Tue, July 07, 2009
1922
USSR Born
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is established. Russia is by far the largest member.
1933
Formal Relations
The United States formally recognizes the USSR, and the countries establish diplomatic relations.
1941
Lend-Lease
U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt gives the USSR and other countries millions of dollars worth of weapons and other support for their fight against Nazi Germany.
1945
Victory!
The United States and Soviet Union end World War II as allies. As co-founders of the United Nations, both countries (along with France, China, and the united Kingdom) become permanent members of United Nations Security Council with full veto authority over the council's action.
1947
Cold War Begins
The struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union for domination in certain sectors and parts of the world is dubbed the Cold War. It will last until 1991. Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill calls the division of Europe between the West and those parts dominated by the Soviet Union an "Iron Curtain." American expert George Kennan advises the United States to follow a policy of "containment" toward the Soviet Union.
1957
Space Race
The Soviets launch Sputnik, the first manmade object to orbit the Earth. Americans, who had confidently felt they were ahead of the Soviets in technology and science, redouble their efforts in science, engineering, and the overall space race.
1960
Spy Charges
The Soviets shoot down an American spy plane gathering information over Russian territory. The pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was captured alive. He spent nearly two years in a Soviet prison before being exchanged for a Soviet intelligence officer captured in New York.
1962
Missile Crisis
The stationing of U.S. nuclear missiles in Turkey and Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba leads to the most dramatic and potentially world-shattering confrontation of the Cold War. In the end, both sets of missiles were removed.
1970s
Detente
A series of summits and discussions, including the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, between the United States and the Soviet Union led to a thawing of tensions. This effort was known as "detente."
1975
Space Cooperation
American and Soviet astronauts link their Apollo and Soyuz spacecrafts in Earth orbit.
1980
Olympic Politics
The United States and 60 other countries boycott the Summer Olympics (held in Moscow) to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
1982
War of Words
U.S. President Ronald Reagan begins to refer to the Soviet Union as an "evil empire".
1984
More Olympic Politics
The Soviet Union and a handful of countries boycott the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
1986
Near Breakthrough
At a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev came close to agreeing to eliminate all nuclear weapons and share the so-called Star Wars defense technologies. Although the negotiations broke down, it set the stage for future arms control agreements.
1991
Coup
A group of hard-liners stage a coup against Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev. They take power for less than three days.
1991
USSR's End
In the final days of December, the Soviet Union dissolved itself and was replaced by 15 different independent states, including Russia. Russia honors all treaties signed by the former Soviet Union and assumes the United Nations Security Council seat formerly held by the Soviets.
2000
Space Cooperation Continues
Russians and Americans occupy the jointly built International Space Station for the first time.
2002
Treaty
U.S. President George Bush unilaterally withdraws from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty signed by the two countries in 1972.
2008
Transfer of Power?
In elections unmonitored by international observers, Dmitry Medvedev is elected president replacing Vladimir Putin.
