-
Period: to
The life of the Soviet Union
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Civil War
Bolsheviks (reds) vs. Anti-Bolsheviks (whites) Lenin leads the reds -
Collectivization of the USSR
Russia + Ukraine + Belarus + Transcaucasus (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan) = The Soviet Union -
Stalin Leads
Stalin siezes power after Lenin dies -
5 Year Plan
Collectivize agriculture and sieze land/set goals for economy -
League of Nations
USSR is admitted into the League of Nations -
WW II
USSR signs non aggression pact with Germany, Germany invades Poland (triggers WW II). USSR later invades Poland. -
USSR & Japan
Sign non aggression pact. Later, Germany invades USSR -
Germany Fails
Germany unable to take Stalingrad and have to retreat. USSR launches offensive and takes Berlin -
War is Over
WW II comes to a close, and the USSR & US feel tensions with out a common enemy -
The First Flare Up
USSR puts up the Berlin blockade-US and Britian counter with a two year airlift of supplies into East Berlin -
Nukes
USSR explodes its first nuke -
2nd Flare Up
Korean War breaks out. US vs. Communism -
Death of Stalin
Stalin dies and Nikita Krushchev is put into power. He later denounces Stalin's actions. USSR explodes its first hydrogen bomb. -
Space Race
First-ever artificial earth satellite, Sputnik, orbits the earth-leads to a full on space race -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Missils planted in Cuba by the USSR. Tensions are high between the USSR and US. -
No more nukes :(
Soviet Union joins the US and Britain in signing a treaty banning atmospheric nuclear tests; US-Soviet "hot line" set up. -
Brezhnev comes into Power
Khrushchev is replaced as first secretary of the Communist Party by Leonid Brezhnev (later elected into presidential position) -
Detente
USSR and US sign Salt 1 to limit arms. Start of the "thaw" -
No more thaw
Soviet Union and US sign SALT-2 agreement; Soviet troops invade Afghanistan ending the thaw -
Death of Brezhnev
Brezhnev dies and is replaced by KGB chief Yuri Andropov, but two years later Andropov dies and replaced by Konstantin Chernenko, but he only lasts a year before dropping dead. Mikhail Gorbachev is in power -
Explosion
Chernobyl nuclear power station explodes, showering large areas in Ukraine, Belarus and beyond with radioactive material -
Decline!
Soviet troops leave Afghanistan, Lithuanian Communist Party declares its independence from the Soviet Communist Party -
Death of the Soviet Union
Communist Party votes to end one-party rule; Gorbachev opposes independence of Baltic states. Yeltsin elected president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic -
Crumbling
Yeltsin bans the Soviet Communist Party in Russia and seizes its assets; Yeltsin recognises the independence of the Baltic republics; Ukraine, followed by other republics, declares itself independent. -
The End.
September - Congress of People's Deputies votes for the dissolution of the Soviet Union. 1991 25 December - Gorbachev resigns as Soviet president; US recognises independence of remaining Soviet republics. 1991 26 December - Russian government takes over offices of USSR in Russia.
