Soviet Union

  • Treaty of Brest Litovsk

    Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan proclaim their independence from Russia
  • Civil War

    Bolsheviks, or Reds, and anti-Bolsheviks, or Whites, ravages Russia.
  • war with Poland

  • War Communism

    Policy of "war communism" enunciated, with the state taking control of the whole economy
  • Germany Recognizes the Soviet Union

  • constitution

    Soviet Union adopts constitution based on the dictatorship of the proletariat and stipulating the public ownership of land, Lenin dies and is replaced by Stalin
  • United States Recognizes the Soviet Union

  • Soviet Union Admitted to League of Nations

  • Russian Finnish War

    Russian-Finnish war, which ends with Finland ceding territory to the USSR - the present Russian constituent republic of Karelia.
  • Germany Invades

    Germany invades the USSR and by the end of the year occupies Belarus and most of Ukraine, surrounds Leningrad (now called St Petersburg).
  • war on Japan

    Soviet Union declares war on Japan, eventually annexing the southern half of Sakhalin and the Kuril islands.
  • Allience

    Soviet Union and China sign 30-year alliance treaty.
  • death

    Congress of People's Deputies votes for the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
  • End

    Russian government takes over offices of USSR in Russia.