Timeline
1917 Under Vladimir Lenin's leadership, Communists overthrow the Russian tsar.
1918 The Russian government writes a new constitution; only the Communist party is allowed to exist.
1922 The USSR (Soviet Union) is created with other republics joining Russia.
1934 Lenin dies leaving no clear successor.
1928 Joseph Stalin emerges as the leader of the USSR and begins the Five-Year Plan to eliminate private businesses.
1932-34 Height of Holodomor
1939 WWII begins; Stalin and Adolph Hitler sign a non-aggression pact to keep Germany from invading the USSR; Soviet Union also gains valuable territory in Poland.
1941 The Soviet Union joins the Western Allies; Germany invades the USSR.
1945 WWII ends; America, Great Britain, and the USSR divide Europe into east and west.
1946 Cold War starts; an invisible "Iron Curtain" divides Europe.
1953 Stalin dies; Nikita Khrushchev becomes Soviet leader.
1918 The Russian government writes a new constitution; only the Communist party is allowed to exist.
1922 The USSR (Soviet Union) is created with other republics joining Russia.
1934 Lenin dies leaving no clear successor.
1928 Joseph Stalin emerges as the leader of the USSR and begins the Five-Year Plan to eliminate private businesses.
1932-34 Height of Holodomor
1939 WWII begins; Stalin and Adolph Hitler sign a non-aggression pact to keep Germany from invading the USSR; Soviet Union also gains valuable territory in Poland.
1941 The Soviet Union joins the Western Allies; Germany invades the USSR.
1945 WWII ends; America, Great Britain, and the USSR divide Europe into east and west.
1946 Cold War starts; an invisible "Iron Curtain" divides Europe.
1953 Stalin dies; Nikita Khrushchev becomes Soviet leader.