Chronology of Russian History

THE POST-SOVIET PERIOD, 1991—
1991--	BORIS NIKOLAEVICH YELTSIN
January	Soviet army attacks public buildings in Riga and Vilnius
June 12	Boris Yeltsin becomes first democratically elected Russian President
July 10	Yeltsin's inauguration Bodies of Nicholas II and family exhumed
THE AUGUST 1991 COUP
August 19	Yanayev, Pugo, Yazov and 3 others announce take-over
August 20	Yeltsin speaks to crowd from tank then barricades himself in Parliament building
August 21	Latvia declares its independence Gorbachev returns from house arrest in Crimea
August 22	Pugo commits suicide
August 24	Gorbachev resigns as head of CP and Yeltsin closes Pravda and disbands CP
Sept 5	State Council set up by Congress of People's Deputies to govern in emergency
Sept 7	Baltic states recognized
Fall	Leningrad renamed 'St. Petersburg'
Nov 1	COMECON dissolves
Nov 15	Freedom to import and export established
Dec1	Ukrainian referendum on independence passed by 90.3%
Dec 8	Presidents of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine sign treaty to abolish USSR and form CIS
Dec 25	Gorbachev announces his resignation and USSR ceases to exist
1992
Jan 2	Prime Minister frees prices Ruble plummets; prices sky-rocket
March 31	Federation Treaty signed by all autonomous republics except Chechnya & Tatarstan
May 6	Gorbachev closes an era at Westminster College
May 15	Treaty on Collective Security: Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgystan
April 1	Western nations announce $24 billion aid package for Russia
April 6	Congress of People's Deputies begins its attack on the government
June 15	Yegor Gaidar appointed acting prime minister
Oct 1	Voucher privatization begins
Dec 14	Victor Chernomyrdin replaces Yegor Gaidar as prime minister
1993
March 11	Congress of People's Deputies passes resolution limiting powers of government to implement reforms
March 20	Yeltsin introduces 'special presidential rule'
March 23	Speaker of Congress Khasbulatov calls for impeachment of Yeltsin
April 3-4	US-Russian summit in Vancouver
April 25	Referendum supports the president and the reforms
August 31	Soviet troops withdrawn from Lithuania (not Latvia & Estonia)
Sept 18	Gaidar rejoins government as first deputy prime minister
Sept 21	President dissolves Congress of People's Deputies and Supreme Soviet of RF and calls for election of Federal Assembly
Sept 22	Parliament appoints Vice President Rutskoi president
STORMING OF THE HOUSE OF THE SOVIETS, October 2-4
Octr 3	Parliamentary forces attack Ostankino TV and mayor's office
Octr 4	Government forces storm the parliament building
Dec 12	Elections of first Federal Assembly of Russia and referendum to ratify Russian Constitution
1994
Jan 11	Federal Assembly begins its work
Feb 23	State Duma passes amnesty for political and economic crimes
June 16	Yegor Gaidar resigns as first deputy prime minister
July	Yeltsin meets with G-7 leaders in Naples
Oct 11	Ruble crashes
Oct 28	Solzhenitsyn addresses the State Duma
Nov 28	Russian Security Council votes to send troops to Chechnya
Decr 12	Russian troops invade Chechnya
1995
Jan 27	Federal Assembly bans loans from Central Bank to the government without its approval
spring	Russians massacre villagers in Samashky
June 14	Chechens take hostages at Budennovsk
July	Yeltsin suffers first heart attack
Oct 26	Yeltsin suffers second heart attack
Dec 17	CPRF under Gennady Zyuganov dominates Duma elections
1996
Jan 5	Kozyrev resigns as foreign minister; replaced by Primakov
March 29	Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan sign integration accords in Moscow
April 2	Russia & Belarus sign 'Agreement on the Formation of a Community'
June 16	Presidential primaries: Yeltsin & Zyuganov (Communist Party) win
June 26	Ukrainian Parliament adopts constitution
July 3	Yeltsin defeats Zyuganov in run-off election
July 12	Ukrainian constitution signed by President Kuchma
August 5	Chechen rebels re-take Grozny
August 23	Full-scale combat operations end in Chechnya
August 31	Lebed and Aslan Maskhadov sign peace accord in Chechnya
Nov 5	Yeltsin undergoes quintuple by-pass surgery
Nov 28	Belorussian President Lukashenko signs new constitution extending his powers and replaces the parliament
Dec 1	Russian troops begin withdrawal from Chechnya
1997
Jan 1	New Criminal Code replaces 1960 Soviet code
Jan 27	Chechen elections held; Aslan Maskhadov wins with 65%
March 21	Yeltsin and Clinton meet in Helsinki to discuss expansion of NATO
April	Union Treaty signed
May 26	Russian-Belarus Union Charter signed by Lukashenko and Yeltsin
May 27	Yeltsin and Clinton sign "Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation" which creates a permanent joint council including Russia in NATO decision-making.
June 11	Russian-Belarus Union Charter goes into effect
June 28	Tajik Peace and National Reconciliation Accord signed in Moscow
1998
March 23	Yeltsin fires Chernomyrdin, reorganizes cabinet
April 24	Sergei Kirienko finally confirmed as prime minister
May 27	Massive sell-off of Russian bonds, securities and rubles
July 17	Nicholas II and family interred in St. Petersburg
August	Russian financial crisis Kirienko announces ruble devaluation (August 17) Market paralyzed by liquidity shortages Share prices plunge Russia defaults foreign loans
August 23	Yeltsin sacks entire government, appoints Chernomyrdin interim PM
Sept 10	Victor Chernomyrdin steps aside as Duma rejects nomination twice
Sept 11	Yuri Primakov confirmed prime minister
1999
May 12	Yeltsin sacks cabinet, including Primakov
May 13	Impeachment hearings begins in Duma
May 15	Impeachment vote against Yeltsin fails
May 19	Duma approves Sergei Stepashin as new Prime Minister
August 9	Stepashin dismissed as prime minister
August 16	Vladimir Putin confirmed prime minister
September	Russian money-laundering scheme via BONY unravels
2000
March 26	Vladimir Putin elected president
	Chrono II Home Top Russia Chrono I
This page was last up-dated: Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837 © 1996 Robert Beard