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Jan 1, 1462
Ivan the Great (1st Czar)
Ivan the Great united the once divided Russia by freeing Russia from the Mongols. -
Russian Revolution
The Tsarist regime had collapsed due to the burden of WWII. Russian industry failed to arm, equip, and supply its military and famine was common in larger cities. Lenin and Leon Trotsky commanded the Military Revolutionary Comittee to storm the Winter Palace, completing the revolution. The rule of the Czars came to an end, and the Communists took over the goverment. The economy and major economical decisions were in the hands of the Communists. -
Creation of the USSR(Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
After the Russian Revolution and Civil War, the USSR emerged as a union of Soviet Republics. The USSR would later become a world superpower rivaling the United States, which led to the Cold War. The government and political organization of the country were defined by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which happened to be the only political party. The USSR was a model for all future communist states. -
Stalin comes into power
Joseph Stalin helped the rise of communist not only by governing the nation with an iron fist but also by harnessing all economic power to the state. Rapid industrialization and collective farming began. He also declared that all artists "must embrace the Socialist Realist philosophy and style". In other words, freedom of expression was oppressed. -
WWII Begins
During WWII the USA and USSR were allies against the axis of evil. In 1941 Germany invaded the Soviet Union, and the Red Army fought fiercely against the Nazis in the Battle of Moscow. The Battle of Stalingrad was a major turning point where Soviet forces fought through Eastern Europe to Berlin before Germany surrendered.
Even though they took some damage from the war, the Soviet Union emerged victorious and became an acknowledged superpower.
Tensions between the USA and USSR were building. -
Cold War Begins
During the Cold War many conflicts and tensions were created between the US and USSR. These tensions resulted in military coalitions, propaganda, espionage, weapons development, industrial advances, and competitive technological development, and the space race.
By the end of the Cold War the USSR was falling apart, which definitely led to the fall of communism. -
Berlin Airlift
In response to the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift was formed to supply the city over pre-arrnaged corridors. The effort was initially viewed with skepticism even in the countries mounting the attempt, as this sort of logistical effort had never been mounted before. The airlift to supply the German 6th Army at Stalingrad required 300 tons of supplies per day and rarely came even close to delivering this; the Berlin effort would require at least 5,000 tons a day, well over ten times as much. -
Sputnik
Sputnik 1 was the first man-made object to be launched into space. The US was in shock, and attempted desperately to compete with the USSR, which sparked the Space Race. This was definitely beneficial to the Soviet Union and Communism. -
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev
Brezhnev joined the party in 1931. In May 1960, he was promoted to the post of President of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. Brezhnev remained loyal to Khrushchev, the party leader, but later joined a conspiracy to remove him from power. After becoming party leader he wrote the Brezhnev Doctrine that enforced socialism. CNN Cold War- Profile: Leonid Brezhnev. Dec. 16, 2008http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/profiles/brezhnev/ -
U2 Affair
On May 1, 1960 an American U-2 Spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. The US denied the plane's purpose and mission, but were embarassingly forced to come clean when the Soviet Union produced the remains of the ship and the surviving pilot, Gary Powers. This further deteriorated the relationship between the two countries. -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier seperating West Berlin from the German Democratic Republic. The longer inner German border marked the border between East and West Germany. Both borders symbolized the Iron Curtain between Western and Eastern Europe. Many people were killed trying to flee East Berlin for West Berlin. On November 9, 1989 the GDR announced that their citizens could go visit West Berlin. The wall was gladly torn down.
