Page 199 →Appendix

1896

Radioactivity is discovered.

1905

Revolution takes place in Russia, resulting in moderate political and social reforms.

1906

Adams publishes The Education of Henry Adams.

1914–18

World War I.

1917–21

Revolution and civil war occur in Russia.

1917

The Soviet Union is established.

1919–20

American and British vessels blockade ice-free Soviet ports.

1919

Cabell publishes Jurgen.

1921–29

New Economic Policy (NEP).

1922

Treaty of Rapallo is concluded between Germany and the Soviet Union. Lewis publishes Babbitt.

1924

Lenin dies. Stalin consolidates power gradually over the next five years. Zamyatin publishes My (We).

1925

Bulgakov publishes Diavoliada (Diaboliad) and writes Sobach’e serdtse (The Heart of a Dog), which remains unpublished until 1968.

1927

Olesha publishes Zavist’ (Envy).

1928

Il’f and Petrov publish Dvenadsat’ stul’ev (The Twelve Chairs). Mayakovsky first produces Klop (The Bedbug).

1929

Mayakovsky first produces Bania (The Bathhouse).

1930

Stalin begins policies of collectivization and “dekulakification.”

1932

Writers’ Union replaces RAPP as the official Soviet literary organization. Huxley publishes Brave New World.

1934

Kirov is murdered.

1935

Stakhanovite labor movement begins in the Soviet Union. Lewis publishes It Can’t Happen Here.

1936–38

The “great terror,” or yezhovshchina.

1936

The show trials of Zinoviev and Kamenev are conducted in response to Kirov murder.

1938

Hahn and Strassmann discover atomic fission.

1939–45

World War II.

1939

Ribbentrop and Molotov sign the German-Soviet nonaggression agreement.

1940

Britain sets up Maud Committee to investigate feasibility of atomic bomb.

1941

Page 200 →Germany invades the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union joins the Allies.

1942

Fermi achieves self-sustaining atomic chain reaction. The Manhattan Project begins.

1943

The Soviet atomic bomb project under Kurchatov begins.

1944

Allies invade occupied France. Soviets begin full-scale counteroffensive against Germany.

1945

The Yalta Conference convenes with Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill taking part. Roosevelt dies, and Truman becomes president. Nazi concentration camps are liberated. The Trinity test at Alamogordo, New Mexico, marks the first successful atomic bomb explosion. The United States explodes atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

1946

The first fully electronic digital computer (ENIAC) is developed. Churchill gives his “Iron Curtain” speech. Akhmatova and Zoshchenko are singled out for censure in speech by Zhdanov. U.S. Operation Crossroads nuclear tests are conducted on Bikini atoll. Atomic Energy Act automatically classifies nuclear information. Hersey publishes Hiroshima.

1947

The Truman Doctrine is formulated. The Marshall Plan is enacted to help rebuild Europe. HUAC begins large-scale investigation of suspected Communists in government and the arts.

1948

Israel declares independence. Soviets begin blockade of West Berlin. British and American planes airlift supplies to the city. Hiss accused of spying.

1949

The blockade of West Berlin ends after 321 days. NATO is established. The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb. People’s Republic of China is established. Orwell publishes Nineteen Eighty-Four.

1950–53

Korean War.

1950

U.S. Federal Civil Defense Administration is established. Senator McCarthy claims to have a list of “known Communists” working in the State Department. National Security Council Resolution 68 recommends nuclear arsenal buildup and aggressive military containment policy toward Communism. Klaus Fuchs is convicted of espionage. Hiss is convicted of perjury.

1952

The United States detonates hydrogen bomb at Eniwetok atoll. Eisenhower is elected president. Vonnegut publishes Player Piano.

ca.

The Thaw (Ottepel’), a period of relaxed governmental control in the

1953–64

Soviet Union.

1953

Stalin dies, and Khrushchev succeeds him as general secretary. The Rosenbergs are executed as Soviet spies.

1954

The Communist Party is outlawed in the United States. The SEATO military alliance is formed. The U.S. Senate censures McCarthy. Simonov openly questions Socialist Realism at Writers’ Congress. Golding publishes Lord of the Flies.

1955

The Warsaw Pact military alliance is formed. The Geneva Summit includes Khrushchev, Eisenhower, and British prime minister Eden. The liberal journal Iunost’ (Youth) is established.

1956

Khrushchev gives “secret speech” denouncing Stalin at the Twenty-fifth Party Congress. Soviets forcibly put down Hungarian insurrection. Khrushchev makes “We will bury you” comment.

1957

Page 201 →Soviet Union launches Sputnik, the first artificial satellite. Both the Soviet Union and the United States successfully test ICBMs. Pasternak publishes Doktor Zhivago in the West, for which he receives the Nobel Prize in 1958. Shute publishes On the Beach.

1958

Khrushchev becomes Soviet premier. The Soviet Union, the United States, and Britain suspend atmospheric nuclear testing.

1959

Communists’ revolt is successful in Cuba. Vice President Nixon visits the Soviet Union, and Khrushchev visits the United States. Miller publishes A Canticle for Leibowitz. Kramer’s film of On the Beach released. Sinyavsky (as Abram Tertz) publishes Chto takoe sotsialisticheskii realizm? (What Is Socialist Realism?) and Sud idyot (The Trial Begins) in the West.

1960

An American U-2 spy plane is shot down over the Soviet Union. Kennedy is elected president. Kahn publishes On Thermonuclear War.

1961

Soviet cosmonaut Gagarin orbits the earth. U.S.-sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion fails in Cuba. The Berlin Wall is erected. The Soviet Union resumes atmospheric nuclear testing. Aksyonov publishes Zvezdnyi bilet (A Ticket to the Stars). Heller publishes Catch-22. Vonnegut publishes Mother Night. The Twilight Zone episode “The Shelter” airs on televison.

1962

American astronaut Glenn orbits the earth. The United States resumes atmospheric nuclear testing. The Cuban Missile Crisis takes place. Burdick and Wheeler publish Fail-Safe. Sinyavsky/Tertz publishes Liubimov (The Makepeace Experiment).

1963

”Hot line” between the Kremlin and White House is established. Kennedy visits Berlin. The Limited Test-Ban Treaty is signed. Kennedy is assassinated, and Johnson becomes president. Pynchon publishes V. Vonnegut publishes Cat’s Cradle. Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove is released.

1964–73

Vietnam War.

1964

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution allows increased U.S. military presence in Southeast Asia. Khrushchev is ousted and replaced by Brezhnev and Kosygin. China successfully tests its first atomic bomb. Johnson is elected president.

1965

Daniel and Sinyavsky are arrested for publishing abroad.

1966

U.S. Senate hearings on the Vietnam War begin. Daniel and Sinyavsky are tried and imprisoned. Barth publishes Giles Goat-Boy. Pynchon publishes The Crying of Lot 49. Watkins produces The War Game for BBC television. Iskander publishes Sozvezdie kozlotura (The Goatibex Constellation).

1967

Stalin’s daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva defects to West. Israel and Egypt fight the Six-Day War. China successfully tests its first hydrogen bomb. Barth publishes “The Literature of Exhaustion.” Barthelme publishes Snow White. Lifton publishes Death in Life.

1968

American military involvement in Vietnam peaks. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy are assassinated. The Nuclear Arms Nonproliferation Treaty is signed. Soviets invade Czechoslovakia to put down the “Prague Spring.” Nixon is elected president. Barthelme publishes Unspeakable Practices, Unnatural Acts.

1969

Armstrong walks on the moon. Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) begin. Vonnegut publishes Slaughterhouse-Five.

1970

Page 202 →Paris Peace Talks begin between the United States and Vietnam. The United States deploys first MIRVed missiles (Minuteman III). The United States invades Cambodia. Solzhenitsyn is awarded Nobel Prize for Literature.

1971

China joins the UN. Percy publishes Love in the Ruins. Tanner publishes City of Words. Carl and Ellendea Proffer found Ardis Publishers in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

ca.

1972–79

Détente.

1972

Nixon visits China. Nixon and Brezhnev sign Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty and SALT I agreement. Brodsky emigrates. DeLillo publishes End Zone. Reed publishes Mumbo Jumbo.

1973

Last American combat troops leave Vietnam. Sinyavsky emigrates. Pynchon publishes Gravity’s Rainbow. Iskander publishes Sandro iz Chegema (Sandro of Chegem).

1974

India successfully tests atomic bomb. Nixon resigns from office after Watergate scandal and is replaced by Ford. Solzhenitsyn is expelled from the Soviet Union. Limonov emigrates.

1975

Saigon falls, and the United States evacuates embassy. U.S. astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts cooperate in Apollo-Soiuz linkage. Helsinki Accords are signed. Soviets deploy first MIRVed missiles. Sakharov wins Nobel Peace Prize. Sokolov emigrates.

1976

The United States celebrates its bicentennial. The United States and Soviet Union sign agreement limiting underground testing. Carter is elected president. Zinoviev publishes Ziiaiushchie vysoty (The Yawning Heights).

1977

New Soviet constitution is ratified, making Brezhnev president. Robert Coover publishes The Public Burning. Voinovich publishes Zhizn’ i neobychainye prikliucheniia soldata Ivana Chonkina (The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin). Zinoviev emigrates.

1978

Dovlatov emigrates and publishes Nevidimaia kniga (The Invisible Book). Zinoviev publishes Svetloe budushchee (The Radiant Future).

1979

Camp David Accords are signed. A major nuclear incident occurs at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania. The SALT II agreement is signed by Carter and Brezhnev. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan prompts Carter to call for U.S. military buildup, thus effectively ending détente. Aksyonov, Iskander, Aleshkovsky, and others are involved in the production of the unofficial literary almanac Metropol’. Aleshkovsky emigrates. Voinovich publishes Pretendent na prestol (Pretender to the Throne) and Putiom vzaimnoi perepiski (In Plain Russian).

1980

Sakharov is sentenced to internal exile. The United States boycotts the Moscow Summer Olympics. Reagan is elected president. Hoban publishes Riddley Walker. Aksyonov and Voinovich emigrate. Aksyonov publishes Ozhog (The Burn) and Zolotaia nasha zhelezka (Our Golden Ironburg). Aleshkovsky publishes Ruka (The Hand). Aitmatov publishes I dol’she veka dlitsia den’ (The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years). Zinoviev publishes Gomo Sovietikus (Homo Sovieticus).

1981

Page 203 →Martial law is imposed in Poland in response to Solidarity movement actions. Aksyonov publishes Ostrov Krym (The Island of Crimea). Aleshkovsky publishes Kenguru (Kangaroo). Dovlatov publishes Kompromiss (The Compromise).

1982

Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) open in Geneva. Brezhnev dies and is replaced by Andropov. Iskander publishes Kroliki i udavy (Rabbits and Boa Constrictors).

1983

Reagan proposes Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). The MX missile program begins in the United States. Korean Air Lines Flight 007 is shot down by the Soviets. Dovlatov publishes Nashi (Ours).

1984

Alliluyeva returns to the Soviet Union. Andropov dies and is replaced by Chernenko. Derrida publishes his essay “No Apocalypse, Not Now” in Diacritics issue devoted to “nuclear criticism.” Pynchon publishes “Is It O.K. to Be a Luddite?” and Slow Learner. Sokolov publishes Palisandriia (Astrophobia).

1985

Chernenko dies and is replaced by Gorbachev. A summit meeting is held between Reagan and Gorbachev in Geneva. DeLillo publishes White Noise. Aksyonov publishes Skazhi izium (Say Cheese!).

1986

Gorbachev announces glasnost and perestroika policies. A major nuclear disaster occurs at Chernobyl. A summit meeting is held between Reagan and Gorbachev in Reykjavik. Sakharov is released from internal exile. Voinovich publishes Moskva 2042 (Moscow 2042) and Antisovetskii sovetskii soiuz (The Anti-Soviet Soviet Union).

1987

A summit meeting is held between Reagan and Gorbachev in Washington, D.C. Percy publishes The Thanatos Syndrome.

1988

A summit meeting is held between Reagan and Gorbachev in Moscow. A U.S. naval vessel shoots down Iran Air Flight 655. George H. W. Bush is elected president.

1989

Soviet troops withdraw from Afghanistan. Prodemocracy demonstrations are suppressed with force in China. Numerous Eastern European nations renounce ties with the Soviet Union. The Berlin Wall is torn down.

1990

Germany unifies. Previously revoked Soviet citizenship of Aksyonov, Voinovich, Solzhenitsyn, and others is reinstated. Pynchon publishes Vineland.

1991

The Persian Gulf War is fought between a U.S.-led international coalition and Iraq. The START Treaty is signed by Bush and Gorbachev. An attempted coup against Gorbachev is mounted by hard-line Communists. Several Soviet republics declare independence. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is formed. Gorbachev resigns. The Soviet Union ends. Page 204 →