of SS-20 missiles in Europe
Pravda
Pravda calls Regans visit to Bitburg Nazi cemetry an "act of blasphemy"
Visit to Bitburg
Pravda calls Regans visit to Bitburg Nazi cemetry an "act of blasphemy"
Politburo
Appointed Member of Politburo
Politburo
Appointed Member of Politburo
Politburo
Appointed Member of Politburo
Transfer to Central Committee Apparatus
Moves from Sverdlovsk to Moscow to head the Communist Party Central Committee construction department.
May
Siege of Kabul
Rebel groups are active in and around Kabul, unleashing rocket attacks and conducting operations against the communist Government
June
Recovery of Salyut 7
The achievement marks recovery of salyut 7 as an important Russian scientific milestone.
Salyut 7 Docking
Manually docks with the unresponsive Salyut 7 space station.
Vega 1 Venus Balloon
Vega 1 releases a balloon that drifts through Venus's cloud layer while measuring winds and atmospheric conditions.
Vega 2 Venus Balloon
Vega 2 deploys a second balloon into Venus's atmosphere, providing additional measurements of cloud-level circulation.
July
Chairman
Appointed Chairman of the Supreme Soviet
Foreign Secretary of Russia
Appointed Foreign Minister
President of Russia
Appointed President of Russia
Central Committee Construction Secretary
Becomes a Central Committee secretary responsible for construction policy.
Chairman
Appointed Chairman of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, Head of State
August
Soviet Nuclear Testing Moratorium
Announces a unilateral Soviet moratorium on nuclear testing.
September
Prime Minister of Russia
Appointed Prime Minister of Russia, Chairman of the Council of Minister
October
Death of Yul Brynner
Death of Yul Brynner
November
Conference of Geneva
1st meets President Reagan, later describes him as a "political dinosaur"
Conference of Geneva
Russia & the US agree "nuclear war cannot be won". Russia & the US agree not to "achieve military superiority". Meets President Reagan to speed up arms control & renew cultural relations
Nuclear Power
Meets Reagan to discuss arms control
Nuclear Power
Russia & the USA agree "nuclear war cannot be won". Russia & the USA agree not to "achieve military superiority". Meets Reagan to discuss arms control
Nuclear Power
Russia & the USA agree "nuclear war cannot be won"
December
Takes Charge of Moscow Party Committee
Takes control of the Moscow City Communist Party Committee and begins a highly visible campaign against bureaucratic privilege.
Other events (month unknown)
Chairman
Appointed Chairman of the Commission on Legislative Proposals for the USSR Soviet
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.