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The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social change in the Russian Empire, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government following two successive revolutions and a bloody civil war.

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The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. The principles were outlined in a January 8, 1918 speech on war aims and peace terms to the United States Congress by President Woodrow Wilson.

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1918: Russia Signs Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

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1918: Russia Signs Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

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The treaty marked Russia's final withdrawal from World War I and resulted in Russia losing major territorial holdings. In the treaty, Bolshevik Russia ceded the Baltic States to Germany; they were meant to become German vassal states under German princelings.

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The armistice signed on November 11, 1918, marked the end of World War I, a conflict that reshaped European borders, toppled empires, and set the stage for the 20th century's geopolitical landscape. This pivotal moment led to the Treaty of Versailles, which imposed heavy reparations on Germany and significantly altered the map of Europe, sowing the seeds for future conflicts.

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The Paris Peace Conference was a set of formal and informal diplomatic meetings in 1919 and 1920 after the end of World War I, in which the victorious Allies set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers. The following Treaties were agreed upon during the conference:

Versailles

Trianon

Saint-Germain

Neuilly

Sevres

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The establishment of the Soviet Union in December 1922 marked the unification of the Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Transcaucasian Soviet republics under a new communist government. This event was a seminal moment in European history, introducing a major new political entity that would play a crucial role in global affairs throughout the 20th century.

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An organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. Shortly after Mussolini is named Prime Minister by the King of Italy.

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The Occupation of the Ruhr took place from January 1923 to September 1925, when the French invaded the Ruhr region of Germany in order to collect goods to pay for reparations that Germany had failed to pay. The Germans were outraged at the invasion.

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On November 8–9, 1923, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party led a coalition group in an attempt to overthrow the German government. The plotters hoped to march on Berlin to launch a national revolution. But the insurrection failed miserably. Units of the Munich police force clashed with Nazi stormtroopers as they marched into the city center. The police killed more than a dozen of Hitler’s supporters.

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1924: Stalin assumes control of the Soviet Union

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1924: Stalin assumes control of the Soviet Union

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The Dawes Plan temporarily resolved the issue of the reparations that Germany owed to the Allies of World War I. Enacted in 1924, it ended the crisis in European diplomacy that occurred after French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr in response to Germany's failure to meet its reparations obligations.

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Assassins with ties to Mussolini killed socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti, prompting opposition deputies to boycott the Parliament. On January 3, 1925, Mussolini essentially took responsibility for that assassination in a speech to Parliament that is seen as the start of his Fascist dictatorship.

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From left to right, Gustav Stresemann, Austen Chamberlain and Aristide Briand during the Locarno negotiations

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Also known as the Locarno Pact, the treaty guaranteed Germany's western frontier, which the bordering states of France, Germany, and Belgium pledged to treat as inviolable. As signatories of the agreement, Britain and Italy committed themselves to help to repel any armed aggression across the frontier.

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The Kellogg-Briand Pact was an agreement to outlaw war signed on August 27, 1928. Sometimes called the Pact of Paris for the city in which it was signed, the pact was one of many international efforts to prevent another World War, but it had little effect in stopping the rising militarism of the 1930s or preventing World War II.

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1928: Beginning of the First Five Year Plan

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1928: Beginning of the First Five Year Plan

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The first five year plan was created in order to initiate rapid and large-scale industrialization across the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

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The Young Plan was a 1929 attempt to settle issues surrounding the World War I reparations obligations that Germany owed under the terms of Treaty of Versailles.

Set a final 59 year limit on the reparation payments, ended international control over their delivery

Reactions

Large opposition amongst the Germans, rightist particularly were upset with Stressmen

Results

Eventually resulted in the assassination of Stressmen, the Rhine was to be demilitarized by the French

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Upon ratification of the Lateran Treaty, the papacy recognized the state of Italy, with Rome as its capital. Italy in return recognized papal sovereignty over the Vatican City, a minute territory of 44 hectares (109 acres), and secured full independence for the pope. A number of additional measures were agreed upon. Article 1, for example, gave the city of Rome a special character as the “centre of the Catholic world and place of pilgrimage.” Article 20 stated that all bishops were to take an oath of loyalty to the state and had to be Italian subjects speaking the Italian language.

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1929: Stock Market Crash - Beginning of the Great Depression

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1929: Stock Market Crash - Beginning of the Great Depression

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The United States stock market crashed in an event known as Black Tuesday. This began a chain of events that led to the Great Depression, a 10-year economic slump that affected all industrialized countries in the world.

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The Enabling Act allowed the Reich government to issue laws without the consent of Germany's parliament, laying the foundation for the complete Nazification of German society.

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Night of the Long Knives, in German history, purge of Nazi leaders by Adolf Hitler on June 30, 1934. Fearing that the paramilitary SA had become too powerful, Hitler ordered his elite SS guards to murder the organization’s leaders, including Ernst Röhm. Also killed that night were hundreds of other perceived opponents of Hitler.

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The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia

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The Nuremberg Laws were antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag convened during the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party.

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German troops re-occupied the Rhineland, a de-militarised zone according to the Treaty of Versailles. This action was directly against the terms which Germany had accepted after the First World War.

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A military revolt against the Republican government of Spain, supported by conservative elements within the country. Seen as the dress Rehearsal of the Second World War.

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The annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an Anschluss arose after the 1871 unification of Germany excluded Austria and the German Austrians from the Prussian-dominated German Empire.

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An agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, Great Britain, the French Republic, and Fascist Italy. The agreement provided for the German annexation of part of Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland, where more than three million people, mainly ethnic Germans, lived.

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1939: Nazi-Soviet Pact (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact)

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1939: Nazi-Soviet Pact (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact)

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The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union with a secret protocol that partitioned Central and Eastern Europe between them.

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1939: Germany Invades Poland (Start of WWII)

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1939: Germany Invades Poland (Start of WWII)

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The Phoney War was an eight-month period at the start of World War II during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front.

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The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940

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Battle of France, (May 10–June 25, 1940), during World War II, the German invasion of the Low Countries and France. In just over six weeks, German armed forces overran Belgium and the Netherlands, drove the British Expeditionary Force from the Continent, captured Paris, and forced the surrender of the French government.

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The evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the north of France,

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The Battle of Britain was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe. It was the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces.

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Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War.

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The Atlantic Charter was a statement issued on 14 August 1941 that set out American and British goals for the world after the end of World War II. Eventually signed by the Soviets as well.

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Moved to unseat the Germans from their advanced positions in the Ukraine

Support of the Soviets continued to rise in Europe as the country miraculously survived the Nazis and were mounting a successful counteroffensive.

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Fought near the western frontier of Egypt between 23 October and 4 November 1942, El Alamein was the climax and turning point of the North African campaign in the Second World War. The Axis army of Italy and Germany suffered a decisive defeat by the British Eighth Army.

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The Battle of Stalingrad occurred on the Eastern Front of World War II, beginning when Nazi Germany and the Axis powers became locked in a protracted struggle with the Soviet Union for control over the city of Stalingrad in what is now southern Russia.

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On July 25, 1943, Benito Mussolini, fascist dictator of Italy, is voted out of power by his own Grand Council and arrested upon leaving a meeting with King Vittorio Emanuele, who tells Il Duce that the war is lost.

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Meeting between Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt

Agreement was reached that there would be a major allied invasion in France in May of 1944

Eisenhower would be the commander

Soviets would launch an equal offensive in the East

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1943: Liberation of Rome and Italy by the Allies

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1943: Liberation of Rome and Italy by the Allies

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Liberation of Rome marked the beginning of post-fascist politics

Pro democracy sentiment throughout Italy

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Attack was launched on a 60 mile long arc of Normandy

Close enough to provide cover from the RAF

Allied attack

Allies suffered heavy casualties but overcame the Germans

German resistance and leadership

Believed the landings were a feint and the main invasion was in Calais (narrowest area of the channel)

Held his armed forces in reserve waiting for the main attack until it was too late

General Leclerc

Commander of the French armored division

Freed France and De Gaulle became the universally recognized liberator

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Last German attack that was supposed to break through the weakest point in the allied lines and disorganize their rear - capturing the base at Antwerp

Caught the allies off guard and a great “bulge” was created in the allied line

Results

Allies defeated the Germans last effort but it disorganized their time table of invasion into the reich

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Meeting of Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill where the following was decided:

Agreement to the priority of the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany.

Occupation zones of Germany and Berlin established

Stalin agreed that France would have a fourth occupation zone in Germany if it was formed from the American and the British zones.

Germany would undergo demilitarization and denazification.

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Last battle of the war in Europe. Led to the end of the defeat of the Nazis and the suicide of Adolf Hitler.

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Victory in Europe Day on May 8, 1945, celebrated the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allied forces, marking the end of World War II in Europe. The war had devastating effects on the continent, leading to the loss of millions of lives, widespread destruction, and the ultimate emergence of the Cold War.

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A meeting of Truman, Stalin, and Churchill (later Clement Atlee) to discuss postwar peace/organization.

Agreements

disarmament and demilitarization of Germany

arrest and prosecute war criminals

Poland divided based on the Curzon line

German government remade into a democracy

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Following the end of World War II, the United Nations was established on October 24, 1945, with the goal of preventing future conflicts and fostering international cooperation. The UN played a significant role in the post-war era, promoting human rights and assisting in peacekeeping efforts around the world.

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The Cold War, a period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States, dominated much of the late 20th century. This era saw the division of Europe into Eastern and Western blocs, the threat of nuclear warfare, and numerous proxy wars. The Cold War's influence on international relations and domestic policies in countries around the world was profound and far-reaching.

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US economic assistance to Europe

Offered aid to all European countries (even communist ones)

Poles and Czechs would have accepted but were denied access by the USSR

USSR would permit no communist participation

Rolled out COMECON to shape E. European economic recovery

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The Soviets cut off all roads and railways to Western Berlin

attempt to force the city government into line

Western powers responded by airlifting supplies into W. Berlin

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Included the U.S and Canada as well as 10 European nations

Created for mutual protection

military support would be provided to any country who was attacked

each nation would provide a proportionate amount of military and monetary support

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June 1950 Communist North Korea invaded America-endorsed S. Korea

UN supported US intervention and agreed to supply troop contingents.

Causes raw material prices to skyrocket, leads to inflation

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A collective defense treaty established by the Soviet Union and seven other Soviet satellite states in Central and Eastern Europe: Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania (Albania withdrew in 1968).

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In a speech to the communist party NK detailed the “crimes of the Stalin Era”

Distanced himself from Stalin to avoid association with his crimes/win favor with the West

Admitted there were ‘Several ways to reach socialism”

Text leaked out and started an ideological “thaw”

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The uprising was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic and the policies caused by the government's subordination to the Soviet Union.

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1957: The European Economic Community is Established

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1957: The European Economic Community is Established

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The signing of the Treaty of Rome on March 25, 1957, established the European Economic Community (EEC), the precursor to the European Union. The EEC aimed to foster economic cooperation and integration among its six founding members: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany. This marked a significant step towards economic and political unity in Europe.

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Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program.

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1961: Soviet Union launch first man into space

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1961: Soviet Union launch first man into space

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Yuri Gagarin from the Soviet Union was the first human in space. His vehicle, Vostok 1 circled Earth at a speed of 27,400 kilometers per hour with the flight lasting 108 minutes.

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A 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of nuclear missiles in Italy and Turkey were matched by Soviet deployments of nuclear missiles in Cuba.

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An agreement reached by the UK, US, and USSR to ban all atmospheric, outer space, or underwater nuclear tests.

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Limit ICBM launch sites to two

100 ICBMs per site

eventually reduced to one

Neither side was able to defend more than a fraction of its territory

early warning radar systems to be placed at the periphery

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The Helsinki Final Act was an agreement signed by 35 nations that concluded the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, held in Helsinki, Finland. The multifaceted Act addressed a range of prominent global issues and in so doing had a far-reaching effect on the Cold War and U.S.-Soviet relations.

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1985: Gorbachev assumes control of the Soviet Union

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1985: Gorbachev assumes control of the Soviet Union

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Mikhail Gorbachev becomes soviet premier and begins to institute two large reforms.

Glasnost

Wish to release the soviet media and culture from the grip of censorship, more truthful reporting, more publication of books and articles critical of the communist party, and an honest look at Soviet history.

Perestroika

Wished to transfer power from the communist party to the federal government

Gorbachev moved to give citizens a far greater say in government

Article VI

Changed the communist party’s “leading position” in government in favor of a multi party system

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The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, symbolized the rapid unraveling of communist control in Eastern Europe and the end of the Cold War. This event paved the way for German reunification and marked a turning point in European history, heralding a new era of freedom and democracy in the continent.

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In December 1991, the Soviet Union was officially dissolved, ending nearly 70 years of communist rule and marking the conclusion of the Cold War. This event led to the independence of 15 republics and significant geopolitical shifts, profoundly impacting the political landscape of Europe and the world.