Union of Soviet Socialist Republics formally established

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...

Lenin objected to Stalin’s proposal to absorb Ukraine, Belarus and the Transcaucasian republics into the Russian federation, arguing for a union of formally equal republics. His intervention...

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...

The Central Executive Committee approved a draft all-Union constitution, which was later ratified by the Second Congress of Soviets in January 1924. The draft codified the union’s institutions and the...