I cannot stress enough that I received the lion's share of my knowledge from my father-in-law, John's, Western Civilization and Survey of English History classes. He teaches at Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City, MO. Enroll in one of his courses, if you ever get the chance--he's the best!! Or at the very least, visit his Western Civilization sites (they include "Student Notes" and everything!!).
THESE TIMELINES WERE BEGUN FOR MY OWN PERSONAL USE. THESE TIMELINES SHOULD NOT BE USED AS RESOURCES FOR ANY KIND OF RESEARCH PAPER. THESE TIMELINES SHOULD ONLY BE USED AS AN AID TO GIVE A "JUMPING OFF POINT." THESE TIMELINES ARE NOT PEER-REVIEWED; THEREFORE, THEY ARE SUBJECT TO ANY NUMBER OF UNINTENTIONAL AUTHORIAL TYPING ERRORS AND/OR MISUNDERSTANDINGS. REMEMBER, INTERNET SOURCES (WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS) CANNOT BE RELIED UPON AS DEFINITIVE SOURCES!!
Because I did these timelines initially only for my own personal use, I have paraphrased and quoted without citing as one should for a research paper; therefore, anyone using these timelines should consult the sources listed on the Historical Timelines Page.
DO NOT QUOTE FROM THESE TIMELINES!! ALWAYS DOUBLE-CHECK MY WORK!!!!
Russian/Balkan Peoples:
13th Century under Osman I, Ottoman Empire takes Egypt and Syria. 15th Century in Asia Minor-Ottoman Empire destroys Byzantine Empire which is dissolved after World War I. 17th and 18th Centuries-Ottoman Empire fought against Poland, Austria, and Russia. At the Ottoman Empire's height, it held land in SE Europe, W. Asia, and N. Africa under Suleiman the Magistrate (1520-1566)
Battle of Kosovo Field (1389) Turks under Murad I defeated Serbians, Bosnians, Montenegrins, Bulgarians, and other allies. Serbian Milosh Obilich, posing as a Serb deserter, stabbed Murad to death before the battle. Milosh was immediately killed. Prince Lazardy of Serbia was killed immediately after his capture. This battle broke the power of Serbia and Bulgaria. Kosovo means "Black Birds"
1389-1913-Turkish Rule
Kosovo-Slavs in 7th Century, Bulgaria in 9th Century, Serbia in 12th Century
1448-another battle at Kosovo-Sultan Murad II defeats Hungarian army under John Hunyadi
Ivan III Vasilyevich (Ivan the Great) (1440-1505), Grand Prince of Russia (1462-1505)
Russo-Turkish Wars:
Throughout 16th and 17th centuries
1700-1721-Northern War
1736-1739 Russia and Austria vs. Ottomans
1768-1774
1787-1792 (Catherine II gets help from Joseph II from 1788)
1806-1812
1828-1829
Treaty of Adrianople recognizes Greece's autonomy
1853-becomes Crimean War
1875-1878
Ivan IV Vasilyevich (Ivan the Terrible) (1530-1584), Ruler of Russia (1533-1584), Named 1st Czar of Russia (1547-1584)
Peter the Great (Peter I) (1672-1725) Czar of Russia (1682-1725)-co-ruled with half-brother Ivan (1682-1689)
St. Petersburg founded 1703
Catherine II (Catherine the Great) (1729-1796), Empress of Russia (1762-1796)
Napoleonic Wars (Most of Europe vs. France) (1799-1815)
Aleksandr Pushkin (1799-1837) Russian Poet
Nikolay Gogol (1809-1852) Russian Writer-"Father of Russian Realism"
Mikhail Lermontov (1814-1841) Russian Poet/Novelist
Fyodor Mikhayovich Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) Russian novelist
Greek War of Independence (1821-1829)
Greeks vs. Ottomans (joined by Mehemet Ali of Egypt in 1824)
Athens fell in 1826
British, French, Russia intervene in 1827.
Treaty of Adrianople (1829)-Greek autonomy established.
Greek Independence in 1832
Russo-Turkish War (1828-1829)
(parts of Romania)
Native Governors given life tenure, Moldavia and Walachia are Russian protectorates though remaining in Ottoman Empire
Lev (Leo) Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828-1910) Russian novelist/philosopher
Dmitry Mendeleyev (1834-1907) Russian Chemist
Revolutions of 1848 (Revolutions overtook most of Europe excepting England and Russia)
Crimean War (1853-1856--Turkey vs. Russians, 1854-Brits and French enter on Turkey's side, 1855-Sardinia enters on Turkey's side) Russians vs. French over Palestinian holy places.
Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) Russians with Romanians vs. Turks
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (1899-1977) Russian/American novelist
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) Russian dramatist
Grigory Rasputin (1872-1916), Russian Mystic/Court Favorite
Nicholas II (1868-1918), Czar of Russia (1894-1917) and Alexandra (1872-1918), Empress of Russia (1894-1917)
Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901) Chinese try to eject or kill foreigners, representatives of foreign powers, and Chinese Christians
Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)
Russian Revolution of 1905 ends Russo-Japanese War
Balkan Wars (1912-1913)
2 Successive Wars
1st-Balkan League (Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Montenegro) won most of Ottoman Empire's European territory. Romania was neutral.
2nd-Serbia, Greece, and Romania vs. Bulgaria over the district of Macedonia
Greece gets Southeast Macedonia and West Thrace.
World War I (1914-1918)
Franco-Prussian War almost makes this inevitable. Begins with the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo.
Central Powers: Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, and OttomanEmpire/Turks vs. Allies: Great Britain, Russia, Italy, France, Belgium, Serbia, Montenegro, and Japan; U.S. enters in 1917.
Russian Revolution (1917-1918)
Russian Monarchy is overthrown and Bolsheviks seize power.
November 7 (October 25), 1917-Bolsheviks storm winter palace.
January 1918-Constinuent Assembly disbanded.
July 1918-Royal family is executed.
Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) Russian revolutionary
Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924), Leader of Soviet Union (@1917-1924)
Joseph Stalin (1879-1953), Leader of Soviet Union (@1924-1953)
Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968) USSR Cosmonaut
Valentina Tereshkova (1937- ) USSR Female Cosmonaut
Finnish-Russian War (1939-1940)
World War II (1939-1945)
Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Croatia, Finland, Spain, Denmark, Manchukao, and Nanking vs. Allied Powers: England (except Ireland), France, Russia, Netherlands, and United States.
Nazi Invasion of USSR (June 1941)-Nazis invade the USSR. Dispatch approximately 3000 men in special units (Einsatzgruppen or "action squads") to kill all Jews in the occupied territory. Rumors of the massacres were heard all over the world.
Battle of Stalingrad (1943)-German retreat from USSR
Berlin Air-Lift (1948-1949). Western powers air lift food and supplies to Soviet Union-blockaded West Berlin.
Malenkov before Khrushchev.
Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971), Leader of Soviet Union (1953-1964)
Sputnik I (October 4, 1957)-1st artificial satellite launched
Sputnik II (November 3, 1957)-1st artificial satellite with live passenger (Laika the dog)
Berlin Wall Constructed (1961)
Yuri Gagarin is 1st man to orbit earth (April 12, 1961) on Vostok I
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
Valentina Tereshkova is 1st Female in Space and 1st Female to orbit earth (June 16, 1963) on Vostok VII
Marshall Josip Broz Tito (1892-1980), Marshall in 1943, 1st President of Republic of Yugoslavia (1953-1980)
Leonid Brezhnev (1906-1982), Leader of Soviet Union (1964-1982)
SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks)-between U.S. and U.S.S.R beginning in November 1969 on regulation of nuclear arms.
SALT I (November 1969-January 1972)-Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and Interim Agreement on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (both signed May 26, 1972)
SALT II (September 1972-January 1979)
Nicolae Ceausescu (1918-1989) Communist Leader of Romania, President of Republic of Romania (1974-1980)??, President (1967-1989)
Afghanistan Invasion-Soviet puppet of Communist government in Afghanistan with support of USSR. Rebels were fighting it and doing well so USSR came in and US began to back the rebels. Soviet forces invaded in 1979 and established puppet government. Rebels fled to Pakistan and Iran. USSR withdrew in early 1989.
After Brezhnev died in 1982, Yuri Andropov and Constantine Chernenko were USSR leaders until Gorbachev.
Mikhail Gorbachev (1931- ), Leader of Soviet Union (1985-1991)
Berlin Wall falls (1989)
Dissolution of Soviet Union (1991)
Boris Yeltsin (1931- ), Russian President (1991- )
Kosovo War (Yugoslavian Serbs vs. NATO, mostly U.S.) (1999)
Serbs invaded Kosovo and began to massacre ethnic Albanians (much as they did to the Bosnians in the Bosnian War a few years earlier). NATO (mostly U.S.) Forces bombed several sites (including a Chinese Embassy). Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic eventually backed down.