12 Mar 1918

Russia
  • The Soviet government relocated from Petrograd to Moscow in Russia. Many of the government offices were housed in the Moscow Kremlin. Vladmir Lenin and Joseph Stalin also maintained personal quarters in the complex. ww2dbase [Kremlin and Red Square | Joseph Stalin | Moscow | CPC]
2 Feb 1934

Photo(s) dated 2 Feb 1934
Vyacheslav Molotov at the funeral of the crewmen of Soviet high-altitude balloon Osoaviakhim-1, Kremlin Wall Necropolis, Moscow, Russia, 2 Feb 1934
1 May 1934

Photo(s) dated 1 May 1934
First prototype of T-35 heavy tank on parade, Moscow, Russia, 1 May 1934, photo 2 of 2First prototype of T-35 heavy tank on parade, Moscow, Russia, 1 May 1934, photo 1 of 2
19 Jun 1934

Photo(s) dated 19 Jun 1934
Nikolai Kamanin and Otto Schmidt at an event honoring SS Chelyuskin survivors, Red Square, Moscow, Russia, 19 Jun 1934
27 Dec 1936

Russia
  • The Pe-8 bomber aircraft took its maiden flight with M. M. Gromov at the controls at Khodynka Aerodrome in Moscow, Russia. ww2dbase [Pe-8 | Moscow | CPC]
1 May 1938

Photo(s) dated 1 May 1938
Soviet bicycle troops with war dogs on parade, Red Square, Moscow, Russia, 1 May 1938
28 Sep 1939

Photo(s) dated 28 Sep 1939
Vyacheslav Molotov and Joachim von Ribbentrop shaking hands at the meeting to amed the German-Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty, Moscow, Russia, 28 Sep 1939
31 Oct 1939

Photo(s) dated 31 Oct 1939
Vyacheslav Molotov addressing the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, Moscow, Russia, 31 Oct 1939; note Joseph Stalin in background
6 Mar 1940

Russia
6 Jun 1940

Russia
13 Apr 1941

Photo(s) dated 13 Apr 1941
Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka signing the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact, Moscow, Russia, 13 Apr 1941, photo 1 of 3; note Vyacheslav Molotov and Joseph Stalin in backgroundJapanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka signing the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact, Moscow, Russia, 13 Apr 1941, photo 2 of 3; note Vyacheslav Molotov and Joseph Stalin in backgroundSoviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov signing the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact, Moscow, Russia, 13 Apr 1941; note Yosuke Matsuoka and Joseph Stalin in backgroundJapanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka signing the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact, Moscow, Russia, 13 Apr 1941, photo 3 of 3; note Vyacheslav Molotov and Joseph Stalin in background
26 Jun 1941

Russia
  • In the Soviet capital of Moscow, Joseph Stalin visited the General Staff headquarters twice, voicing frustration at the heavy losses that the Red Army was suffering against the invading German forces. ww2dbase [Joseph Stalin | Moscow | TH, CPC]
1 Jul 1941

Russia
22 Jul 1941

Russia
  • In captivity at the Lefortovo Prison in Moscow, Russia, General Dimitry Pavlov explained that out of the 600 artillery fortifications on the western border, only 169 of them actually had guns inside, and other similar facts explained why he could not counterattack the German forces as Joseph Stalin had ordered. Regardless, he was found guilty and was executed before the end of the day. His rank was stripped and his properties were confiscated by the state. ww2dbase [Lefortovo Prison | Dmitry Pavlov | Moscow | CPC]
  • For the second consecutive night, German bombers attacked Moscow, Russia. Of the 115 bombers dispatched, two failed to returned, one of which was a pathfinder aircraft while the other served in the traditional bomber role. ww2dbase [Battle of Moscow | Moscow | CPC]
26 Jul 1941

Russia
  • German aircraft bombed Moscow, Russia. Many bombs fell near the Kremlin, and the images were captured on film by journalist Margaret Bourke-White. ww2dbase [Kremlin and Red Square | Moscow | CPC]
28 Jul 1941

Photo(s) dated 28 Jul 1941
Soviet 85 mm M1939 (52-K) anti-aircraft guns at Gorky Park, Moscow, Russia, 28 Jul 1941
15 Aug 1941

Photo(s) dated 15 Aug 1941
Captured German Ju 88 aircraft on display in Sverdlov Square, Moscow, Russia, 15 Aug 1941
1 Sep 1941

Photo(s) dated 1 Sep 1941
Soviet soldier teaching civilians how to disarm a un-exploded German incendiary bomb, Sverdlov Square, Moscow, Russia, 1 Sep 1941
10 Sep 1941

Photo(s) dated 10 Sep 1941
Red Square, Moscow, Russia, 10 Sep 1941
1 Oct 1941

Photo(s) dated 1 Oct 1941
Soviet 203 mm Howitzer M1931 (B-4) field gun and crew, Moscow, Russia, 1 Oct 1941
10 Oct 1941

Photo(s) dated 10 Oct 1941
Russian militiamen, Moscow, Russia, 10 Oct 1941
15 Oct 1941

Russia
  • In Russia, German 1st Panzer Division turned northwest, thus away from Moscow, to attack Soviet Northwestern Front from the rear. The Soviet GKO ordered the NKVD, various agencies, and various foreign legations to evacuate from Moscow to Kuibyshev (now Samara). ww2dbase [Battle of Moscow | Moscow | CPC]
  • The Lubyanka Prison staff began the evacuation from Moscow, Russia, transferring the first group of prisoners to Kuibyshev (now Samara) and Saratov on this day. ww2dbase [Lubyanka Building | Moscow | CPC]
1 Nov 1941

Photo(s) dated 1 Nov 1941
Preparing barrage balloons on Bolshaya Ordynka Street, Moscow, Russia, 1 Nov 1941Setting up a 76 mm anti-aircraft gun battery at Moscow, Russia, 1 Nov 1941
7 Nov 1941

Photo(s) dated 7 Nov 1941
Soviet military parade at the Red Square in Moscow, Russia, 7 Nov 1941
20 Nov 1941

Photo(s) dated 20 Nov 1941
Russian sanitation detachment on Kirov Street in Moscow, Russia, 20 Nov 1941
1 Dec 1941

Photo(s) dated 1 Dec 1941
Soviet troops marching on Gorky Street, Moscow, Russia, 1 Dec 1941Soviet troops in exercise on Chistoprudny Boulevard in Moscow, Russia, 1 Dec 1941
4 Dec 1941

Russia
  • At an event at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Joseph Stalin noted to Aleksandr Vasilevsky his surprise that Vasilevsky only had a single Order of the Red Star and a medal on Vasilevsky's uniform; the Soviet leader had expected the general to be better decorated. ww2dbase [Aleksandr Vasilevsky | Kremlin and Red Square | Moscow | CPC]
31 Dec 1941

Photo(s) dated 31 Dec 1941
Soviet tank crew raising a flag on a KV-1 heavy tank, Moscow, Russia, 31 Dec 1941
19 Jul 1942

Photo(s) dated 19 Jul 1942
Barrage balloon near the Pushkin Monument in Moscow, Russia, 19 Jul 1942
25 Jul 1942

Russia
  • Nikolai Kamanin arrived at Moscow, Russia and took command of the newly formed 292nd Ground Attack Air Division. ww2dbase [Nikolai Kamanin | Moscow | CPC]
9 Aug 1942

Photo(s) dated 9 Aug 1942
Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow, Russia camouflaged with images of false buildings, 9 Aug 1942
12 Aug 1942

Russia
  • Winston Churchill arrived at Moscow, Russia at 1700 hours. At 1900 hours, he met with Joseph Stalin for the first time at the Kremlin, among other things convincing him there would be no second front at least until 1943 as the Western Allies would soon be invading French North Africa. ww2dbase [Kremlin and Red Square | Second Moscow Conference | Moscow | TH, CPC]
5 Oct 1942

Russia
  • The Soviet STAVKA arrested Major General Ivan Rukhle, recent deputy chief of the headquarters of the Stalingrad Front, and falsely charged him with treason. Rukhle would be kept at the Lubyanka prison near Moscow, Russia until 1952. ww2dbase [Lubyanka Building | Moscow | CPC]
1 Nov 1943

Russia
  • At a dinner at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Joseph Stalin told Cordell Hull that the Soviet Union would be willing to engage Japan in a war after Germany was defeated. ww2dbase [Joseph Stalin | Kremlin and Red Square | Moscow | CPC]
11 May 1944

Russia
  • The Soviet State Defense Committee in Moscow, Russia issued Decree 5859ss, ordering the deportation of Crimean Tatars to Central Asia within the next 20 days. ww2dbase [Deportation of Crimean Tatars | Moscow | CPC]
25 Sep 1944

Russia
  • Slovakian Captain Frantisek Urban, tricked by the Soviets to visit Moscow in Russia, was arrested by SMERSH and was transferred to the Lubyanka Prison. ww2dbase [Lubyanka Building | Moscow | CPC]
9 Oct 1944

Photo(s) dated 9 Oct 1944
Winston Churchill, W. Averell Harriman, Joseph Stalin, and Vyacheslav Molotov at Fourth Moscow Conference, Russia, Oct 1944, photo 1 of 2Winston Churchill, W. Averell Harriman, Joseph Stalin, and Vyacheslav Molotov at Fourth Moscow Conference, Russia, Oct 1944, photo 2 of 2
21 Jan 1945

Russia
30 Jan 1945

Russia
  • Russian monarchist Vasili Shulgin, who had been arrested in Yugoslavia in Dec 1944, was brought to Lubyanka Prison in Moscow, Russia. ww2dbase [Lubyanka Building | Moscow | CPC]
6 Feb 1945

Russia
8 Mar 1945

Russia
  • The Soviet Union announced that Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg was likely killed in early 1945 by German occupation troops in Hungary or by Hungarian Arrow Cross Party members. ww2dbase [Raoul Wallenberg | Moscow | CPC]
15 Apr 1945

Russia
  • At a conference in Moscow, Russia to discuss the war in the Far East, Joseph Stalin told Ambassador Averell Harriman that the forthcoming Soviet offensive will be aimed at Dresden, not Berlin, as he had already told Dwight Eisenhower. ww2dbase [Joseph Stalin | Moscow | AC]
8 May 1945

Photo(s) dated 8 May 1945
Victory celebration at the Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge near the Kremlin (background), Moscow, Russia, May 1945
24 Jun 1945

Russia Photo(s) dated 24 Jun 1945
SU-76 self-propelled guns on parade in Red Square, Moscow, Russia, 24 Jun 1945Georgy Zhukov at the Red Square victory parade, Moscow, Russia, 24 Jun 1945; note Chinese attaché Guo Dequan in backgroundSU-100 self-propelled guns on parade in Red Square, Moscow, Russia, 24 Jun 1945
8 Aug 1945

Russia
  • US Ambassador to the Soviet Union W. Averell Harriman reported to US President Harry Truman that Joseph Stalin would like to see Chinese recognition of the Soviet puppet state of Mongolia as an independent nation, and that its borders would be the present day borders of the Mongolia Area of China. ww2dbase [Averell Harriman | Moscow | CPC]
11 Aug 1945

Russia
  • From Moscow, Russia, US Ambassador to the Soviet Union W. Averell Harriman sent the full text of the declaration of war on Japan by the Soviet puppet state of Mongolian People's Republic. Harriman explained this action as Mongolia's attempt to act as a sovereign state, and warned that the Mongolian leadership seemed to have designs to occupy the Inner Mongolia and northeast (ie. Manchuria) regions of China. ww2dbase [Averell Harriman | Moscow | CPC]
12 Aug 1945

Russia
  • In Moscow, Russia, US Ambassador to the Soviet Union W. Averell Harriman insisted that the results of the negotiations between China and the Soviet Union must be consistent with the Yalta Agreement. ww2dbase [Averell Harriman | Moscow | CPC]
14 Aug 1945

Russia
  • Chinese Foreign Minister Song Ziwen informed US Ambassador in Moscow, Russia W. Averell Harriman that China and the Soviet Union had come to an agreement on all major issues being negotiated for the Sino-Soviet Friendship Treaty, and it was about to be signed into effect. ww2dbase [Song Ziwen | Moscow | CPC]
  • The Sino-Soviet Friendship Treaty was signed in Moscow, Russia by Song Ziwen and Vyacheslav Molotov. The USSR recognized the Nationalist Party as the sole ruling entity in China, and pledged to respect Chinese sovereignty and Chinese borders. China allowed the Soviets effective control of Dairen, Port Arthur, and various regions of northeast China. The Chinese delegation was surprised with the Soviet demand for China to cede Outer Mongolia as an independent nation; Song Ziwen, leader of the delegation, reluctantly agreed, knowing that the Soviet pledge to recognize the Nationalists was a greater gain. The Soviets also forced China to agree to a future referendum in Inner Mongolia, allow the people to choose whether they would join independent Mongolia. ww2dbase [Song Ziwen | Moscow | CPC]
  • The Soviet Union announced objections against Thailand's application to become a member of the United Nations. ww2dbase [Moscow | CPC]
13 Nov 1946

Russia
  • German prisoners of war Georg Jantschi and Karl Kosch were transferred from the special Prisoner of War Camp No. 27 in the suburbs of Moscow, Russia to the Lefortovo Prison in Moscow. ww2dbase [Lefortovo Prison | Moscow | CPC]
5 May 1948

Russia
  • German prisoner of war Georg Jantschi made a unsuccessful suicide attempt while in Soviet captivity at the Lefortovo Prison in Moscow, Russia. ww2dbase [Lefortovo Prison | Moscow | CPC]
6 Dec 1949

Photo(s) dated 6 Dec 1949
Shi Zhe (Mao
30 Nov 1950

Russia
  • Werner Haase passed away from tuberculosis in the hospital ward of the Butyrka prison in Moscow, Russia. ww2dbase [Werner Haase | Moscow | CPC]
10 Sep 1955

Photo(s) dated 10 Sep 1955
Vyacheslav Molotov, Heinrich von Brentano, Konrad Adenauer, Nikolai Bulganin, Nikita Khrushchev, and Mikhail Pervukhin at a performance of Romeo and Juliet at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, Russia, 10 Sep 1955
6 Feb 1957

Russia
  • The Soviet government released a document dated 17 Jul 1947 noting that Raoul Wallenberg had passed away unexpectedly, possibly of heart attack. Later Russian research efforts concluded that he was likely executed. ww2dbase [Raoul Wallenberg | Moscow | CPC]
14 Apr 1961

Russia
16 Dec 1974

Russia
3 Dec 1976

Russia
1 Nov 1977

Russia
11 Mar 1982

Russia
16 Sep 1982

Russia
8 Aug 2003

Photo(s) dated 8 Aug 2003
Lubyanka Building, Moscow, Russia, 8 Aug 2003
4 Feb 2010

Photo(s) dated 4 Feb 2010
Grave of Vyacheslav Molotov, Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow, Russia, 4 Feb 2010

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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General Douglas MacArthur at Leyte, 17 Oct 1944


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