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Marx, the Soviet Union & Nazi Germany: A Century of Revolution and Reaction

From Karl Marx's birth to the fall of the USSR: the intertwined rise and fall of Soviet communism and Nazi fascism, and the workers' revolutions that shaped the century between them.

May 5, 1818 - December 26, 1991

117 events

Timeline Stats

Total Events117

Milestones95

Time Span63422 days

Color key:

Soviet Union

Nazi Germany

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Trier, Kingdom of Prussia

Karl Marx Is Born in Trier

Karl Marx, the philosopher and economist whose ideas would shape 20th-century revolutions, is born to a middle-class family in the Rhineland.

May 5, 1818

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Paris, France

Marx and Engels Begin Their Lifelong Collaboration

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels meet in Paris and discover their shared critique of capitalism, beginning a partnership that produces the foundational texts of Marxism.

August 28, 1844

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

London, United Kingdom

Communist League Formed

Marx and Engels join and help reorganize the League of the Just into the Communist League, the first Marxist political organization.

June 2, 1847

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

London, United Kingdom

"The Communist Manifesto" Is Published

Marx and Engels publish "The Communist Manifesto," declaring that "the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles."

February 21, 1848

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

France, German states, Austrian Empire, Italian states, Hungary

Revolutions of 1848 Sweep Europe

A wave of liberal and nationalist uprisings — the "Springtime of the Peoples" — topples governments across Europe, radicalizing a generation of future socialists before the old order reasserts control.

February 22, 1848

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

London, United Kingdom

Marx Is Expelled From the Continent, Settles in London

Facing expulsion from Prussia, France, and Belgium for his revolutionary activity, Marx relocates permanently to London, where he will live until his death.

August 24, 1849

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

London, United Kingdom

International Workingmen's Association ("First International") Founded

Trade unionists and socialists from across Europe found the First International to coordinate the international workers’ movement, with Marx drafting its inaugural address.

September 28, 1864

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Hamburg, German Confederation

Marx Publishes "Das Kapital," Volume I

Marx publishes the first volume of "Das Kapital," his exhaustive critique of capitalist political economy and the theoretical cornerstone of later Marxist movements.

September 14, 1867

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Paris, France

The Paris Commune

Parisian workers and National Guardsmen seize the city and govern it as a revolutionary socialist commune for two months before the French army crushes the uprising in the "Bloody Week," killing thousands.

March 18, 1871

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Philadelphia, United States

First International Dissolves

Weakened by the split between Marx's faction and Mikhail Bakunin's anarchists, the International Workingmen's Association formally disbands.

July 15, 1876

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

London, United Kingdom

Karl Marx Dies in London

Karl Marx dies at his desk in London, leaving Friedrich Engels to complete and publish the remaining volumes of "Das Kapital."

March 14, 1883

Nazi Germany

Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary

Adolf Hitler Is Born

Adolf Hitler is born in a small Austrian town near the German border.

April 20, 1889

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Paris, France

Second International Founded

Socialist and labor parties from around the world establish the Second International, which grows into the dominant organization of the global socialist movement.

July 14, 1889

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Russian Empire

The 1905 Russian Revolution

"Bloody Sunday," when troops fire on peaceful petitioners in St. Petersburg, ignites a year of strikes and uprisings across Russia and the first appearance of workers’ councils, or "soviets."

January 22, 1905

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Europe

Second International Collapses Over World War I

As war breaks out, most European socialist parties abandon internationalism to support their own governments, shattering the Second International’s anti-war unity.

August 4, 1914

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Petrograd, Russian Empire

February Revolution Topples the Tsar

Mass strikes and mutinies in Petrograd force Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate, ending three centuries of Romanov rule and installing a fragile Provisional Government alongside the Petrograd Soviet.

March 8, 1917

Soviet Union

Petrograd, Russia

October Revolution: Bolsheviks Seize Power

Lenin’s Bolsheviks storm the Winter Palace and overthrow the Provisional Government, establishing Soviet power under the slogan "Peace, Land, and Bread."

November 7, 1917

Soviet Union

Former Russian Empire

Russian Civil War

Bolshevik "Red" forces fight monarchist, liberal, and nationalist "White" armies — with foreign Allied intervention — in a brutal multi-front civil war that ultimately consolidates Soviet control.

November 7, 1917

Soviet Union

Petrograd, Russia

The Cheka Secret Police Established

The Bolsheviks create the Cheka, the first in a lineage of Soviet secret police organizations that will enforce party rule through terror.

December 20, 1917

Soviet Union

Brest-Litovsk

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Soviet Russia signs a punitive peace with the Central Powers, exiting World War I and ceding vast territories in Ukraine, the Baltics, and Poland.

March 3, 1918

Soviet Union

Yekaterinburg, Russia

Execution of Tsar Nicholas II and the Romanov Family

Bolshevik guards execute the former tsar, his wife, and their five children in a basement in Yekaterinburg, ending the Romanov dynasty.

July 17, 1918

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Germany

German Revolution Topples the Kaiser

Sailors’ mutinies at Kiel spark a nationwide revolution; Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates and a republic is proclaimed, as workers’ and soldiers’ councils spring up across Germany.

November 3, 1918

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Berlin, Germany

Spartacist Uprising Crushed in Berlin

The newly formed Communist Party of Germany attempts an uprising in Berlin; the Freikorps crush it and murder revolutionary leaders Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht.

January 5, 1919

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Moscow, Russian SFSR

Communist International (Comintern) Founded in Moscow

Lenin's Bolsheviks establish the Comintern to direct communist parties worldwide and export revolution beyond Russia's borders.

March 2, 1919

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Hungary

Hungarian Soviet Republic

Béla Kun's communists seize power in Hungary and rule for 133 days before Romanian intervention and internal collapse bring the republic down.

March 21, 1919

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Munich, Germany

Bavarian Soviet Republic Declared and Crushed

Revolutionaries declare a short-lived socialist republic in Bavaria; it is violently suppressed by Freikorps paramilitaries within a month.

April 6, 1919

Nazi Germany

Versailles, France

Treaty of Versailles Signed

The treaty ending World War I imposes harsh reparations and territorial losses on Germany, fueling the resentment that Hitler will later exploit.

June 28, 1919

Nazi Germany

Munich, Germany

Hitler Joins the German Workers' Party

Hitler attends a meeting of the small German Workers’ Party (DAP) as an army informant and soon joins as its seventh committee member.

September 12, 1919

Nazi Germany

Munich, Germany

NSDAP Founded, 25-Point Program Announced

The DAP is renamed the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) and unveils its nationalist, antisemitic 25-point program.

February 24, 1920

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Kronstadt, Soviet Russia

Kronstadt Rebellion

Sailors and workers who once backed the Bolsheviks rise up against the new Soviet government demanding "soviets without communists"; the Red Army crushes the revolt.

March 7, 1921

Soviet Union

Soviet Russia

New Economic Policy (NEP) Introduced

Facing economic collapse, Lenin introduces the NEP, reintroducing limited market mechanisms and private trade to revive the shattered economy.

March 15, 1921

Nazi Germany

Munich, Germany

Hitler Becomes Führer of the NSDAP

Hitler is granted absolute authority over the Nazi Party, formalizing the "Führer principle" that will define the movement.

July 29, 1921

Soviet Union

Moscow

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Established

Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Transcaucasian republics formally unite to form the USSR.

December 30, 1922

Nazi Germany

Munich, Germany

Beer Hall Putsch Fails

Hitler attempts to seize power in Munich in an armed putsch; the coup collapses and he is arrested and sentenced to prison for treason.

November 8, 1923

Soviet Union

Gorki, USSR

Lenin Dies

Vladimir Lenin dies after a series of strokes, triggering a succession struggle that Joseph Stalin will ultimately win.

January 21, 1924

Nazi Germany

Landsberg Prison, Germany

Hitler Writes "Mein Kampf"

While imprisoned for the failed putsch, Hitler dictates "Mein Kampf," laying out his ideology of antisemitism, anti-communism, and territorial expansion.

April 1, 1924

Soviet Union

USSR

Stalin Consolidates Power, Expels Trotsky

Stalin expels his chief rival Leon Trotsky from the Communist Party, cementing his control over the Soviet state; Trotsky is exiled from the USSR entirely in 1929.

November 14, 1927

Soviet Union

USSR

First Five-Year Plan Launched

Stalin launches a crash program of forced industrialization and central planning, transforming the USSR's economy at enormous human cost.

October 1, 1928

Soviet Union

USSR

Forced Collectivization of Soviet Agriculture

The state forcibly consolidates private farms into collectives, dispossessing and deporting millions of "kulaks" and shattering agricultural production.

January 1, 1929

Nazi Germany

Germany

Great Depression Devastates Germany

The global economic collapse throws millions of Germans out of work, discrediting the Weimar Republic and driving voters toward political extremes.

October 29, 1929

Nazi Germany

Germany

NSDAP Becomes Germany's Second-Largest Party

Capitalizing on the Depression, the Nazi Party surges from 12 to 107 Reichstag seats in national elections.

September 14, 1930

Soviet Union

Soviet Ukraine

Holodomor: The Soviet Famine in Ukraine

Grain requisitioning and collectivization policies produce a catastrophic man-made famine in Ukraine, killing an estimated 3.5 to 5 million people.

January 1, 1932

Nazi Germany

Germany

NSDAP Becomes Germany's Largest Party

The Nazi Party wins 37% of the vote, becoming the largest single party in the Reichstag, though still short of a majority.

July 31, 1932

Nazi Germany

Berlin, Germany

Hitler Appointed Chancellor of Germany

President Hindenburg, pressured by conservative advisers who believe they can control him, appoints Hitler as Chancellor of Germany.

January 30, 1933

Nazi Germany

Berlin, Germany

Reichstag Fire

A fire destroys the German parliament building; the Nazis blame communists and use the incident to justify suspending civil liberties.

February 27, 1933

Nazi Germany

Dachau, Germany

Dachau Concentration Camp Opens

The Nazis open Dachau, their first concentration camp, initially to imprison political opponents.

March 22, 1933

Nazi Germany

Berlin, Germany

Enabling Act Grants Hitler Dictatorial Power

The Reichstag passes the Enabling Act, allowing Hitler's cabinet to enact laws without parliamentary approval and effectively ending German democracy.

March 23, 1933

Nazi Germany

Germany

Nazi Book Burnings

Nazi students and officials publicly burn tens of thousands of books deemed "un-German," including works by Jewish, socialist, and liberal authors.

May 10, 1933

Nazi Germany

Germany

NSDAP Declared Germany's Only Legal Party

A new law formally bans all political parties except the NSDAP, completing Germany’s transformation into a one-party state.

July 14, 1933

Nazi Germany

Germany

Night of the Long Knives

Hitler orders the murder of SA leader Ernst Röhm and dozens of other perceived rivals, eliminating a challenge to his authority and cementing the SS's power.

June 30, 1934

Nazi Germany

Germany

Hitler Merges the Presidency and Chancellorship

Upon Hindenburg’s death, Hitler merges the offices of president and chancellor, becoming "Führer und Reichskanzler" with absolute power over the German state and military.

August 2, 1934

Soviet Union

Leningrad, USSR

Assassination of Sergei Kirov

The murder of Leningrad party boss Sergei Kirov gives Stalin a pretext to launch a sweeping purge of the Communist Party.

December 1, 1934

Nazi Germany

Nuremberg, Germany

Nuremberg Laws Strip Jews of Citizenship

The Nazi regime enacts laws stripping German Jews of citizenship and criminalizing marriage or sexual relations between Jews and non-Jews.

September 15, 1935

Nazi Germany

Rhineland, Germany

Germany Remilitarizes the Rhineland

German troops march into the demilitarized Rhineland in violation of the Versailles and Locarno treaties; Britain and France do not intervene.

March 7, 1936

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Spain

Spanish Revolution and Civil War Begin

A military coup against Spain's Republic triggers civil war; anarchist and socialist workers collectivize factories and farms in Catalonia and Aragon before Franco's Nationalists ultimately prevail.

July 17, 1936

Soviet Union

USSR

The Great Purge / Great Terror

Stalin's regime conducts show trials, mass executions, and deportations to the Gulag, killing hundreds of thousands and imprisoning millions in a campaign to eliminate all real or imagined opposition.

August 1, 1936

Nazi Germany

Berlin, Germany

Berlin Hosts the 1936 Summer Olympics

Nazi Germany stages the Summer Olympics as a propaganda showcase, though Jesse Owens' four gold medals undercut Nazi racial ideology on the world stage.

August 1, 1936

Nazi Germany

Spain

Germany Intervenes in the Spanish Civil War

Hitler sends the Condor Legion to support Franco's Nationalists, testing new weapons and tactics — including the bombing of Guernica — later used in World War II.

November 6, 1936

Soviet Union

USSR

Stalin Constitution Adopted

The USSR adopts a new constitution proclaiming extensive civil rights on paper, even as the Great Terror rages in practice.

December 5, 1936

Nazi Germany

Austria

Anschluss: Germany Annexes Austria

German troops enter Austria unopposed and Hitler proclaims its annexation into the Reich, his first territorial expansion.

March 12, 1938

Nazi Germany

Munich, Germany

Munich Agreement Cedes the Sudetenland

Britain and France agree to let Germany annex the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia in a failed bid to appease Hitler and avoid war.

September 30, 1938

Nazi Germany

Germany and Austria

Kristallnacht Pogrom

Nazi paramilitaries and civilians attack Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues across Germany and Austria, killing dozens and marking a sharp escalation toward the Holocaust.

November 9, 1938

Nazi Germany

Czechoslovakia

Germany Occupies the Rest of Czechoslovakia

In violation of the Munich Agreement, German troops occupy Bohemia and Moravia, exposing the failure of appeasement.

March 15, 1939

Soviet Union

Moscow, USSR

USSR Signs Non-Aggression Pact With Nazi Germany

Foreign ministers Molotov and Ribbentrop sign a non-aggression pact with a secret protocol dividing Eastern Europe into Soviet and Nazi spheres of influence.

August 23, 1939

Nazi Germany

Moscow, USSR

Nazi Germany Signs Non-Aggression Pact With the USSR

Foreign Minister Ribbentrop signs a non-aggression pact with the USSR, freeing Hitler to invade Poland without fear of Soviet intervention.

August 23, 1939

Nazi Germany

Poland

Germany Invades Poland — World War II Begins

Germany launches a blitzkrieg invasion of Poland, prompting Britain and France to declare war and beginning the Second World War in Europe.

September 1, 1939

Soviet Union

Eastern Poland

Soviet Union Invades Eastern Poland

Sixteen days after the Nazi invasion, the Red Army invades Poland from the east under the terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact's secret protocol.

September 17, 1939

Soviet Union

Finland

Winter War With Finland

The USSR invades Finland; despite eventual victory, the Red Army's heavy losses against fierce Finnish resistance expose its military weaknesses.

November 30, 1939

Nazi Germany

Denmark, Norway

Germany Invades Denmark and Norway

Germany launches simultaneous invasions of Denmark and Norway to secure Baltic shipping lanes and Norwegian iron ore.

April 9, 1940

Nazi Germany

France, Belgium, Netherlands

Germany Invades France and the Low Countries

Germany launches Fall Gelb, a rapid armored offensive through the Ardennes that bypasses the Maginot Line and overwhelms Allied forces.

May 10, 1940

Soviet Union

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

USSR Annexes the Baltic States

Soviet forces occupy and annex Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania under the terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

June 14, 1940

Nazi Germany

Compiègne, France

France Surrenders

France signs an armistice with Germany, which occupies the north while a collaborationist government is installed at Vichy in the south.

June 22, 1940

Nazi Germany

United Kingdom

Battle of Britain

The Luftwaffe fails to gain air superiority over Britain in a months-long air campaign, forcing Hitler to indefinitely postpone his planned invasion.

July 10, 1940

Soviet Union

Soviet Western Border

Nazi Germany Invades the USSR — the Great Patriotic War Begins

Germany launches Operation Barbarossa, the largest invasion in military history, shattering the Nazi-Soviet Pact and opening the war's deadliest front.

June 22, 1941

Nazi Germany

Soviet Union

Germany Launches Operation Barbarossa

Hitler betrays the Nazi-Soviet Pact and launches the largest invasion in history against the USSR, opening a catastrophic two-front war.

June 22, 1941

Soviet Union

Leningrad, USSR

Siege of Leningrad

German and Finnish forces blockade Leningrad for nearly 900 days; over a million civilians die of starvation and bombardment before the siege is broken.

September 8, 1941

Nazi Germany

Berlin, Germany

Germany Declares War on the United States

Days after Pearl Harbor, Hitler declares war on the United States, drawing American industrial power fully into the European theater.

December 11, 1941

Nazi Germany

Wannsee, Berlin

Wannsee Conference Coordinates the "Final Solution"

Senior Nazi officials meet to coordinate the systematic deportation and murder of Europe's Jews, formalizing the machinery of the Holocaust.

January 20, 1942

Soviet Union

Stalingrad, USSR

Red Army Wins the Battle of Stalingrad

After months of brutal urban combat, the Red Army encircles and destroys Germany's Sixth Army, marking the decisive turning point of the war in Europe.

August 23, 1942

Nazi Germany

Stalingrad, USSR

Germany's Sixth Army Destroyed at Stalingrad

After a brutal siege, the encircled German Sixth Army surrenders — a catastrophic defeat that shatters the myth of German invincibility.

August 23, 1942

Soviet Union

Kursk, USSR

Battle of Kursk

The Red Army defeats a last major German offensive in the largest tank battle in history, permanently seizing the strategic initiative on the Eastern Front.

July 5, 1943

Nazi Germany

Kursk, USSR

Germany's Last Eastern Offensive Fails at Kursk

Germany's massive offensive to regain the initiative on the Eastern Front collapses, after which it fights a continuous retreat toward Berlin.

July 5, 1943

Nazi Germany

Normandy, France

D-Day: Allied Invasion of Normandy

Allied forces land in Normandy in the largest seaborne invasion in history, opening a second major front against Germany in the west.

June 6, 1944

Nazi Germany

Rastenburg, East Prussia

July 20 Plot to Assassinate Hitler Fails

Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg's bomb plot to kill Hitler and overthrow the Nazi regime fails; the conspirators are executed.

July 20, 1944

Nazi Germany

Auschwitz, occupied Poland

Auschwitz-Birkenau Liberated

Advancing Soviet troops liberate the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, revealing the full horror of the Holocaust, in which the Nazis murdered six million Jews.

January 27, 1945

Soviet Union

Berlin, Germany

Red Army Captures Berlin

Soviet forces storm the German capital in the war's final major battle, raising the Soviet flag over the Reichstag and forcing Berlin's surrender.

April 16, 1945

Nazi Germany

Berlin, Germany

Battle of Berlin

Soviet forces encircle and storm the German capital in the war's final major battle, reducing it to rubble.

April 16, 1945

Nazi Germany

Berlin, Germany

Hitler Commits Suicide

With Soviet troops blocks from his bunker, Hitler takes his own life alongside Eva Braun, whom he had married the day before.

April 30, 1945

Soviet Union

Berlin / Reims

Nazi Germany Surrenders to the Allies

Germany signs unconditional surrender documents, ending the war in Europe; the USSR alone loses an estimated 27 million people in the conflict.

May 8, 1945

Nazi Germany

Reims / Berlin

Nazi Germany Surrenders Unconditionally

German military leaders sign unconditional surrender documents, ending the Third Reich twelve years after Hitler took power and ending the war in Europe.

May 8, 1945

Soviet Union

Manchuria

USSR Declares War on Japan, Invades Manchuria

Honoring its Yalta commitments, the Soviet Union declares war on Japan and launches a massive offensive against Japanese forces in Manchuria.

August 9, 1945

Nazi Germany

Nuremberg, Germany

Nuremberg Trials Begin

The Allies put surviving senior Nazi leaders on trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, establishing precedents for modern international law.

November 20, 1945

Soviet Union

Moscow

Comecon Established

The USSR founds the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance to bind the economies of the Eastern Bloc to Moscow.

January 25, 1949

Soviet Union

Semipalatinsk, Kazakh SSR

Soviet Union Tests Its First Atomic Bomb

The USSR detonates "First Lightning," ending the American nuclear monopoly and igniting the Cold War arms race.

August 29, 1949

Soviet Union

Moscow, USSR

Stalin Dies

Joseph Stalin dies after nearly three decades of absolute rule, setting off a power struggle and, eventually, a cautious thaw.

March 5, 1953

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

East Berlin, East Germany

East German Uprising of 1953

East German workers strike and riot against Soviet-imposed labor quotas; Soviet tanks crush the uprising within a day, killing dozens.

June 16, 1953

Soviet Union

Warsaw, Poland

Warsaw Pact Formed

The USSR and its Eastern European satellites form a mutual-defense alliance in response to West Germany's admission into NATO.

May 14, 1955

Soviet Union

Moscow, USSR

Khrushchev's "Secret Speech" Denounces Stalin

At the 20th Party Congress, Nikita Khrushchev denounces Stalin's cult of personality and crimes, launching a wave of de-Stalinization.

February 25, 1956

Soviet Union

Budapest, Hungary

Soviet Tanks Crush the Hungarian Revolution

After briefly tolerating Hungary's uprising, the USSR sends in the Red Army to crush the revolution, killing thousands and installing a loyal government.

November 4, 1956

Soviet Union

Baikonur Cosmodrome, USSR

Sputnik 1 Launched

The USSR launches the world's first artificial satellite, stunning the West and opening the Space Race.

October 4, 1957

Soviet Union

Earth orbit

Yuri Gagarin Becomes First Human in Space

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin completes a single orbit of the Earth aboard Vostok 1, becoming the first person in space.

April 12, 1961

Soviet Union

Berlin, Germany

Construction of the Berlin Wall Begins

East Germany, backed by Moscow, seals the border between East and West Berlin overnight, building a wall that will divide the city for 28 years.

August 13, 1961

Soviet Union

Cuba

Cuban Missile Crisis

The discovery of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba brings the US and USSR to the brink of nuclear war before a tense standoff is resolved diplomatically.

October 16, 1962

Soviet Union

Moscow, USSR

Khrushchev Ousted; Brezhnev Era Begins

The Politburo removes Khrushchev in a bloodless coup; Leonid Brezhnev takes power, ushering in nearly two decades of political and economic stagnation.

October 14, 1964

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Czechoslovakia

Prague Spring Reform Movement

Alexander Dubček’s "socialism with a human face" briefly liberalizes Czechoslovak communism before the Warsaw Pact invasion crushes the reforms.

January 5, 1968

Soviet Union

Czechoslovakia

Warsaw Pact Invades Czechoslovakia

Soviet-led Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia to crush the Prague Spring’s liberalizing reforms, reasserting the "Brezhnev Doctrine" of limited sovereignty for satellite states.

August 20, 1968

Soviet Union

Afghanistan

USSR Invades Afghanistan

Soviet forces invade Afghanistan to prop up its communist government, beginning a costly nine-year war that becomes the USSR’s "bleeding wound."

December 24, 1979

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Gdańsk, Poland

Solidarity (Solidarność) Trade Union Founded

Led by shipyard electrician Lech Wałęsa, Polish workers found Solidarity, the first independent trade union in the Eastern Bloc, following the Gdańsk shipyard strikes.

September 17, 1980

Soviet Union

Moscow, USSR

Mikhail Gorbachev Becomes General Secretary

Gorbachev becomes the youngest Soviet leader since Stalin and soon launches the twin reform programs of glasnost and perestroika.

March 11, 1985

Soviet Union

Pripyat, Ukrainian SSR

Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

A reactor explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant causes the world's worst nuclear accident, exposing the dysfunction and secrecy of the late Soviet system.

April 26, 1986

Marx & Workers' Revolutions

Poland

Solidarity Wins Poland's First Free Elections

Solidarity candidates sweep Poland's semi-free elections, the first time an opposition movement defeats a ruling communist party at the ballot box in the Eastern Bloc.

June 4, 1989

Soviet Union

Eastern Europe

Revolutions of 1989 Sweep the Eastern Bloc

A cascade of largely peaceful revolutions — including Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution and Romania's violent overthrow of Ceaușescu — topples communist governments across Eastern Europe within months.

June 4, 1989

Soviet Union

Berlin, Germany

Fall of the Berlin Wall

East Germans breach the Berlin Wall after a bungled announcement of relaxed travel rules, an event that comes to symbolize the collapse of communism in Europe.

November 9, 1989

Soviet Union

Germany

German Reunification

East and West Germany formally reunite, less than a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

October 3, 1990

Soviet Union

Moscow, USSR

August Coup Against Gorbachev Fails

Hardline communist officials attempt to seize power and reverse Gorbachev's reforms; the coup collapses within three days, fatally weakening the Soviet state.

August 19, 1991

Soviet Union

Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Belarus

Belavezha Accords Dissolve the USSR

The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus sign an agreement declaring the Soviet Union dissolved and forming the Commonwealth of Independent States.

December 8, 1991

Soviet Union

Moscow, Russia

Soviet Union Formally Dissolves

Gorbachev resigns and the Soviet flag is lowered over the Kremlin for the last time, formally ending the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics after 69 years.

December 26, 1991