Yalta Conference opens

Soviet authorities deported Chechens and Ingush to Central Asia and Siberia, accusing entire populations of collaboration. The operation involved forced transport, deaths, abolition of the...

Soviet authorities forcibly deported the Balkar population to Central Asia and Siberia and later abolished their autonomous district. Collective punishment based on ethnicity transformed the...

The NKVD began deporting Crimean Tatars to Central Asia, accusing the population collectively of collaboration. The removal destroyed homes and community life; the Crimean ASSR was later abolished and...

The Soviet offensive against German forces in Belarus liberated occupied territory and destroyed much of Germany’s Army Group Centre. Belarusian civilians endured occupation, mass murder, village...

The Red Army launched an offensive that drove German forces west and brought Soviet troops into central Europe. It advanced the defeat of Nazi Germany while extending Soviet military and political...

Soviet forces launched their final major offensive against Nazi Germany’s capital. The operation caused heavy military and civilian casualties and brought Soviet occupation power into the center of...

The meeting of Soviet and American forces symbolized the collapse of Nazi Germany’s remaining front. The event represented military cooperation while foreshadowing disputes over occupation, borders,...

The surrender ended organized German resistance in Berlin after weeks of combat. Civilians faced destruction, displacement, sexual violence, and shortages, while Soviet authorities began imposing...

The final German instrument of surrender was signed in Berlin late on May 8, which was already May 9 in Moscow. Victory was celebrated across the USSR, commemorating enormous losses while the state...

The USSR joined the founding states of the new international organization. Its participation reflected wartime alliance diplomacy and expanded global status, while its domestic system remained...