Stalin links domestic development to the threat of...

Moscow stages a Victory Parade after Germany’s defeat

24 June 1945

The parade celebrated the Red Army’s victory and projected Stalin’s authority through a carefully staged public spectacle. It honored immense popular sacrifice while centering the state and military...

The Potsdam Conference opens

17 July 1945

The Allied leaders discussed occupation of Germany, postwar borders, and Eastern Europe. U.S. diplomatic records reveal sharp disagreement over elections and political control in countries occupied by...

The Soviet Union declares war on Japan

8 August 1945

The USSR entered the war against Japan after the European war had ended, in line with commitments made to its Allies. The declaration opened a Soviet campaign in Northeast Asia and aimed to secure...

Soviet forces launch the Manchurian Strategic Offensive

9 August 1945

The Red Army attacked Japanese forces in Manchuria, Korea, and surrounding territories. The swift campaign helped bring about Japan’s surrender and expanded Soviet influence in Northeast Asia, while...

Japan signs the instrument of surrender

2 September 1945

The surrender formally ended the Second World War. Stalin’s Soviet Union emerged as a global power with influence in Eastern Europe and Northeast Asia, but wartime victory also consolidated a security...

👉 Stalin links domestic development to the threat of future war Current

9 February 1946

In a major Moscow speech, Stalin called for continued development of heavy industry and military capacity. The address presented security as a reason for centralized planning and sacrifice, while...

The Party imposes a campaign against the journals Zvezda and Leningrad

14 August 1946

A Central Committee resolution attacked writers Anna Akhmatova and Mikhail Zoshchenko and tightened control over literary life. The campaign narrowed cultural debate and made publication dependent...

Molotov rejects participation in the Marshall Plan process

2 July 1947

The Soviet foreign minister withdrew from European discussions about U.S. recovery aid, following Stalin’s opposition to a program viewed as extending American influence. The decision contributed to...

The Cominform’s founding conference opens

22 September 1947

Representatives of communist parties met in Szklarska Poręba, Poland, and established the Communist Information Bureau. The organization coordinated parties in Europe and strengthened Moscow’s...

The Cominform is established under Soviet leadership

5 October 1947

The Communist Information Bureau coordinated several European communist parties and strengthened Moscow’s influence over the postwar movement. Its creation came amid the hardening Cold War and...

The Communist Party condemns composers and restricts musical life

10 February 1948

A Central Committee resolution denounced Vano Muradeli’s opera and condemned prominent composers including Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev. It made artistic work answerable to political...

Stalin links domestic development to the threat of future war

People in this event

Joseph Stalin

Organizations in this Event

Communist Party of the Soviet Union

USSR

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