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A timeline of Russiac800: the Varingian Rus (Vikings?) reach the lands around Kiev from the north c862: the Rus viking Ulrich founds Novgorod 860: a Rus fleet attacks Byzantium 863: Cyril and Methodius from Byzantium write the Slavic bible c879: the Rus Viking Rurik founds Kiev c882: Oleg of Russia captures Kiev from the Khazars c900: Oleg unifies the Baltic city of Novgorod with the duchy of Kiev 911: the Rus and the eastern Roman empire sign a treaty 911: the Rus raid Caspian communities by ship 913: Rurik's son Igor becomes the ruler of Kiev-Novgorod 921: Rurik's son Igor moves the capital of the duchy from Novgorod to Kiev 941: Igor attacks Byzantium but is defeated 945: Igor is assassinated and is succeeded by his widow Olga 945: Igor is assassinated and is succeeded by his widow Olga 962: Olga is succeeded by her son Svyatoslav becomes ruler of Kiev 964: Svyatoslav launches a military campaign against the Eastern tribes, conquering the Volga Bulgars 968: Khazars are defeated at Sarkel by Svyatoslav of Kiev and the Khazar empire is destroyed, leaving Kiev with the entire Volga-Caspian trade route 969: Svyatoslav puts his son Vladimir in charge of Novgorod 971: Svyatoslav of Kiev signs a treaty with Byzantium surrendering the Balkans and Crimea 972: Svyatoslav dies and his sons start a civil war 980: Vladimir of Novgorod conquers Kiev and creates a unified Rus with capital in Kiev, and launches a campaign to conquer the Baltic people 988: Vladimir, now the Rus ruler of Kiev-Novgorod, a kingdom that extends from Ukraine to the Baltic Sea (the largest European state), marries the sister-in-law of the Byzantine emperor Basil II, converts his people to Christianity (the Greek-Orthodox brand of Christianity) and builds the first church (Church Of the Holy Virgin), while the Patriarch of Byzantium appoints a primate of Russia who is a Greek 996: the Church of the Assumption ("Church of the Tithes") is completed 1015: Vladimir dies and a new civil war erupts 1018: There are already almost 400 churches in Kiev 1019: Yaroslav I prevails in the civil war and becomes the new ruler of Kiev 1024: Suzdal is founded 1026: Yaroslav divides the kingdom with his brother Mstislav (who obtains the territory east of the Dniepr with capital in Chernigov) 1030: Yaroslav, the Rus ruler of Kiev-Novgorod, builds Hagia Sofia (St Sophia) in Kiev 1035: the city of Cernigov builds the Church of the Transfiguration 1036: Mstislav dies and Yaroslav becomes the sole ruler of Kiev and Chernigov 1037: Yaroslav defeats the steppe people Pechenegs 1045: Yaroslav of Kiev issues the "Russkaia pravda" to regulate the princes of the confederation of Kiev 1047: St Sophia is completed in Kiev 1050: the ascetics Anthony and Theodosius found the Monastery of the Caves (Pecherska Lavra) in Kiev 1050: Hilarion is the first native Rus to head the church of Kiev ("metropolitan") 1054: Yaroslav dies after marrying his sister to the Polish king, three of his sons to European princesses and three of his daughters to European kings, and after splitting the kingdom among his sons: to Iziaslav the capital Kiev and Novgorod, to Svjatoslav the city-state of Chernigov, to Viacheslav the city-state of Smolensk, to Igor Vladimir-in-Volynia, and to Vsevolod the Pereiaslavl, Rostov-Suzdal and the Volga River region 1061: The Cumans attack Kievan territory 1093: Svyatopolk succeeds Vsevolod as ruler or Kiev but Vsevolod's son Vladimir Monomakh initiates a campaign to unite Kiev and northeastern Rus 1108: the city of Vladimir is founded by Monomakh 1111: Vladimir Monomakh defeats the Cumans at Salnitsa 1113: Monomakh is proclaimed prince of Kiev 1125: Monomach dies and is succeeded by his son Mstislav in Kiev 1132: Mtislav dies and Monomakh's sixth son Yury Dolgoruky, lord of the Kievian province of Suzdal, tries to seize power in Kiev but the state disintegrates in a loose federation of city-states 1147: the Russian city of Moscow is founded 1154: Yury Dolgoruky is accepted as grand prince of Kiev 1156: Yury Dolgoruky builds the first (wooden) kremlin in Moscow 1157: Yury Dolgoruky dies and his eldest son becomes the grand prince of Kiev 1169: Another of Yury's sons, Andrei Gleb Yuriyevich of Rostov-Suzdal, wins the civil war and becomes grand prince of Kiev, but then moves the capital to Vladimir 1174: Yury Dolgoruky's tenth son Vsevolod III becomes the grand prince of Kiev 1176: Yury Dolgoruky's tenth son Vsevolod III becomes the grand prince of Kiev 1185: Igor Svyatoslavich, prince of Novgorod-Seversk, is defeated by the Cumans 1197: Roman unifies Galicia and Volynia 1200: Vsevolod III proclaims himself grand prince of Kiev and grand prince of Vladimir-Suzdal 1212: Vsevolod III dies 1215: Yury II founds the eastern-most of the Russian princedoms, Nizhny-Novgorod, on the Volga and Oka rivers 1221: Roman's son Danylo becomes prince of Galicia 1222: Yaroslav II becomes prince of Novgorod 1223: a first Mongol horde defeats a coalition of Russian princes on the Kalka river 1236: Yaroslav II moves from Novgorod to Kiev, leaving his son Alexander in charge in Novgorod 1237: the Mongols invade Russia 1238: Yaroslav II becomes prince of Vladimir 1240: Novgorod prince Alexander "Nevsky" defeats the Swedes on the Neva river 1240: Mongol leader Batu raids Kiev, destroying the Church of the Assumption, the Rurikid princes becomes subjects of the Mongols, and Moscow becomes the new center of Russian culture 1243: Yaroslav II of Vladimir accepts to become a vassal of the Mongols 1246: Yaroslav II of Vladimir dies and the Mongols split his duchy between his children Alexander Nevsky (Kiev) and Andrej (Vladimir, Suzdal) 1248: Andrej rebels and the Mongols, after defeating him, install Alexander "Nevsky" as prince of Vladimir 1253: Danylo Halitski of Galicia is crowned king by the Pope 1256: Danylo Halitski of Galicia founds Lviv 1264: Danylo Halitski of Galicia dies and is succeeded by his son Lev 1283: Daniil, youngest son of Alexander Nevsky, becomes the first prince of Moscow 1301: Lev of Galicia dies 1303: Daniil of Moscow dies and is succeeded by his son Yuriy 1303: under the leadership of Iurii Danilovic, the princes of Moscow refuse to recognize the Rurikid heir and convince the Mongols to accept the Danilovic dynasty 1303: Youstol Dispage Fromscaruffi dies 1304: Michail of Tver becomes grand prince 1310: the city of Novgorod builds the fortress Karela in Finland to protect from Swedish invasions 1319: The grand prince Michail is killed by the Mongols, while Yuriy of Moscow marries a sister of the Mongol khan and is appointed grand prince, the first prince of Moscow to become grand prince 1325: Ivan I becomes ruler of Moscow-Vladimir 1326: prince Ivan Danilovic builds five stone churches inside Moscow's kremlin 1328: the Metropolitan moves the capital of the Russian church from Vladimir to Moscow, beginning the shift of power towards Moscow 1328: the prince of Moscow, Ivan I, is appointed grand prince by the Mongols 1341: Ivan I of Moscow dies and is succeeded by his son Simeon 1350: Sergius of Radonezh founds the Monastery of the Holy Trinity (at Sergiev Posad), the new center of Russian christianity 1353: Simeon of Moscow dies and is succeeded by Ivan II 1359: Ivan II of Moscow dies and is succeeded by the nine-year old Dmitrii 1368: Lithuania tries to invade Moscow 1372: Lithuania tries again to invade Moscow 1380: Dmitrii Danilovic of Moscow, leading a coalition of Russian cities (except Tver and Novgorod), defeats the Mongols at Kulikovo 1386: Galicia is conquered by Poland 1389: Cyprian becomes metropolitan of Lithuania and Kiev 1389: Dmitrii of Moscow dies and is succeeded by his ten-year old son Basil I 1425: Basil I of Moscow dies and is succeeded by his son Basil II 1430: part of the Golden Horde splits off to form the Khanate of the Crimea under Hajji Giray Khan 1439: the Orthodox Church of Russia refuses a fusion with Roman catholicism 1443: The Orthodox Church of Russia declares its independence from Byzantium 1444: the Cossacks are first mentioned in a chronicle 1445: part of the Golden Horde splits off to form the Khanate of Kazan 1452: Basil II grants a Mongol the principate of Kasimov, the first time that a Mongol accepts to be a subject of a Russian prince 1453: when the Ottoman Turks conquer Byzantium, Orthodox Church of Russia splits from Byzantium 1461: the Orthodox Church of Russia changes the title of the metropolitan of Kiev to "patriarch of Moscow and all Russia" 1462: Basil II dies and Ivan III becomes ruler of Moscow and re-organizes Moscow as an absolutist state 1466: part of the Golden Horde splits off to form the Khanate of Astrakhan 1471: Ivan III of Moscow annexes Novgorod 1472: Ivan III of Moscow marries Sophia Paleologa, niece of the last emperor of Byzantium 1475: The mestnichestvo is instituted in Moscow (only nobles can aspire to top political and military positions) to reinforce Russia's claim to being Byzantium's heir ("the third Rome") 1478: Ivan III of Moscow annexes Novgorod 1480: Ivan III of Moscow assumes the title of Tsar of Russia 1485: Ivan III of Moscow annexes Tver 1485: Construction of the new Kremlin begins in Moscow 1493: Ivan III of Moscow declares himself heir to the Kievan state 1498: The grand prince of Moscow, Ivan III, is crowned as "czar" (successor to the Byzantine emperor) of Moscow 1500: Ivan III of Moscow defeats Lithuania at the battle of Vedrosha, and the princes of Novgorod, Chernigov and Starodub secede from Lithuania and join Muscovy 1505: Ivan III dies and is succeeded by Basil III 1514: Moscow captures Smolensk 1532: Basil III conquers the Tatar kingdom of Kazan 1533: Basil III dies and is succeeded by his three-year old son Ivan IV, with queen a Russian of Lithuanian origin, as regent 1538: Queen Helen is poisoned 1547: The 16-year old Ivan IV is crowned as czar and marries Anastasia Romanov 1550: Ivan IV enacts a new code of law and reforms the army to emphasize artillery 1555: Ivan IV signs a commercial treaty with England 1556: Ivan IV the Terrible conquers the Mongol khanate of Astrakhan, i.e. Russia reaches the Caspian Sea 1558: Ivan IV attacks the Livonian Order 1558: Ivan IV the Terrible grants the Stroganovs territory west of the Urals and the Stroganovs hire Cossacks to subdue the Tatars 1561: Poland-Lithuania and Muscovy destroy the Livonian Order 1563: Muscovy seizes the old territory of the Livonian Order from Poland-Lithuania 1565: Ivan IV begins a reign of terror 1571: the Tartar khanate of Crimea raids Moscow 1579: The Stroganovs organize an expedition against the khanate of Siberia 1580: Ivan IV's son Fodor marries Boris Godunov's sister Irina 1581: Ivan IV kills his own son and heir 1582: Russia cedes Baltic land to Poland 1582: The Stroganov army conquers the capital of the khanate of Siberia 1583: Russia cedes Baltic land to Sweden 1581: Cossacks begin colonizing Siberia 1584: Ivan the Terrible dies and is succeeded by his son Fodor, who appoints Boris Godunov (an ethnic Mongol) as his adviser 1586: Georgia requests annexation to Muscovy 1588: Boris Godunov is the de-facto ruler of Russia 1589: The patriarchate of Moscow is created 1591: The Tatars sack Moscow 1591: Fodor's brother and only male heir Dmitrii is assassinated in Uglich 1595: Muscovy regains from Sweden the territories ceded in 1583 1598: Fodor, the last Rurikid, dies without an heir and a council elects Boris Godunov as czar 1598: the king of the Tatars is finally defeated by the Cossacks 1601: A famine kills more than one million people in Russia 1605: Helped by Polish volunteers, a pretender who claims to be the assassinated Dmitrii kills Boris Godunov and seizes power 1606: Czar Dmitrii marries the Polish aristocrat Marina Mniszech, but is killed by prince Basil Shuisky who becomes czar Basic IV 1606: A rebellious army of serfs, peasants and slaves from the South led by prince Shakhovskoy reaches the gate of Moscow 1607: The Muscovite army defeats Shakhovskoy's rebels 1608: Another false Dmitrii organizes a rebellion with headquarters in Tushino 1610: Sweden helps Russia defeat the Tushino rebels but Tushino asks Polish king Sigismund III's son Wladislaw/Ladislaus to become their new czar, Poland invades Russia to counter Sweden's intervention, Basil is forced by the people of Moscow to resign and Moscow lets the Polish troops in 1611: Patriarch Hermogen inspires Procopius Liapunov, prince Dmitrii Trubetskoy and Ivan Zarutsky's cossacks to take up arms against the Polish occupier, but Liapunov is killed by cossacks, while Poland captures Smolensk and Sweden captures Novgorod 1612: Moscow is liberated from Polish occupation by an army of Russian patriots and inspired by the patriarch 1613: a council of clergy, nobles, landowners and peasants elects the 16-year old Mikhail Romanov as czar and inaugurates the Romanov dynasty, but most Russian cities have been devastated by the civil war and by the invasions of Poland and Sweden 1614: Zarutsky and Marina Mniszech are captured by the Russians 1617: The peace treaty of Stolbovo Russia loses Karelia to Sweden but regains Novgorod 1619: Michail Romanov's father Philaret is made patriach 1619: The first Russian envoy reaches the court of China 1624: Peasant rebellions led by Cossacks in Ukraine against Polish rule 1627: Russia builds a fort at Krasnoiarsk 1632: Russia builds a fort at Iakurst 1633: The patriarch Philaret dies and czar Michail Romanov becomes the sole ruler of Russia 1639: the Cossacks reach the Pacific Ocean 1643: Russians discover Lake Bajkal 1645: The czar Michail dies and his son Alexis succeeds him 1648: The people of Moscow revolts when a tax on salt is introduced 1648: the Russian explorer Semyon Dezhnev discovers that a straight separates Asia from America 1648: Ukraine rises up against Polish occupation 1648: Jews are mascred in Ukraine 1649: A council compiles a new code of law, the "Ulozhenie", that de facto legalizes serfdom 1651: Russia's eastward expansion reaches Lake Bajkal 1652: Nikon of Novgorod becomes patriarch and assers that the Church is superior to the state 1652: The czar creates a German ghetto in Moscow to house the foreign businessmen 1653: The patriarch Nikon enacts religious reforms that cause a religious civil war ("raskol") 1654: An assembly of Ukrainian nobles and landowners declares the secession of Ukraine from Poland-Lithuania and demands integration into Russia, Russia declares war on Poland and captures Minsk and Vilna 1655: Sweden invades Poland-Lithuania ("First Northern War"), causing the death of millions, while Russia, Denmark, and the Empireside with Poland-Lithuania 1656: Russians found the trading post of Nerchinsk at the border with China 1662: People revolt because of inflation ("copper coin revolt") 1664: A Western-style postal service is inaugurated 1667: The peace treaty of Andrusovo limits Poland to western Ukraine while Russia obtains eastern Ukraine (including Kiev) and regains Smolensk, with the Dniepr as the natural border between Russia and Poland 1667: A peasants revolt is led by the cossack Stephan Razin 1667: Patriarch Nikon is deposed by a council of the Church, that on the other hand upholds his reforms, the beginning of a decade of religious strife and persecution 1671: Stephan Razin is hanged in Moscow 1671: Alexis marries Nathalie Naryshkima 1672: Opponents of the Church's reforms burn themselves (more than 20,000 will do so in the next 20 years) 1672: The czar establishes a Western-style court theater 1676: The czar Alexis dies and is succeeded by his eldest son Fyodor III/Theodor III TM, ®, Copyright © 2010 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 1682: The mestnichestvo is abolished 1682: The czar Fyodor dies without an heir and a coup led by his sister Sophia installs her brother Ivan as czar instead of the ten-year old half-brother Pyotr/Peter, son of Natalya Naryshkina 1686: Russia and Poland sign a treaty of "eternal peace" 1687: A Russian invasion is defeated by the Crimean Tatars 1689: A second Russian invasion is defeated by the Crimean Tatars, a defeat that causes Sophia's downfall and the election of Pyotr/Peter "the Great" to czar, with his mother Natalya/Nathalie as regent 1689: China signs a border treaty with Russia (first bilateral agreement with a European power), the treaty of Nerchinsk, to settle the border between Russian Siberia and Chinese Manchuria, declaring Outer Mongolia a neutral land (partition of the steppe world between Russia and China) 1694: Pyotr's mother Nathalie Naryshkima dies, leaving Pyotr as the real ruler of Russia 1695: Russia attacks Turkey 1697: Pyotr visits Western Europe 1699: Denmark, Poland and Russia attack Sweden, but Charles XII's army invades Poland, Saxony and Ukraine 1699: Aleksandr Menshikov, a former Preobrazhensky guard, becomes Pyotr's favorite advisor 1700: Russia and Turkey sign a peace treaty, granting Azov to Russia, and Russia allies with Poland against Sweden 1700: The patriarch Hadrian dies and Pyotr keeps the seat vacant for twenty years 1700: Russia adopts the Julian calendar 1701: The School of Mathematics and Navigation is inaugurated 1702: The first Russian newspaper is published, "Vedomosti/ News", edited by the czar in person 1703: Pyotr founds St Petersburg 1703: The first Russian newspaper is published, "Moskovskie-novosti/ News from Moscow" 1705: A revolt breaks out in Astrakhan 1706: Poland surrenders to Sweden, leaving Russia to fight alone 1707: Sweden, having defeated Poland, invades Russia 1707: Conrad Bulavin leads a rebellion of the Don cossacks 1707: The School of Medicine opens in Moscow 1709: Sweden is defeated by Russia at the battle of Poltava 1709: A canal is built to connect the Neva and the Volga 1710: Turkey declares war on Russia, while Russia captures Estonia from Sweden 1710: Pyotr introduces a simplified alphabet 1712: Pyotr moves the capital to St Petersburg 1712: Pyotr marries his lover Ekaterina, a Lithuanian woman of low origins 1714: Russian conquers most of Finland from Sweden 1717: Poland becomes a Russian protectorate 1717: A Russia expedition is massacred in Khiva, Central Asia 1718: Russia defeats the Khazak horde 1721: at the peace of Nystad, Russia obtains from Sweden some of its Baltic territories (Estonia and Livonia) but returns most of Finland 1721: the Patriarchate is abolished, hermitages are banned and the Russian Church is subjected to the czar 1722: Pyotr defeats Persia 1722: Russia's population is 13 million 1724: The Russian Academy of Sciences is founded 1724: Pyotr has his second wife Ekaterina crowned empress 1725: Pyotr the Great dies and is succeeded by his second wife Ekaterina I who prevails over Pyotr's grandson Pyotr, Pyotr's daughters Anna and Elizaveta and Ivan V's daughters Anna and Ekaterina thanks to support from the Preobrazhensky guards 1725: Russia has 13 million people 1726: Ekaterina creates a Supreme Secret Council headed by Aleksandr Menshikov, who appoints himself "generalissimus" 1726: Russia and Austria sign a treaty of alliance 1727: Russia and China sign the treaty of Kyakhta, defining their border and granting Russia a trading post in Kyakhta 1727: Ekaterina I dies and the Supreme Secret Council chooses Pyotr's 12-year old grandson Pyotr II to succeed her with the council itself as regent and Pyotr II has Menshikov exiled 1728: the Russian explorer Vitus Bering sails beyond Kamchatka 1730: Pyotr II dies of smallpox at 15 and the Supreme Secret Council chooses Ivan V's daughter Anna to succeed him, a childless noble from Latvia, but Anna immediately disbands the council, exiles its members and appoints Germans to the top positions, starting with her lover Ernst von Biron who launches a terror campaign ("Bironovshchina") 1731: A new law grants landlords the financial control of their serfs 1732: Pyotr I's daughter Elizaveta falls in love with Alexey Razumovsky, a former cossack shepherd from the Ukraine and now a court singer 1732: Anna moves the court to the Winter Palace 1732: Alaska is discovered 1733: Russia and Austria fight against France in the War of the Polish Secession 1735: Russia and Austria defeat France in the War of the Polish Secession 1736: Russia and Austria fight against the Ottoman Empire and France 1739: Russia and Austria defeat the Ottoman Empire and France 1740: Anna dies and is succeeded by the infant Ivan VI while the power is de facto in the hands of the "German party" 1741: the Russian explorer Vitus Bering reaches Alaska 1741: Pyotr I's daughter Elizaveta stages a coup that removes the German party from power, exiles Ivan VI and installs her as czarina, with her lover Alexey Razumovsky as main advisor 1741: Russia, supported by Austria, fights against Sweden, supported by France 1742: An expedition of 570 scientists sets out to map the northern shore of Siberia 1742: Russia orders the deportation of all Jews 1743: Russia defeats Sweden and conquers additional Finnish territory 1745: Anna's son Pyotr marries the princess Sophia von Anhalt-Zerbst, the daughter of a Prussian general, who converts to Eastern Orthodoxy and adopts the name Ekaterina 1753: Elizaveta commissions a new grandiose Winter Palace in St Petersburg 1755: The scientist Mikhail Lomonosov with help from Elizaveta's new favorite Ivan Shuvalov, founds the Moscow State University, the first Russian university 1755: The first Russian grammar is published by Lomonosov 1756: Friederich II of Prussia invades Saxony, starting the Seven Years' War, pitting France, Austria, Russia, Saxony, Sweden and Spain against Prussia and Britain 1762: Elizaveta dies and the new czar Pyotr III, a son of the "German" czarina Anna raised by Germans, switches alliance, joining (and saving) Prussia Jun 1762: Ekaterina II stages a coup against her husband Pyotr III and becomes czarina 1762: Nobility is freed from the obligation to serve the czar and many noblemen are awarded country estates with thousands of serfs 1762: Russia has 19 million people 1763: Ekaterina enacts reforms that spread serfdom to the Ukraine 1764: Ivan VI is killed by the guards when conspirators tried to free him from prison 1764: Ekaterina expropriates the last lands owned by the Church 1767: Ekaterina enacts reforms inspired by the French Enlightenment but retains serfdom 1768: Jews are massacred during riots in Russia-occupied Poland 1768: Russia invades Ottoman territories in Bessarabia, the Balkans and the Crimean peninsula 1770: The Russian navy defeats the Ottoman navy at the Bay of Chesme, the first major naval victory by Russia 1772: a renegade cossack, Pugachev, leads a revolt 1772: The Jews of Poland are allowed to remain in what is now Russian territory 1772: a Polish rebellion is crushed by Russia that partitions one fourth of Poland with Prussia and Austria, obtaining White Russia and Latvia 1773: Emelian Pugachev, who proclaims himself emperor Pyotr III, leads a cossack rebellion along the Ural river that becomes a mass rebellion by serfs, miners and workers, promising the extermination of nobles and landlords 1774: Pugachev is defeated and executed 1774: The Russians defeat the Ottomans and obtain cities of the Black Sea and Caucasus, the first time that the Ottoman Empire loses Muslim subjects to a Christian power 1774: Grigori Potemkin's becomes Ekaterina's new lover and chief advisor 1775: Ekaterina enacts reforms to decentralize power to the provinces 1776: The Bolshoi Ballet is founded 1776: Ekaterina becomes famous for her yearly changes of favorite, but Potemkin remains the most powerful man in Russia 1779: Russia annexes the Crimea 1783: Ekaterina grants the right for everybody to open a publishing house, causing a boom in book publishing 1787: The Ottomans declare war on Russia, with Sweden supporting the Ottomans and Austria supporting Russia 1789: Nikolai Sheremetev owns one million serfs 1790: Russia's population is 36 million 1791: Jews are permitted to settle in some regions of Russia 1792: Russia defeats the Ottomans and obtains Southern Ukraine with the Dniester as the new border 1793: Ekaterina of Russia invades Poland, abrogates the constitution and partitions half of Poland between Russia and Prussia , obtaining western Ukraine and most of Lithuania 1794: Russia and Prussia invade Poland again to quell a national uprising 1794: Russia builds the port of Odessa in the southern Ukraine conquered from the Ottomans 1795: A third partition divides the whole of Poland between Russia (that takes all of Lithuania and Ukraine) and Prussia (that takes Warszaw), thereby removing Poland from the map 1796: Ekaterina the Great dies and is succeeded by her son Pavel 1796: Russia has 36 million people, 96% living in the countryside and 53% being serfs 1797: Pavel I enacts a succession law that automatically proclams as czar the oldest surviving male of a deceased czar 1798: Russia sends troops under general Suvorov to fight France in Italy, and Pavel is proclaimed Grand Master by the Knights of Malta after France invades Malta 1799: The Russian-American company is chartered 1800: Russian troops retreat from Italy to southern Germany 1801: Eastern Georgia asks to be annexed to Russia 1802: Pavel is assassinated by nobles just when he had ordered a cossack invasion of India and Alexander I becomes czar 1803: Moldavia and Wallachia princes loyal to Russia 1804: Persia declares war on Russia following Russia's annexaction of Georgia 1806: Russia and Britain declare war on the Ottomans 1808: Russia establishes the colony of Noviiy Rossiya in California 1809: Russia invades Sweden and Sweden cedes Finland to Russia 1810: Russia defeats the Ottomans and acquires Bessarabia 1812: the Russians defeat the Ottomans and annex Bessarabia (Moldovia) at the Peace of Bucharest 1812: Napoleon invades Russia and Russians burn Moscow 1813: Iran loses the war against Russia and recognizes Russian rule over Georgia and Azerbajan in the Caucasus (Treaty of Gulistan) 1814: Napoleon is defeated 1815: The population of Russia is 45 million 1820: Alexander's brother Constantine marries a Polish woman and renounces any right to the Russian throne 1821: Thaddeus Belingshausen discovers the Antarctic continent 1822: the ban on hermitages is repealed and a hermitage is built at Optina Pustyn 1822: Czar Alexander outlaws Masonry and all secret societies 1824: A treaty with the USA grants Oregon to the USA 1825: A treaty with Britain defines the borders of Russian Alaska Dec 1825: Alexander I 1825 dies and is succeeded by Nicholas I against the supporters of Constantine, while the "Decembrist" revolt by aristocratic army officers who wants constitutionalism and abolish serfdom fails Jun 1826: Russia fights a second war against Persia over Georgia 1826: Five decembrists are executed Oct 1827: Britain, France and Russia defeat Egypt at the battle of Navarino Feb 1828: Persia loses the Caucasus, and Russia annexes Armenia and Azerbaijan Apr 1828: Russia attacks the Ottomans 1829: Russia defeats the Ottomans, gains control of Moldavia and Wallachia, and helps Serbia and Greece become independent Nov 1830: Polish patriots rebel against Russian occupation 1831: The "Slavophiles" preach the superiority and historical mission of the Russian Orthodox church 1831: Cholera epidemics 1832: Russia declares Poland a region of the Russian empire governed by the czar's viceroy 1833: Russia, Austria and Prussia sign treaties of alliance 1834: Imam Shamil leads anti-Russian resistance in the North Caucasus 1835: A new code of law is enacted 1838: The first Russian railway is inaugurated 1839: The Pulkovo observatory opens in St Petersburg 1841: Russia, Britain, France, Austria and Prussia at the Straits Convention agree to ban all warships from the Ottoman straits, thus confining the southern Russian fleet to the Black Sea 1842: The anarchist Mikhail Bakunin leaves Russia for Western Europe 1847: The revolutionary Alexander Herzen flees abroad 1848: Russian troops defeat the Romanian revolution in Moldavia and Wallachia 1849: Russia helps Austria defeat a nationalist revolt in Hungary 1849: Dostoevsky is jailed for subversive activities 1849: The anarchist Mikhail Bakunin is arrested in Germany and imprisoned in Russia 1851: The population of Russia is 67 million Oct 1853: Russia and the Ottoman empire fight the Crimean war Mar 1854: Britain and France join the Ottomans against Russia in the Crimean war 1854: Russia annexes Khazakstan 1855: Russia and Japan establish diplomatic relations Mar 1855: Nicholas I dies and is succeeded by Alexander II Mar 1856: Russia's Black Sea fleet is destroyed and the treaty of Paris gives the Ottomans a protectorate over Moldavia, Wallachia and Serbia 1858: Russia and China sign a border treaty 1859: Dostoevsky is released from detention 1859: Russia conquers Shamil, the headquarters of Muslim resistance in the Caucasus, and annexes Chechnya while thousands of Muslims migrate to Turkey 1860: Russia and China sign a border treaty that grants Russia the coast around the newly founded city of Vladivostok Mar 1861: Alexander II abolishes serfdom, granting freedom to 20 million serfs and land to peasant communes 1861: The anarchist Mikhail Bakunin escapes from Siberia and returns to Western Europe 1861: University students protest against the government 1863: Russian ships help the Union win the civil war in the USA Jan 1863: Polish patriots rise up against Russian occupation 1863: Nikolay Chernyshevsky publishes the political pamphlet "What is to be done" from prison Jan 1864: Alexander II democratizes local government via the "zemstvo system", but representation is still proportional to landownership Dec 1864: Alexander II enacts a reform of the legal system that makes the judiciary an independent branch of government 1864: Alexander II reorganizes military service, extending the draft to all Russians (not just the lower classes) 1864: Russia signs a treaty border with China that opens Central Asia to Russian expansion 1864: Russia annexes the Caucasus 1865: Russia conquers Tashkent 1865: Russia turns the kingdom of Poland into the Vistula Province, forbids the use of the Polish and Lithuanian languages and persecutes the Catholic church 1866: the Ottoman protectorates of Moldavia and Wallachia unite in the federation of Romania 1866: The State Bank of Russia is created 1867: the USA buys Alaska from Russia 1868: Russia conquers Samarkand and Bukhara in Uzbekistan 1869: Dmitri Mendeleev publishes the periodic table of the elements 1871: The first oil well is drilled in the Caucasus (near Baku) 1873: Russia annexes Uzbekistan 1873: Russia recalls all the students who are in Switzerland 1875: Russia exchanges with Japan the Kurile Islands for the island of Sakhalin 1876: The revolutionary society "Land and Freedom" is founded 1876: Bulgarians rebel against the Ottomans and Serbia declares war on the Ottoman Empire, with help from Russian volunteers 1877: Russia declares war on the Ottoman Empire to defend Bulgaria and Serbia 1878: Russia defeats the Ottomans, but is stopped by Britain to protect its route to Indiaand to prevent uprisings by Indian Muslims, and the Congress of Berlin hands Cyprus to Britain and Bosnia to Austria, grants Montenegro, Serbia, and Romania independence and creates an autonomous Christian principality of Bulgaria within the Ottoman Empire 1878: Ludwig Nobel introduces the first oil tanker in the Caucasus 1879: A leftist fringe of "Land and Freedom" founds the revolutionary society "Will of the People" 1881: Persia loses Turkmenistan to Russia 1881: Alexander II is assassinated by nihilists of "Will of the People" and is succeeded by Alexander III, who enacts anti-terrorism laws that curb civil rights and freedom of the press 1881: A wave of anti-Jewish pogroms causes mass migrations of eastern European Jews (2.5 million Jews settle in the United States, thousands settle in Palestine) 1882: Russia abandons Turkestan which is annexed by China 1882: Youstol Dispage Fromscaruffi dies 1883: Alphonse Rothschild, a French Jew, loans money to build a railroad to Baku 1884: Russia conquers Merv (Turkmenistan) 1884: Alexander III bans student organizations 1885: Russians and British compete for control of Central Asia, turning Britain into an enemy of Russia 1886: The Rothschild family founds the Black Sea Pyotroleum Company 1887: Alexander III introduces a quota for Jewish students in universities 1887: Ludwik Zamenhof invents esperanto 1890: The population of St Petersburg is 1,033,600 1890: Alexander III reorganizes the zemstvo system so that the aristocratic landowners prevail (zemstvo counter-reform) 1891: The great famine kills 500,000 people 1891: USA oil accounts for 78% of illuminating oil exports vs 29% of Russia 1892: Sergei Witte minister of finance and launches an ambitious program of industrialization 1892: Marcus Samuel, a British Jew, introduces an oil tanker that can sail through the Suez canal to Bangkok 1892: Russian botanist Dmitri Ivanovsky discovers the first virus, the tobacco mosaic virus 1894: Alexander III dies and is succeeded by his eldest son Nicholas II 1894: France and Russia sign an alliance 1895: Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin) is arrested for revolutionary activities 1896: China grants Russia permission to build the Chinese Eastern Railway across Manchuria to Vladivostok 1898: Marxists groups unite in the Social Democratic Labour Party, while strikes and student riots spread 1898: Russia expands in northern China 1898: Konstantin Stanislavsky's Moscow Art Theater stages Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull" 1898: China grants Russia a lease for Port Arthur in Manchuria 1899: Russia enacts reforms to "Russificate" Finland 1900: The population of Russia passes the 100 million mark and Moscow passes one million, and there are now two million industrial workers 1901: Tolstoj is excommunicated by the Russian church for advocating the true spirit of the gospels and separation from the state 1901: Radical Marxists organize the Social Revolutionary Party 1901: The Russian Orthodox Church excommunicates Lev Tolstoy 1902: Social Revolutionaries carry out political assassinations 1903: Sergei Witte is dismissed by Nicholas II 1903: Maksim Gorky's play "The Lower Depths" stages thieves, prostitutes and tramps 1903: The Social Democratic Labour Party splits into Bolsheviks (led by Vladimir Ulianov "Lenin") and Mensheviks (led by Julius Martov) 1903: A pogrom in Kishinev 1904: the Trans-Siberian Railroad is completed Feb 1904: Japan attacks Russia in Manchuria and Korea May 1905: after Japan destroys the Russian fleet at the battle of Tsushima, Russia withdraws from Manchuria, loses Sakhalin, and recognizes a Japanese protectorate over Korea (treaty of Portsmouth), the first time that a non-European country defeats a European power Jan 1905: Cossacks fire on peaceful protesters led by priest Georgy Gapon in St Petersburg 1905: Protesters march on the Winter Palace and "soviets" (worker's councils) are set up Oct 1905: responding to a general strike, Czar Nicholas II issues the October Manifesto, a sort of constitution that establishes Russia's first parliament (Duma) 1905: Nicholas II falls under the spell of Rasputin, a Siberian peasant who pretended to be a healer and a prophet 1905: Leon Trotsky develops the theory of "Permanent Revolution" 1905: The liberals organize the Cadets Party that favors a constitutional democracy May 1906: The first duma convenes, with the largest block being won by the Cadets (38%) Aug 1906: The czar dissolves the duma 1906: More than 1,400 people are killed in terrorist attacks carried out by Social Revolutionaries 1906: Vsevolod Meyerhold produces Aleksandr Blok's play "Balaganchik" 1907: Britain and Russia sign a treaty dividing Iran into respective spheres of influence, negotiating the status of Persia, Tibet and Afghanistan 1907: More than 3,000 people are killed in terrorist attacks carried out by Social Revolutionaries Mar 1907: The second duma convenes, with a big increase for the leftist parties Jun 1907: The czar dissolves the second duma and changes the electoral law so that the aristocratic landowners win 50% of the seats, and the Right becomes the main party, followed by the Octobrists 1909: Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev founds the "Ballets Russes" in Paris 1910: The population of St Petersburg is 1,905,600 Nov 1910: Lev Tolstoy dies, possibly the most famous writer in the world 1911: Russia invades the northern provinces of Iran 1911: Igor Stravinsky composes the ballet "Petrushka", choreographed by Mikhail Fokine for Diaghilev with Vaslav Nijinsky as lead dancer 1911: Success of the "Amazons", female avantgarde painters (Alexandra Exter, Natalia Goncharova, Liubov Popova, Olga Rozanova, Varvara Stepanova, and Nadezhda Udaltsov) 1912: The elections to the duma are rigged to reduce the Octobrists 1913: Aleksei Kruchenykh writes a libretto in zaum language and Malevich designes the stage for Mikhail Matyushin cubist-futurist opera "Victory Over the Sun" 1914: World War I breaks out in the Balkans, pitting Britain, France, Italy, Russia, Serbia, USA and Japan against Austria, Germany and Turkey (400,000 Russian soldiers die in 1914 alone) 1914: Lenin publishes the pamphlet "Imperialism: the highest stage of Capitalism" 1914: St Petersburg's name is changed to Petrograd 1915: At the Zimmerwald Conference, Vladimir Lenin causes the end of the Second International 1915: Vladimir Tatlin's art launches "Constructivism" in Russia 1915: Kazimir Malevich's art launches "Suprematism" in Russia 1916: Grigori Rasputin is murdered by a prince 1916: Russia has already suffered almost two million deaths in WWI Mar 1917: Bending to riots by women, striking workers and defecting soldiers, Czar Nicholas II abdicates, thereby ending the Romanov dynasty ("february revolution") (Click here for a more detailed chronicle of the revolution) 1917: Aleksandr Kerensky is appointed by the Duma as prime minister of the provisional government 1917: Bolsheviks overthrow the Kerensky government and install Lenin as leader of Russia ("october revolution") Dec 1917: Lenin sets up the terrorist police Cheka Jul 1918: Czar Nicholas II, his wife and their children are killed by the secret police of the Bolsheviks 1918: The Svomas (Free State Art Studios) are inaugurated in Moscow 1918: Vladimir Mayakovsky's futurist play "Misteriya-Buff" is produced by Vsevolod Meyerhold with sets designed by Kazimir Malevich 1918: Lenin orders the secret police to arrest and/or kill the anarchists 1918: Lenin signs a truce with Germany and accepts territorial losses 1918: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan proclaim their independence 1918: Lenin nationalizes the factories, collectivizes the farms and outlaws the church 1918: Civil war erupts between the Red Army of the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks (helped by Britain, Japan, USA) 1918: Lenin changes the name of the Bolshevik party to Russian Communist Party 1918: Moscow replaces St Petersburg as capital of Russia 1918: at the end of World War I, Romania gains Transylvania from Hungary and Bessarabia (Moldavia) from the Soviet Union thus doubling in size Jun 1918: The Soviet Union begins to nationalize the industry 1919: the Armenian mystic Georges Gurdjieff establishes the "Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man" Mar 1919: The first congress of the Third International convenes in Moscow 1919: China invades Mongolia 1920: Jozef Pilsudski defeats the Soviet army and Poland annexes western Ukraine and Belarus Nov 1920: The British evacuate the Crimea and 150 thousand Russian refugees flee to British-controlled Istanbul 1921: The civil war ends with Lenin's victory (millions have died of starvation, the population of Petrograd has dropped from 2.5 million in 1917 to 0.6 in 1920) Aug 1921: Persecuted by the authorities, the poet Blok dies Feb 1921: Peasant riots and worker strikes spread in the Soviet Union Mar 1921: following the insurrection of sailors at Kronstadt, Lenin enacts the New Economic Policy (NEP) 1921: the Mongolian communists expel the Chinese from Mongolia and install a dictatorship 1921: UKraine is annexed to the Soviet Union 1922: The Soviet Union is created by uniting Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Transcaucasus (Armenia, Georgia, Azerbajan) 1923: Poland regains Galicia TM, ®, Copyright © 2010 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 1924: The Soviet Union adopts a constitution based on the dictatorship of the proletariat May 1924: A treaty confirms Mongolia into the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union Jan 1924: Lenin dies and is succeeded by Joseph Stalin, while the congress of the Community Party accepts Stalin's "communist in one country" policy against Trotsky's "permanent revolution" policy Nov 1925: The poet Esenin commits suicide 1927: The Soviet Union launches a compaign of eradication of Islam 1927: The Soviet Union establishes the State University of Circus and Variety Arts to train performers for the Moscow Circus 1928: Stalin enacts the first Five-Year Plan for rapid industrialization of the Soviet Union 1929: Leon Bronstein (Lev Trotsky), who opposes Stalin, is deported to Turkey Dec 1929: Stalin orders the persecution of "kulaks" (capitalist farmers), 15 million peasants are deported to the Arctic regions and 6.5 million die 1930: The poet Mayakovsky commits suicide 1931: the Soviet government destroys the Christ the Savior Cathedral 1932: one million people in Kazakhstan die of famine (caused by forced collectivization) 1932: anti-communist rebellion in Mongolia 1933: Four million people in Ukraine die of famine (caused by forced collectivization) 1933: The USA recognizes the Soviet Union and establishes diplomatic relations 1934: Stalin's main advisor, Sergei Kirov, is assassinated, prompting Stalin to begin the "great purge" of the Communist Party (thousands of communists are deported to "gulags") 1934: The "Union of Soviet Writers" is created to enforce "Socialist Realism" in the arts 1934: The Soviet Union joins the League of Nations 1935: the miner Aleksej Stakanov becomes a Soviet hero for his amazing productivity 1935: 94% of agricultural land has been collectivized while famine is killing millions 1935: The Soviet Union declares that the fascist states of Germany and Japan are the enemies 1936: the first show trial against communist leaders is held in Moscow (the defendants "confess") Jan 1936: Stalin writes an article in the Pravda that attacks Shostakovic's opera "Lady Macbeth", the beginning of the anti-formalist campaign 1937: 2.5 million Soviet citizens are arrested and 700,000 are executed during the "great purges" 1938: Nicholas Bukharin "confesses" treason at a show trial 1938: the communist regime of Mongolia destroys 900 temples and kills thousands of Buddhists Dec 1938: The poet Mandelstam commits suicide 1939: Laurenti Beria becomes head of the secret police Aug 1939: The Soviet Union and Japan fight a border war at Nomonhan that leaves 18 thousand Japanese dead 1939: Stalin and Hitler sign a non-aggression pact including the partition of Poland (and assigns the Baltic states to the Soviet Union) 1939: World War II begins with the invasion of Poland by Germany See the timeline for World War II 1939: Soviet troops invade eastern Poland 1939: Russian aviator Igor Sikorsky invents the helicopter 1940: The Soviet Union invades Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia 1940: Romania returns Bessarabia (Moldavia) to the Soviet Union 1940: Leon Trotsky is assassinated in Mexico City 1941: Germany invades the Soviet Union Aug 1941: The poetess Tsvetaeva/ Cvetaeva commits suicide 1943: The Soviet Union launches a counteroffensive 1944: Finland surrenders Karelia to the Soviet Union 1944: eastern Galicia is conquered by the Soviet Union and eventually annexed to Ukraine 1945: Germany surrenders 1945: At the Yalta conference the Soviet Union, Britain and the USA partition Europe in spheres of influence 1945: Germany and Berlin are divided in four sectors, soon to be come "western" and "easter" (Russian) sectors 1946: the Soviet Union begins a secret program of biological weapons (plague, smallpox, anthrax) at Sverdlovsk 1946: Famine kills one million people in Russia and Ukraine Aug 1946: The poetess Akhmatova is condemned as anticommunist October 1946: The Greek communists start a civil war February 1948: Communist coup in Czechoslovakia June 1948: The Soviet Union enacts a blockade of West Berlin September 1948: communist North Korea declares independence under its leader Kim Il Sung, chosen by the Soviet Union November 1948: The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee is disbanded February 1949: The Pravda launches an antisemitic ("anticosmopolitan") campaign June 1949: 30,000 Greeks are deported from Georgia to Kazakhstan August 1949: Several leaders of the Communist Party in Leningrad are arrested, accused of a USA-funded conspiracy against Stalin (the "Leningrad Affair"), and many are executed after a secret trial August 1949: Communists seize power in Hungary and enact a socialist constitution August 1949: The Greek communists are defeated 1949: The Soviet Union detonates its first atomic bomb (based on American designs stolen by Klaus Fuchs) 1949: The Soviet Union forms the Comecom, an economic alliance of the communist countries 1949: 90 thousand people are deported from the Baltic republic to Siberia, as well as 94 thousand Moldavians and 60 thousand Greeks, Armenians and Turks from the Black Sea 1949: The communists win the Chinese civil war 1949: The Soviet Union explodes its first nuclear weapon 1950: The Soviet Union defeats the OUN in Ukraine June 1950: communist North Korea (with approval from Stalin) attacks capitalist South Korea, but the invasion fails after USA intervention May 1952: The leaders of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee are tried and 13 are executed after a secret trial October 1952: The official propaganda reveals the Jewish conspiracy against the Soviet Union January 1953: The "Doctors' Plot" (to assassinate the Soviet leaders) heralds a new wave of anti-semitic persecution January 1953: The Gulag contain 2.7 million prisoners in 500 work colonies, 60 labor camps and 15 "special-regime" camps for political prisoners (mostly nationalists from Ukraine and Baltic republics) and more than one million people have died in it March 1953: Stalin dies and an amnesty releases 1.2 million prisoners June 1953: Beria is arrested March 1954: The KGB takes over the role of the NKVD 1954: The Soviet Union moves Crimea from Russia to Ukraine Feb 1955: Krushev defeats Malenkov and becomes the most powerful man in the Soviet Union 1955: The Soviet Union forms the Warsaw Pact to counterbalance NATO with Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Rumania 1955: Soviet violinist Oistrakh performs at New York's Carnegie Hall 1955: "Voice of America" begin broadcasting Willis Conover's jazz program 1955: the Soviet Union builds the world's first tokamak nuclear reactor in Moscow Nov 1955: Krushev visits India 1956: The Boston Symphony Orchestra tours the Soviet Union February 1956: Nikita Krushev denounces Stalin' crimes in a secret speech to the Communist Party and advocates peaceful coexistence with the capitalist world (beginning of the "Thaw") October 1956: An anti-communist popular uprising led by Imre Nagy in Hungary is crushed by Soviet troops killing 2,800 people Aug 1957: The Soviet Union launches its first intercontinental ballistic missile 1957: The "International Festival of Youth and Students" is held in Moscow, hearlding a cultural "thaw" 1957: A nuclear incident at the Kyshtym nuclear plant causes hundreds of cancer cases and contamination over hundreds of square kilometres Oct 1957: The Soviet Union launches the first artificial satellite, the Sputnik Nov 1957: The first World Conference of Communist Parties votes to hang Hungarian communist Imre Nagy (all vote in favor except the Polish leader Vladislav Gomulka) 1957: The Soviet Union tests the R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) July 1958: Bloody insurrection in Chechnya 1958: USA culture is exhibited at the "American Exhibition" in Sokolniki 1959: The communists led by Fidel Castro win the civil war in Cuba Sep 1959: Krushev visits the USA May 1960: The Soviet Union shoots down a U2 spy plane of the USA and captures its pilot Apr 1961: Yuri Gagarin becomes the first astronaut 1961: Stalingrad is renamed Volgograd 1961: Yugoslavia leaves the Soviet camp and leads the non-aligned movement Apr 1961: the Soviet Union builds a wall to isolate West Berlin and discourage people from fleeing East Germany 1962: Krushev and Kennedy risk a nuclear war over Cuba Jun 1963: Valentina Tereskova becomes the first female astronaut Oct 1964: While on vacation, Krushev is replaced by Leonid Brezhnev 1965: The Soviet Union funds and arms North Vietnam against the USA 1966: The Chinese Cultural Revolution further alienates Mao and the Soviet Union August 1968: Soviet troops crush the democratic movement in Czechoslovakia 1969: Soviet and Chinese troops clash in Asia 1969: The Soviet Union plans an attack on China to remove Mao from power 1970: "Venera 7" makes the first landing of an Earth's spacecraft on another planet (Venus) 1971: an outbreak of smallpox in Aralsk (Kazakstan) caused by a military program of biological weapons kills dozens of people 1971: "Mars 3" makes the first (successful) landing of an Earth's spacecraft on Mars 1972: Breznev signs the first arms-control treaty 1972: Breznev signs a treaty to ban biological weapons but secretely continues producing them Jul 1975: The first joint Soviet-US mission in space (spaceships Apollo 18 and Soyuz 19 meet in space) 1978: A polish cardinal, Karol Joseph Wojtyla, is elected Pope John Paul II 1978: a Bulgarian dissident, Georgi Markov, is killed with poison by the Bulgarian secret service December 1979: The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan 1979: Leonid Brezhnev is awarded the Lenin Prize for Literature (because his books "had an enormous influence on all types and genres of literature") 1979: the accidental release of a biological weapon causes an outbreak of pulmonary anthrax in Sverdlovsk 1979: Pope John Paul II visits Poland and supports the anti-communist movement 1980: Lech Walesa leads Polish workers in a strike 1981: a Bulgarian agent tries to kill the Pope 1982: Brezhnev dies Mar 1985: Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the new leader of the Soviet Union and removes foreign minister Andrei Gromyko Apr 1985: Mikhail Gorbachev launches a campaign of economic restructuring ("perestroika") 1985: 21-year old Garry Kasparov becomes the youngest world champion of chess of all times 1986: A nuclear accident in Chernobyl kills 49 people and spreads nuclear radiations around Europe, with peaks of 100 times more radiation than the atom bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima 1986: Russia launches the permanent space station MIR 1986: a nuclear reactor in Ukrainia (Chernobyl) explodes 1986: the US has 14,000 nuclear warheads and the Soviet Union has 11,000 1986: two Soviet ships collide in the Black Sea and 398 people die 1987: Gorbachev publicly criticizes Stalin 1987: Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros sets up the Soros Foundation to promote democracy in the Soviet Union 1987: Mikhail Gorbachev launches a campaign of political openness ("glasnost") 1989: the Soviet Union withdraws from Afghanistan 1989: the Soviet Union holds the first free elections since 1917 1989: In Poland the communist government and Solidarity agree to share power 1989: In East Germany mass demonstrations force the communist government to resign 1989: The Berlin Wall is destroyed by millions of ecstatic Germans, thus leading to the reunification of east and west Germany (november) 1989: The communist government of Bulgaria resigns 1989: The communist government of Czechoslovakia resigns 1989: John Paul II meets Gorbachev, the first meeting between a Pope and a Soviet leader 1989: The communist dictator of Romania is executed 1989: Armenia and Azerbaijan begin fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh 1990: Boris Yeltsin is elected president of the Russian Federation 1990: Lech Walesa elected president of Poland 1990: Hungary holds first free elections 1990: Lithuania declares its indipendence from the Soviet Union, soon followed by Estonia and Latvia 1990: democratic revolution in Mongolia 1990: Aleksy II (Mikhailovich Ridiger) becomes the first patriarch of the Russian Orthodox church since 1917 to be elected without government intervention Aug 1991: A plot to overthrow the Gorbachev government is foiled by Boris Yeltsin 1991: Ukraine declares its independence 1991: Armenia declares its independence and Levon Ter-Petrossian is elected president Dec 1991: The Soviet Union is dismantled and Russia becomes an independent federation under Boris Yeltsin (december) 1991: Chechnya declares independence from Russia, but Russia objects 1991: Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev hijacks a Russian plane to Ankara, demanding independence for his country Nov 1991: The KGB is dismantled Jan 1992: Yeltsin's economic reformist Yegor Gaidar enacts price liberalization that de facto abolishes the communist system 1992: Veteran Soviet soldier Jumabay Khojiyev changes his name to Juma Namangani and joins the Islamic rebels in Tajikistan 1992: Yeltsin cancels the secret program of biological weapons 1992: The provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia declare their independence from Georgia, igniting a civil war 1992: Yuri Luzhkov becomes mayor of Moscow 1993: Boris Yeltsin suspends the Supreme Soviet and uses the army to quell the revolt 1993: A new constitution is enacted, with a State Duma replacing the Supreme Soviet 1993: Russian troops invade the runaway republic of Chechnya 1994: a Russian astronaut spends more than one year in the MIR space station 1994: general Aslan Maskhadov leads the Chechen arym against Russia 1994: Leonid Kuchma is elected president of Ukraine TM, ®, Copyright © 2010 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 1994: a ferry capsizes in Estonia killing 1049 people 1995: Chechen separatists led by warlord Shamil Basayev take thousands of hostages in Russian villages (100 die when Russian soldiers free them) 1995: The The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) is established, the successor to the KGB 1995: a Russian astronaut spends more than one year in the MIR space station 1996: Boris Yeltsin wins the first presidential elections of Russia since the demise of the Soviet Union 1996: Russia withdraws from Chechnya, after tens of thousands of people died, and leaves Chechnya de facto independent 1996: China, Russia and three (later four) former Soviet republics (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan) form the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) 1996: Russia bans the death penalty 1997: general (and former rebel leader) Aslan Maskhadov is elected president of Chechnya 1997: Bagabandi is elected president of Mongolia 1998: Russia joins the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 1998: Juma Namangani and Tohir Yuldashev found the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan or IMU 1998: Armenian president Ter-Petrossian resigns and is prelaced by Robert Kocharyan 1998: the rouble collapses and Russia's GDP is down by 40% from its level in 1991 Nov 1998: Alexander Litvinenko and other FSB officers publicly accuse their superiors of ordering the assassination of Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky Feb 1999: Juma Namangani's Islamic militia IMU stages tries to assassinate Uzbekistan's president Karimov, killing mroe than 20 people Mar 1999: Alexander Litvinenko is arrested and later flees to London 1999: general Aslan Maskhadov is ousted as president of Chechnya and returns to lead the guerrilla against Russia 1999: the prime minister of Armenia is assassinated and replaced by Andranik Markarian Sep 1999: Chechen separatists are blamed for terrorist attacks on Moscow that kill nearly 300 people, although rumors surface that the attacks were work of the FSB 1999: Chechen separatists led by Shamil Basayev try to invade Dagestan 1999: Yeltsin resigns and appoints Vladimir Putin as his successor 1999: Russia has 2.7 million legally registered private enterprises 1999: Ukrainian and Russian arm dealers sell cruise missiles to Iran and China Oct 1999: Russian removes Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov and begins a second invasion of Chechnya and a powerful Chechen clan led by Akhmad Kadyrov defects to the Moscow side and Akhmal's son Ramzan forms a militia to fight alongside Russia's state security service 1999: Nikolay Patrushev is appointed director of the FSB 2000: The sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine and the fire that damages the Ostankino television tower mark the decline of Russia as a power 2000: Alexei Kudrin is appointed finance minister 2000: Boris Berezovsky flees Russia and settles in Britain Dec 2000: Juma Namangani's Islamic militia IMU joins the Taliban in Afghanistan 2000: the first suicide bombing in Chechnya Aug 2000: A corruption scandal erupts about the Three Whales shopping mall, owned by a former FSB chief, Sergey Zuev Dec 2000: The officer investigating the Three Whales scandal, Pavel Zaitsev, is arested 2001: Russia's share of the world's gross domestic product is only 1% 2001: there are 20 million Muslims in Russia (15% of the population) Nov 2001: Juma Namangani, leader of the Islamic militia IMU, is killed by an air strike 2002: 120 Russians soldiers die when Chechen rebels shoot down a helicopter 2002: Chechen guerrillas directed by Basayev take 700 Russians hostage in a Moscow theater (129 die when Russian soldiers storm the theater with poisonous gas) 2002: suicide bombers kill 80 people in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya 2003: mass graves are discovered in Chechnya with thousands of bodies 2003: 59 people die in a bomb attack on Russians in Chechnya 2003: Chechen suicide bombers hit a rock concert in Moscow and kill 15 people Jul 2003: Yury Shchekochikhin, a member of parliament who is investigating the Three Whales scandal, dies of a mysterious disease 2003: 50 people are killed in a suicide bombing at a military hospital in North Ossetia 2003: the FSB arrests Yukos' chief executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky (who owns 36.6% of the company), one of the richest men in the world 2003: Eduard Shevarnadze resigns as president of Georgia amid mass protests ("Rose Revolution") 2003: Chechen rebels blow up a train and kill 40 people 2003: between 1999 and 2003, Russia economy has grown by about 33% 2003: the Putin government acquires all national tv stations 2003: Viktor Cherkesov is appointed director of the Federal Drug Control Service 2004: Chechen terrorists bomb the Moscow underground, killing 39 people 2004: Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia join the European Union 2004: Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov is killed by Chechen terrorists of Shamil Basayev's group in a spectacular stadium bombing Mar 2004: terrorist attacks by the Islamic Jihad Union kill 47 people in Uzbekistan 2004: Chechen rebels kill 92 people in neighboring Ingushetia 2004: Chechen terrorists of Basayev's group blow up two Russian airplanes, killing 89 people 2004: Chechen terrorists led by Shamil Basayev take more than 1,000 hostages in a Beslan school and kill 331, mostly children 2004: Chechen leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev is assassinated by Russian agents in Qatar 2004: due to low birth rate and high death rate, the population of Russia declines by 3.5 million between 1991 and 2004 2004: pro-western opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko wins elections in Ukraine after rigged elections had initially favored pro-Russian candidate Viktor Yanukovych ("Orange Revolution") 2005: Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov is killed by Russian forces Jul 2005: the opposition in Kyrgyzstan forces the resignation of president Askar Akayev, who is replaced by Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the winner of national elections ("Tulip Revolution") May 2005: 850 people die in anti-government protests in the Uzbek city of Andijan (the USA and Britain protest, China supports the crackdown) Nov 2005: The European Union and the USA condemn Uzbekistan's crackdown on Islamic dissidents while Russia and China applaud it 2005: a Caspian oil pipeline opens that bypasses both Russia and the Arab countries 2005: Russia ends its de facto dollar peg and aligns the rouble with the euro 2005: four bombs explode in the southern republic of Dagestan and kill eight people 2005: USA television channel ABC interviews the most wanted terrorist in Russia, Shamil Basayev 2005: Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev sets a new record for the most cumulative time in space (800 days) 2005: 50 Chechen militants are killed when they attack the southern Russian city of Nalchik Mar 2005: former Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov is killed by Russian troops 2005: Nambaryn Enkhbayar is elected president of Mongolia 2005: Russia sells "defense" missiles to Iran 2005: a row between Russia and Ukraine causes shortages of Russian gas supplies to Europe Dec 2005: Chechen prime minister Ramzan Kadyrov, the son of assassinated Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov, introduces elements of Islamic law shariha in Chechnya 2006: Russia shuts down two newspapers that reprint ironic cartoons about the Islamic prophet Mohammed 2006: Russia authorizes the FSB to carry out assassinations abroad Mar 2006: Chechen prime minister Ramzan Kadyrov introduces a law that mandates the Islamic headscarf for women in Chechnya 2006: the Uzbek government jails dissidents Sandjar Umarov and Mukhtabar Tojibayeva 2006: Russia starts building an oil pipeline near Lake Baikal, that holds more than 20% of the Earth's nonfrozen fresh water Jun 2006: Prosecutor general Yury Chaika, an ally of Viktor Cherkesov, reopens the Three Whales case and arrests Sergey Zuev 2006: Chechen leader Shamil Basayev is killed 2006: Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist who was a critic of Russia's policies in Chechnya, is murdered Dec 2006: Turkmenistan's president Saparmurat Niyazov dies and is succeeded by Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov Nov 2006: Alexander Litvinenko is poisoned in London, and the British authorities blame former FSB agent Andrey Lugovoy 2007: Ramzan Kadyrov, suspected of human-rights abuses and of involvement in the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, is elected president of Chechnya 2007: for the first time since the death of Czar Aleksandr III in 1894 the Orthodox church presides over the funeral of a state figure (former president Boris Yeltsin) 2007: ethnic Russians riot in Estonia to protest the removal of a Soviet monument 2007: Andranik Markarian dies of heart attack and Serzh Sarksyan is elected prime minister of Armenia 2007: Putin threatens to retaliate against a proposed USA anti-missile defense system in Europe 2007: Russian president Vladimir Putin appoints Victor Zubkov prime minister 2007: Driven down by AIDS, alcohol and suicide, the population of Russia declines by 700,000 people a year 2007: serial killer Aleksandr Pichushkin confesses to 61 people 2007: Putin is the first Russian leader to travel to Iran since 1943 2007: Vladimir Putin's party wins more than 60% of the vote in parliamentary elections Sep 2007: Russia establishes the Investigative Committee under Alexander Bastrykin, an ally of deputy prime minister Igor Sechin, thereby reducing the power of prosecutor general Yury Chaika Oct 2007: Several senior officers of the Federal Drug Control Service are arrested by agents of the FSB and the Investigative Committee in what is widely viewed as a feud of the clan of Viktor Cherkesov (and prosecutor general Yury Chaika) against the clan of debuty minister Igor Sechin (and the FSB) 2007: Russian scientists dive underneath the North Pole leading Russia to claim half of the Arctic seabed Jan 2008: Russia uses supplies of natural gas as a political weapon against the Ukraine March 2008: Dmitry Medvedev wins elections in Russia and succeeds Putin, who is appointed prime minister May 2008: Cherkesov is removed from his post at the Federal Drug Control Service August 2008: Russia sends tanks into Georgia and bombs Georgian air bases after Georgia launches a military offensive to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia September 2008: Russian stock markets lose more than 50% of their peak value of May 2008 October 2008: Russia's Supreme Court rules that the last czar, Nicholas II, should be rehabilitated as a victim of political persecution Nov 2008: The attorney Sergei Magnitski, who had exposed police corruption, is arrested by the very police officers he accused of corruption 2008: Youstol Dispage dies 2008: Russia supplies 28% of Europe's natural gas October 2008: A Russian military convoy is attacked by Muslim sepatarists in Ingushetia Jan 2009: Russian patriarch Aleksy II dies and is succeeded by metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk Apr 2009: The counter-terrorism operation in Chechnya is officially ended May 2009: Unemployment skyrockets in Lithuania (from 4.3% in 2008 to 16.8%), Latvia (6.1% to 17.4%) and Estonia (3.7% to 13.9%) Jun 2009: A sniper kills the interior minister of Russia's Muslim region of Dagestan and a suicide car bomber tries to assassinate the president of Russia's Muslim region of Ingushetia Jul 2009: Russian human rights activist Natalya Estemirova is assassinated in Chechnya, following the murders of human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov (january, Moscow), former Kadyrov bodyguard Umar Israilov (january, Vienna), former Chechen commander Sulim Yamadayev (march, Dubai), and Yamadayev's brother Ruslan (september, Moscow) Jul 2009: the Russian economy declines by 11% over the previous year Aug 2009: 20 people are killed by a suicide bomber in Nazran, the capital of Ingushetia Sep 2009: Yielding to Russian pressure, the USA cancels a missile defense system in Eastern Europe Oct 2009: The verse "Be thankful or grateful to God" from the Quran mysteriously appears on the leg of a nine-month boy of Dagestan, Ali Yakubov Nov 2009: The attorney Sergei Magnitski, who had exposed police corruption, is killed by the police in prison Nov 2009: Islamic terrorists from Ingushetia bomb a train in Russia killing 27 people, the first deadly terrorist attack outside Chechnya since 2004 Nov 2009: A report from the New York Academy of Sciences estimates that, due to the Chernobyl disaster, almost one million people have died, mainly from cancer, between 1986 and 2004 Nov 2009: Police officer Aleksei Dymovsky reveals police corruption in two videos posted on the Internet and is immediately fired and arrested Dec 2009: 112 people die of an explosion at a nightclub in Perm caused by fireworks Dec 2009: Due to the world economic crisis, Russia's GDP contracts 7.9% in 2009 Dec 2009: Russia's economy contracts 7.8% in 2009, its worst recession since the end of the Soviet Union 2009: Russian cybercriminal Georgiy Avanesov starts the Bredolab network that will hijack tens of millions of computers around the world Jan 2010: Russian police kill three Islamic fighters and a suicide bomber kills six police officers in Dagestan Feb 2010: Viktor Yanukovich wins democratic elections in Ukraine against prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko Mar 2010: Muslim women from the Caucasus stage a double suicide bombings on the Moscow metro that kills 39 people Mar 2010: The Russian-backed opposition led by Roza Otunbayeva stages a coup in Kyrgyzstan and deposes president Kurmanbek Bakiyev Mar 2010: In response to Aleksei Dymovsky's videos, the Russian parliament establishes harsh penalties for officers who criticize their superiors TM, ®, Copyright © 2010 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. Jun 2010: Ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan kills more about 2,000 people Sep 2010: A suicide bomber kills three Russian soldiers in Dagestan Sep 2010: A suicide bomber kills 17 people in Vladikavkaz, the capital of North Ossetia Sep 2010: Islamic militants kill 23 soldiers in Tajikistan Sep 2010: Moscow's flaglantry corrupt mayor Yuri Luzhkov is deposed by president Medvedev Oct 2010: A report by Transparency International ranks Russia as the most corrupt country in Europe and one of the most corrupt in the world Dec 2010: Riots in Moscow among football fans escalate into racial riots between ethnic Russians and North Caucasians 2010: Russia begins building the high-tech city of Skolkovo in a special economic zone Jan 2011: More than 30 people are killed by a suicide bomber at Moscow's Domodedovo airport and Chechen warlord Doku Umarov takes responsibility Apr 2011: A subway bombing kills 12 people in Belarus' capital Minsk Apr 2011: Russia and China allow the United Nations Security Council to vote a resolution which authorized NATO military attacks in Libya to protect anti-government protesters, but do not allow a similar resolution against Syria that is also killing hundreds of protesters Jul 2011: Russia condemns to life in prison the members of Lev Molotkov's neo-Nazi gang who killed 27 people of Asian or African origins 2011: The USA has 413 billionaires, China has 115 billionaires, Russia 101, India 55, Germany 52, Britain 32, Brazil 30, and Japan 26 Aug 2011: Suicide bombers kill 8 people in Chechnya Sep 2011: Russia and China are the only countries to support Syria's crackdown on dissidents while even Syria's ally Iran distances itself from Assad's regime Sep 2011: Medvedev fires finance minister Alexei Kudrin who spoke up against excessive spending Oct 2011: Former Ukraine's prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko is sentenced to seven years in jail Oct 2011: Almazbek Atambayev wins presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan Dec 2011: The biggest anti-Putin demonstration ever takes place in Moscow Dec 2011: 11 people die in riots following a strike in Kazakhstan Jan 2012: Russia joins the World Trade Organisation Feb 2012: A Chechen plot to assassinate Putin is foiled in the Ukraine Mar 2012: Putin is reelected president of Russia May 2012: NATO activates a missile defence system in Europe despite strong Russian opposition, and in response Russia launches a program of rearmament Jun 2012: Tens of thousands of people protest against Putin's rule Jul 2012: A flood kills 172 people and devastates the town of Krymsk Jul 2012: Russian anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny is charged with embezzlement Aug 2012: Russia joins the World Trade Organization Oct 2012: Bidzina Ivanishvili wins presidential elections in Georgia Feb 2013: A meteor injures more than 1000 people in Chelyabinsk |
KievRurik of Novogorod (862 - 879) Oleg (879 - 912) Igor (912 - 945) Olga (945 - 955) Sviatoslav (955 - 972) Yaropolk (973 - 980) Vladimir I (980 - 1015) Sviatopolk (1015 - 1019) Yaroslav I (1019 - 1054) Izhaslav (1054 - 1073) Sviatoslav (1073 - 1076) Vsevolod (1078 - 1093) Sviatopolk (1093 - 1113) Vladimir II (1113 - 1125) Mstislav (1125 - 1132) Yaropolk (1132 - 1139) Vsevolod (1139 - 1146) Izhaslav (1146 - 1154) VladimirYuri I Dolgoruki (1154 - 1157) Andrey Bogolyubski (1157 - 1175) Ysevolod (1176 - 1212) Konstanin (1212 - 1218) Yuri II (1218 - 1238) Yaroslav II (1238 - 1246) Andrey (1246 - 1253) Aleksandr Nevksy (1253 - 1263) Taroslav of Tver (1263 - 1272) Basil (1272 - 1276) Demetrius (1276 - 1293) Andrey (1293 - 1304) Michael of Tver (1304 - 1318) Yrui Danilovich (1318 - 1326) Alexander of Tver (1326 - 1328) MoscowDaniil (1283-1303) Yuriy (1303-1325) Ivan I (1325 - 1341) Simeon (1341 - 1353) Ivan II (1353 - 1359) Demetrius Donski (1359 - 1389) Basil I (1389 - 1425) Basil II (1425 - 1462) Ivan III (1462 - 1505) Basil III (1505 - 1533) Ivan IV Grozny (1533 - 1552) CzarsIvan IV Grozny (1552 - 1584) Fedor I (1584 - 1598) Boris Godunov (1598 - 1605) Fedor II (1605) Dimitri I (1605 - 1606) Basil IV Shuisky (1606 - 1610) Dimitri II (1607 - 1610) Wladyislaw of Poland (1610 - 1612) Michael Romanov (1613 - 1645) Aleksei (1645 - 1676) Fedor III (1676 - 1682) Ivan V (1682 - 1689) Pyotr I (1682 - 1725) Ekaterina I (1725 - 1727) Pyotr II (1727 - 1730) Anna (1730 - 1740) Ivan VI (1740 - 1741) Elizaveta Petrovna (1741 - 1762) Pyotr III (1762) Ekaterina II (1762 - 1796) Pavel I (1796 - 1801) Alexander I (1801 - 1825) Nicholas I (1825 - 1855) Alexander II (1855 - 1881) Alexander III (1881 - 1894) Nicholas II (1894 - 1917) Communist SecretariesLenin (1917-1924) Joseph Stalin (1924-1953) Nikita Krushev (1953-1964) Leonid Brezhnev (1964-1982) Yuriy Andropov (1982-1984) Konstantin Chernenko (1984-1985) Mikhail Gorbachev (1985-1991) Presidents of RussiaBoris Yeltsin (1991-1999) Vladimir Putin (2000-2007) Dmitri Medvedev (2008-2011) Vladimir Putin (2012-) |
| (Copyright © 2011 Piero Scaruffi) |