Lenin opposes Stalin’s “autonomization” plan

As drought, war damage, requisitioning and economic disruption produced catastrophic hunger, Maxim Gorky appealed internationally for aid. The famine of 1921–22 killed millions. Soviet authorities...

The Soviet government and the American Relief Administration concluded an agreement on 20 August 1921 to organize large-scale food relief. The operation fed millions during the famine, demonstrating...

Turkey and the Soviet republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia signed the Treaty of Kars, settling borders in the South Caucasus. The agreement involved regional governments but was shaped by...

Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan formed the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. The arrangement pooled institutions before the federation entered the USSR. It reduced separate...

Germany and Soviet Russia signed the Treaty of Rapallo, renouncing claims and restoring diplomatic relations. The agreement challenged the isolation of both states after the First World War. It also...

The First Congress of Soviets adopted the Declaration and Treaty establishing the USSR from the RSFSR, Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR and Transcaucasian SFSR. The founding texts promised voluntary...

In a final note on the national question, Lenin warned that formal equality among republics would be hollow if Russian officials used the state to impose the language and interests of the dominant...

The Twelfth Congress debated the economy, party organization and the national question. Delegates heard warnings about Great Russian chauvinism and discussed how the party should build national cadres...

The Congress closed with a resolution on the national question that called for training local cadres, using national languages in administration and countering Russian chauvinism. Korenizatsiya...

The Buryat-Mongol ASSR was established within the Russian republic. The territorial arrangement recognized a Buryat national unit and opened space for language and cultural institutions. Soviet...