Timeline: The collapse of the soviet union

1917

Vladimir Lenin over threw the Russian Provisional Government

When the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin overthrew the Russian Provisional Government which had replaced Tsar Nicholas II during World War I. In 1922, the Soviet Union was formed by the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR.

Dec 30, 1922

the Soviet Union was formed

1932

Millions died during the Great Famine

Amid confusion and resistance to collectivization in the countryside, agricultural productivity dropped. This led to devastating food shortages. For many years the USSR denied the Great Famine.

1985

Mikhail Gorbachev took control of the USSR

Mikhail Gorbachev took control of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

Dec 25, 1991

The soviet union split up

The soviet union split up into 15 different countries

Dec 26, 1991

The collapse of the soviet union

The world watched in amazement, the Soviet Union disintegrated into fifteen separate countries. Its collapse was hailed by the west as a victory for freedom, a triumph of democracy over totalitarianism, and evidence of the superiority of capitalism over socialism.

Dec 26, 1991

The Russian government took over offices of USSR in Russia

1998

Russian stock market crashes, economy collapses

2000

Russian President Vladimir Putin was working to create a free-trade zone

2009

President Barack Obama makes his first official visit to Moscow

President Barack Obama makes his first official visit to Moscow and meets with President Medvedev. The two begin outlining a replacement for the 1991 Start 1 treaty with an agreement to cut down on the nuclear weapon stockpiles in both countries.