1917
- March: Romanov dynasty collapses. Power seized by the Kerensky government. They make the mistake of continuing the war.
- May: The White Army of pro-Tsarist forces gathers together in Arkhangelsk and general Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich of the former Imperial Army becomes supreme commander. They form a military organisation whose aim is to restore the Tsar to the throne. By September they number 170,000 in strength, mostly in Arkhangelsk, Azov and Petrograd.
- November: Bolsheviks seize power in the October revolution. The first fully socialist state is set up as the USSR.
1918
- March 3: World War I: Germany, Austria and Bolshevist Russia sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ending Russia's involvement in the Great War.
- March 6: The capital is moved from St.Petersburg(Petrograd) to Moscow as the White Army prepares to attack there.
- July 17: Romanov family due to be executed by the Cheka. Stalin's failing health leads to a series of actions taking place and the execution is postponed.
- September: Operation Polar Bear reaches Arkhangelsk. It is a task force of 15,000 British, French and American troops whose goal is to help the White Army overthrow the socialist government.
- October: The White Army attacks Petrograd with help from the allied polar troopers. Their first assault is bet back by heavy artillery.
- November 3: Trotsky arrives in Petrograd to help in the defence of the city.
- November 14: White Army attacks under cover of darkness. They reach the city limits without being attacked. Pre-planted explosives are detonated on Trotsky's command while he is on the front line. 2,500 White soldiers are killed instantly. Shells filled with poison gas are fired from artillery boats into the White Army base of 16,000 men. Trotsky himself leads a attack equipped with gas masks against the base to find 70% of the enemy already dead. By dawn almost 100% are dead. General Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich is captured alive.
- November 30: White Army attacks Volgograd. They are mercilessly slaughtered by Stalin's troops, who then advance on Azov.
1919
- January 4: Stalin begins siege of Azov.
- March 7: Stalin dies of TB. Trotsky is posted to the southern front to replace him.
- March 24: Trotsky abandons the siege and attacks the city head-on with infantry and artillery.
- April 12: Azov under Soviet control. Resistance ends as the remainder of the White Army retreats across the Black Sea to Turkey.
- May 20: The Polar Expedition force starts to evacuate after the ice melts and the harbour freed. The Northern White Army retreats along with them realising that without two fronts and foreign support they are vulnerable.
- June 17: Evacuation complete. Red Guard captures Arkhangelsk. Civil war largely over. Fanatics still hidden in major populated areas. Cheka expanded to root them out.
- July 27: General Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich is sentenced to death for conspiring against the state.
- August 1: General Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich is executed by firing squad in Petrograd.
- November: Huge celebrations held in Red Square by soldiers returning from Azov, Arkhangelsk and Petrograd. Lenin makes a powerful speech about the Soviets, the most famous quote of which is "Light the way for all mankind Comrades, For we guide the way to the Radiant Future! Onwards Comrades!" It is broadcasted on radio waves for the world to hear. The first use of propaganda over the airwaves.
1920
- January: Huge Building Projects are begun to reduce unemployment. Railway lines are the focus for now. The entire system is to be replaced with a new system designed to be used for at least a century.
- March: Dam projects are built to provide electricity for the nation, along with coal power stations.
- May: Lenin suffers a mild stroke. Trotsky assumes office for three months while Lenin recovers.
- August: Lenin resumes office. Soviet economy starting to flower. Agriculture, headed by Mikhail Kalinin, does particularly well. For the first time the USSR has a food surplus. Grain is exported in return for chemical technology in Germany and France.
1921
- January: The new railway line between Moscow and Petrograd complete. Arkhangelsk link almost complete. Moscow linked to Gorki, Volgograd, Kharkov and to hundreds of minor towns with new gauge system.
- March: The state committee of recreation commissions new chess and sports clubs in all major towns and cities to promote fitness and intelligence. The first Bolshoi ballets are held since before the Great War.
- April: Lenin tours the USSR giving speeches and examining the state of the nation. He is impressed by the huge improvements made over the last year.
- July: The Cheka discovers a White Army spy ring in Moscow. They are believed to have numbered over four hundred people. Cheka continues to spy as they do not have the manpower to arrest them all at once.
- August: The most decorated company of the Red Guard, led by Mikhail Tukhachevsky, arrives in Moscow secretly from Petrograd. The White Army spy ring movements are catalogued.
- October 17: In a masterstroke, the Red Guard company captures almost every White Army spy within three hours. 112 are killed while resisting arrest. One Red Guard private is killed. Four spies escape.
- November 7: Lenin goes to congratulate the Red Guard personally for their suppression of the White Army Spy ring. Lenin awarded Tukhachevsky with his second "Order Of The Red Banner" for his actions. As Lenin pinned the medal to his chest, one of the escaped spies, Yuri Makhno, appeared and shot at Lenin six times with a revolver. Lenin did not die immediately. Makhno reputedly shouted "For the Tsar!" before he was bayoneted by Tukhachevsky.
- November 10: Lenin dies of a combination of lead poisoning, septicaemia and blood loss.
- November 20: Mass state funeral for Lenin. He is hailed as a patriot and a martyr for socialism. Thousands of red flags are hung at half mast all over the USSR and in many parts of Europe. Lenin is cremated and his ashes are placed in a small marble tomb on Red Square. Trotsky assumes command of the USSR.
1922
- January 4: Trotsky announces plans for democratic/meritocratic socialism with a people's parliament. It is to be installed within three years.
- March: Small coup attempted in Moscow by hard line Communists. They believe Trotsky has betrayed socialism. They are all arrested and shot by the Cheka. There is public outcry against the brutality. Trotsky promises that he will be more merciful in the future towards criminals and rebels.
- April: Socialist government decides to construct a new railway line with the new gauge from Moscow to Vladiovstok in the far east.
- September: Harvest successful this year as well. Drought in the USA leads to them being forced to import grain from the USSR at a high cost and thus recognise them as a legitimate government. The USSR also imports farm machinery from Canada.
1923
- February: An old Tsarist palace in Moscow is converted into the temporary headquarters for the new soviet parliament, the Cominate.
- July 3: First makeshift elections take place to vote in the 728 new commissars.
- August 1: First meeting of the Cominate. Their first action is to elect a commissar patriarch. Trotsky is the obvious choice and is elected.
- August 2: Major government branches created and headed by commissars, eg. police force(militia), transport, etc.
- December: League of Nations formally invites the USSR to attend, but only after being pressured by influential pro-socialist groups in their own countries. After hearing this the United States withdraws it's recognition of the USSR with much international criticism.
1924
- February: Trotsky expands the Cheka in preparation to send agents into the west.
- May 14: Small White Amry contingent attacks the USSR from Poland. Red Guard troops beat them back but stop short at the Polish border, narrowly avoiding an international crises.
- May 20: Trotsky demands that Poland helps to round up the White Army "Terrorists". Assistance is promised from Poland.
- July: The official Committee of Soviets (Sovitern) is set up to help in the day to day running of the country.