Timeline of the era
From the 1917 revolution to the dissolution of the Union in 1991 — nine turning points.
In October 1917 (November by the new calendar) the Bolsheviks seize power in Petrograd.
On 30 December 1922 the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR is signed, uniting four republics.
Forced industrialization and the collectivization of agriculture, alongside the tragedy of famine and repression.
The war against Nazi Germany — the largest and bloodiest conflict in the country's history.
After Stalin's death a partial liberalization begins — the cultural and political Thaw.
On 12 April 1961 Yuri Gagarin makes the first human spaceflight in history.
The Brezhnev era: stability and social guarantees, but also an economic slowdown.
Mikhail Gorbachev launches perestroika and glasnost — reforms that transformed the country.
In December 1991 the Soviet Union ceases to exist, and 15 independent states appear on the map.