Timeline of USSR's Invasion in Afghanistan

20-24 Aug: Mohammad Daoudstate visit to Pakistan, reaching tentative solution to Pashtunistan issue.

Afghanistan, 1976

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

11 May: Qazi Amin elected Amir of the United Islamic Front, Hizb-i Islami Afghanistan.

1976: Mohammad Daoudestablishes policies for economic development and agricultural prosperity, garnering aid from China, USSR, Iran, and Kuwait.

April: Floods and earthquakes devastate three major provinces. Pakistan sends contributes to relief, aiding relaxation of bilateral tensions.

7-11 June: Pakistani Prime Minister Bhutto state visit. Both governments agree to “respect territorial integrity“ and principle of non-interference in internal affairs of the other.

Nov: Attempted coup by discontented retired military officers discovered and suppressed.

15 Apr: Mohammad Daoud’s second state visit to USSR. Soviets critical of Daoud’s removal of Soviet military advisors, approval for introduction of Western specialists into Afghan Northern provinces, and communist criticism in his government.

July: PDPA formed by two major leftist organizations –Nur Mohammad Taraki is Sec Gen. Governmental attacks against leftists increase.

Afghanistan, 1977


30 Jan – 15 Feb: Mohammad Daoud introduces new constitution, concentrating power in Presidential, one-party system of government. Constitution also reaffirms “Islamic institutions as the core of national life.” Daoud begins to concentrate on cultivating friendship with other Islamic countries.

2 Mar: Pashtunistan idea loses support between Afghanistan and Pakistan regimes.

18 Mar: Mohammad Daoudappoints cabinet composed of loyalists and relatives.

Afghanistan, 1978


27 April: The PDPA, led by NurMohammad Taraki , HafizullahAmin, and 1 other overthrow regime of Mohammad Daoud. PDPA invites Soviet Union to assist in modernizing its economic infrastructure. Country no renamed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

1978: Daoud further distances government from USSR, establishing military training with India and Egypt; strengthens relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia; schedules visit to US. 1978: Afghans upset that

Daoud has not fulfilled promises of economic prosperity; Pashtuns upset with rapprochement with Pakistan.

July: Nur Mohammad Tarakireforms threaten Afghan cultural patterns. Political repression increases across population; uprisings and revolts are the response. Violence throughout country becomes common.

17 Aug: Coup, led by defense minister, discovered.

5 Dec: Nur Mohammad Tarakivisits Moscow. 20-year treaty of friendship and cooperation established. Military development highlighted. Officially, Afghanistan remains non-aligned.

Feb14: U.S. Ambassador Adolph Dubs is shot and killed after being kidnapped in Kabul by Muslim extremists. Afghanistan, 1979


Sept 16:Taraki is overthrown in a coup, and Amin becomes president of the Revolutionary Council, which is nominally in charge of running the government, together with the Central Committee of the Khalq party and the Council of Ministers. Contradictory reports suggest that Taraki is killed during the takeover, although his death is only announced on October 9, and stated to be the result of "a severe and prolonged illness." On September 17 Amin announces that his rule marks the beginning of a "better Socialist order."

Aug 8: The government has to use its massive Soviet-supplied firepower to crush a rebellion in the army fort of Bala Hissar near the capital, with several hundred casualties.

Sept (Early): A rebel force is routed near Kabul in a major battle, and later an offensive is mounted to destroy guerrillas in districts bordering Pakistan.

Sept (Early): Taraki leaves fro Havana, Cuba, to represent Afghanistan at the sixth summit conference of nonaligned nations, leaving the government in the hands of Amin. Returning via Moscow, Taraki is advised by Brezhnev to get rid of Amin, whose anti-Islamic policy is considered dangerous. Taraki, however, fails in this as Amin is tipped off about the plot and manages to turn the tide of events to his own favor.

Mar 10 -20: A mutiny in the Herat garrison by Afghan army officers is crushed.

Sept 19: A general amnesty is declared in an ineffective effort to placate the Muslims. This is followed by an administrative purge and a further attempt at reconciliation with Islam. Kabul radio accuses Pakistan and Iran of sending armed infiltrators to undermine the government. Pakistan is also charged with arming Afghan refugees.

Mar 27: In a cabinet reshuffle, Taraki inducts Foreign Minister Amin as prime minister and himself takes over chairmanship of the Supreme Defense Council.

Dec 27: Amin is overthrown and killed in a coup backed by Soviet troops. Ex-deputy prime minister Karmal, who has been in exile in Czechoslovakia, is picked as Amin's successor. The Soviets have begun a massive military airlift into Kabul, and at least two motorized divisions have crossed the Soviet-Afghan border. Karmal, whose Parcham party spearheaded the coup against Daud but later lost power to the faction led by Taraki and Amin, is considered more pro-Soviet than Amin had been. In one of his first speeches, he denounces Amin as an agent of U.S. imperialism. At year's end reports from Kabul indicate that some 40,000 Soviet troops are fanning out through the country in an apparent attempt to crush the Muslim rebels. On December 31 U.S. Pres. Jimmy Carter declares it is imperative that world leaders immediately make it clear to the Soviet Union that its actions will have "severe political consequences.

Afghanistan, 1980


January - Soviet troops took the key areas of the country by seizing 21 provincial centers, the objects of Soviet-Afghan cooperation, and 9 airports.

14 January. UN votes 140 to 18 to “deplore” the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

June 23 - Plenary Session of the CPSU Central Committee unanimously endorsed the decision of the Politburo on the introduction of Soviet troops in Afghanistan. Defined military objective -to assist in stabilizing the situation and a reflection of possible aggression from the outside.

Autumn - The first major operation - "Shock" - in the central provinces

Afghanistan, 1981


January-February - Intelligence and military operations to eliminate counter-revolutionary underground in the cities of Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, Jalalabad, Khost.

November - nine separate (motorized) battalions are sent to protect the security

of major Soviet and Afghan air bases of Soviet and Afghan aircraft.

Afghanistan, 1982


April – Deputy UN Secretary-General D. Cordovezvisited Kabul and Islamabad in order to prepare the

ground for negotiations, which took place in Geneva in June (first round).

1982The United Nations General Assembly calls for Soviet withdrawal.

3 November - the tragedy at the Salang: the clash of two columns in the tunnel, died of suffocation 64 Soviet and 112 Afghan soldiers.

Afghanistan, 1983


29 November: UN Resolution calling for the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan

May 19 - The Soviet Ambassador in Pakistan, Smirnov, officially confirmed the desire of the Soviet Union

and Afghanistan "to designate the period of withdrawal of a contingent of Soviet troops."

Afghanistan, 1984


January - May - 85 operations, 51 with parts of the Afghan army 34 – independent operations

Results of 1984 - the most bloody year in the history of the Afghan war. Died: 2343 troops. Losses: • Tanks - 7• Armored vehicles - 88 • Planes - 17 • Helicopters - 49

1 Jan: US and China reestablish formal diplomatic relations. US recognizes Beijing over Taipei. China, 1979


Beginning in 1979, China claims the women’s world singles title in table tennis every year (except 1993) through present day.

Jun: Violinist Isaac Stern performs in Beijing. (Documentary film From Mao to Mozart, 1981).

17 Feb: China invades Vietnam in response to Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia. China claimed it did not want control over the border territory, only peace and stability in the area. China had been supporting the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia.

1979: China introduces its one-child policy to alleviate economic, social, and environmental problems.

5 Mar: China withdraws from border war with Vietnam. Both sides claim victory. This was the last time China sent its troops to a foreign country motivated by anger.

17 Feb-5 Mar: During this conflict, Chinese soldiers laid more than 120 minefields within the border territory. By the 1990s, hundreds of thousands of mines had been cleared in an effort to reengage cross-border trade.

Oct: Herbert von Karajan leads the Berlin Philharmonic in its first visit to China, Beijing.

1979: Following the “disastrous” Cultural Revolution between 1966 and 1976, reforms began in 1978 and continued through 1979. Alongside these reforms, China’s Central Philharmonic Orchestra reached its peak in exchanges with foreign musicians.

Mar: Seiji Ozawa leads the Boston Symphony in its visit to China.

Dec: Violinist YehudiMenuhin performs in China.

1979: China International Trust and Investment Corporation established to assist in the areas of technology cooperation, finance, banks, investment, and trade.

1979: Mass Transit Railway, privately operated, opened to provide all metro transit in Hong Kong.

1979: China and Portugal exchange diplomatic recognition. Beijing acknowledges Macau (peninsula bordering China, colonized by Portugal in the 16th

Century) as “Chinese territory under Portuguese administration.”

China’s defense spending in 1979 is reported (by China, via the Library of Congress) to be 17.4% of its total state budget.

15 Feb: Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance, signed in 1950, expires. The expiration allowed China to attack Vietnam, ally of the USSR, in the Third Indochina War. Previously the treaty had precluded China’s attack of Soviet allies.

7 Jan: Vietnam overthrows the China-supported Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia.

1979: Following a 1958 split by China, in 1979 the Int’l Olympic Committee restores China’s status within the Olympic movement.

China, 1980


Jan-Feb: The People's Republic of China competed at the Winter Olympic Games for the first time at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, United States.

Aug: The first Special Economic Zones are established in Shenzhen, as China begins to open its economy to external influences.

Oct: The Chinese bid farewell to atmospheric nuclear testing on 16 October 1980 with a 700-kiloton airburst. It was the last such atmospheric test by any nuclear power.

Sep: Hua Guofeng resigns the premiership to Zhao Ziyang, citing as his reason the Chinese Communist Party’s policy against officials holding high posts in both the party and the government.

Aug: Vice Presidential candidate George Bush travels to China to showcase, but visit ends in unsuccessfully. Communist Party leaders cite Reagan’s “China Problem” remark.

China, 1981


JANUARY 25 - Jiang Qing, widow of Mao, receives

suspended death sentence

July 13 - China’s beer drinkers face shortage

February 27 - China opens Tangshan quake site to

foreigners

June 29 - Hu Yaobang, protégé of Deng Xiopeng, replaces Hua Guageng, protégé

of Mao Zedong

February 28 - China expels Dutch ambassador of submarine sales to

Taiwan

June 14 - Haig flies to China; Sees common goal to resist Russians

May 17 - Chinese kill 150 Vietnamese

Soldiers

May 1 - Pope visits bishop from China 1st time since

revolution

March 24 - China raises price of oil $3 a barrel

June 30 - China’s Communist Party condemns Mao Zedong’s

policies

July 22 - Flooding in China kills 700 to 800

August 13 - China claims Taiwanese pilot defected, Taiwan disagrees

March 7 - China cancels steel pact with Japan

October 13 - World Banks says China transitioning from oil exporter to oil

importer

October 10 - 10 Chinese fishermen defect to Taiwan

September - China launches China 10 and China 11 satellites into orbit on B13 rocket

August 24 - Carter Visits China

*Also in 1981- China opens first bank in United States- Pepsi and China sign contract for local production of beverages

December 11 - China and India begin talks on disputed borders

Egypt, 1976-1984


1976: Sadat ends Friendship Treaty with USSR; originally signed in 1971 and supposed to last 15 years. Signals closer relations to US & West.

Mar 1979: Egypt and Israel sign peace treaty; Arab world immediately condemns action and expels Egypt from Arab League (rejoined in 1989)

Sep 1978: Camp David Accords signed by Egypt, Israel, and US. Israel agrees to give Sinai back to Egypt.

Oct 1981: Sadat assassinated by Jihadists because of Israeli peace treaty; Hosni Mubarak named new president.

December 2. 2 million + filled the streets of Tehran's Shahyad Square, to demand the removal of the Shah and return of Khomeini. December 10-11. 6-9 million demonstrators marched throughout the country in protest.

October 6. Khomeini was refused entry, left for Paris until his return to Iran.

October 3. The Shah convinced Iraq to deport Ayatollah Khomeini to Kuwait.

September 8. Thousands of protesters gathered in Tehran in reaction to the Shah’s proclamation of martial law and the banning of all demonstrations. Security forces shot and killed dozens, in what became known as Black Friday.

August. 400 + died in the Cinema Rex Fire arson attack in Abadan. Movie theaters had been a common target of Islamist demonstrators but such was the distrust of the regime and effectiveness of its enemies' communication skills that the public believed SAVAK had set the fire in an attempt to frame the opposition. The next day 10,000 relatives and sympathizers gathered for a mass funeral and march shouting, “burn the Shah,” and ‘”he Shah is the guilty one.” The fire helped to "kick protest into high gear” and the number of demonstrators mushroomed to hundreds of thousands.

November 4. ZbigniewBrzezinski called the Shah to tell him that the United States would "back him to the hilt." But at the same time, certain high-level officials in the State Department believed the revolution was unstoppable.

August. Just six months before the Shah fled Iran, a CIA analysis had concluded that the country "is not in a revolutionary or even a pre-revolutionary situation."

May 10. Government commandos (allegedly of the SAVAK) burst into the home of Ayatollah KazemShariatmadari, a leading cleric and political moderate and shot dead one of his followers right in front of him. Shariatmadariabandoned his silence and joined the opposition to the Shah.

March 29. The cycle repeated itself. A new round of protests began across the nation. Luxury hotels, cinemas, banks, government offices, and other symbols of the Shah regime were destroyed; again security forces intervened, killing many.

January. The first casualties suffered in major demonstrations against the Shah occurred. Hundreds of Islamist students and religious leaders in the city of Qom were furious over a story in the government-controlled press they felt was libelous. The army was sent in, dispersing the demonstrations and killing several students (two to nine according to the government, 70 or more according to the opposition).

February 18. Groups in a number of cities marched to honor the fallen and protest against the rule of the Shah. This time, violence erupted in Tabriz, were five hundred demonstrators were killed according to the opposition, ten according to the government.

Iran, 1978



12 JAN :REV.CON. FORMED TO

MANAGE THE REVOLUTION

16 JAN: SHAH AND WIFE LEFT

IRAN

23 JAN:ROYAL COUNCIL WAS

DISMISSED

1 FEB : KHOMEINI RETURNED TO

IRAN FROM EXILE

9 FEB: FIGHTING BERAKS OUT

BET. THE REV AND INA

11 FEB : REGIME COLLAPSED

18 FEB: THE FOUNDATION OF IRP

12-16 MAR : MINOR REVOLTS

AGAINST THE REV.

30 MAR : THE REFERENDUM

1 APR : 98.2% OF VOTES IN FAVOR

OF ISLAMIC REPUBLIC

10-30 APR :ONGOING

REV.AGAINST THE REV.

5 MAY :THE FOUNDATION OF IRC

BY KHOMEINI

5 JUN: SPLIT IN THE REV. LIBERAL

INT. AGAINST CLERGY

15. JUN: THE PUBLICATION OF

THE DRAFT OF CONSTITUTION

10 AUG: THE CLOUSURE OF ALL

PARTIES EXCEPT IRP

18 AUG: CONSTITUTIONAL WORKS

OF ASSEMBLY OF EXPERTS

5 JUN: SPLIT IN THE REV. LIBERAL

INT. AGAINST CLERGY

15. JUN: THE PUBLICATION OF

THE DRAFT OF CONSTITUTION

22 OCT: THE ARRIVAL OF SHAH

TO IRAN FOR MED.TRET.

23 OCT: RUMORS ABOUT

AMERICAN PLOTTING

4 NOV: THE OCCUPATION OF

AMRICAN EMBASSY IN IRAN AND

THE START OF HOSTAGE CRISIS

TO BE LASTED 344 DAYS.

6 NOV: THE RESIGN OF THE

BAZARGHAN CABINET

4 DEC: 98% IN FAVOR OF

CONSTITUTION AND THE

APPOINT. OF KHOMEINI TO

“VELAYET-I FAKIF”

Iran, 1980


January 25: Bani-Sadrelected first president of Islamic Republic. Nationalization begins

September 22: Iran-Iraq war begins.

Lasts for eight years

July 27: The Shah of Iran dies of Cancer while in exile in Egypt

September 24: Iraq bombs Kharg Island oil facility

April 25: Tehran hostage rescue attempt fails

May 5: SAS rescue ends embassy siege

March 21: Cultural Revolution begins. Universities to become Islamic

April 7: U.S. breaks diplomatic relations with Iran

July 11: Nojeh Coup attempt by air force officers, loyal to Shah, fails

May 24: Iran rejects calls by World Court to release American hostages

December 26: Iranian TV broadcasts hostages’ messages to families in U.S.

September 17: Saddam nullifies Algiers treaty

Israel, 1977


March 15: The Dollar Account Affair was a political scandal that broke following the exposure of an illegal US Dollar bank account held by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and his wife, Leah. It led to Rabin's de facto resignation from the government.

May 10: an Israeli Air Force Sikorsky CH-53Yas'ur helicopter crashed during an exercise in the Jordan Valley, killing all 54 on board (including the 10-member flight crew). The disaster became known as Ason Hanun-dalet, or "Disaster of the 54"

Spring: 10th MaccabiahGames; 2,700 Jewish athletes from 33 countries come to compete in 26 sports.

May 17:Elections for the ninth Knesset results in a dramatic shift in Israeli politics caused known as "the upheaval.“ It was the first time that that Right Wing took power. 78.2% voter turn-out.

November: Egyptian President Anwar Sadat broke 30 years of hostility with Israel by visiting Jerusalem at the invitation of Israeli Prime Minister MenachemBegin. Sadat's two-day visit was a turning point in the history of the conflict. Sadat recognized Israel's right to exist and established the basis for direct negotiations between Egypt and Israel. The Egyptian leader created a new psychological climate in the Middle East in which peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors seemed possible.

Menachem Begin becomes sixth Israeli Prime Minister21 Jun – 10 Oct 1983

12 Jan: Anti-French demonstrations take place in Israel after Paris released Abu Daoud who was held responsible for the 1972 Munich massacre of Israeli athletes

Dec 14: Israeli and Egyptian representatives gather in Cairo for first formal peace conference.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mbegin2.jpg

Lebanon 1983

17 May: Israel and Lebanon sign agreement on Israeli withdrawal after its invasion in June 1982 ending hostilities and establishing security region in southern Lebanon.

23 Oct: 241 U.S. Marines and 56 French Paratroopers are killed from a bomb explosion in Beirut. Responsibility held by two Shia militant groups.

Dec: U.S. Sixth Fleet shells Muslim parts of Syria and Druze before its relief by Ronald Reagan in Mar 1984

18 April: U.S. Embassy Bombing by “Islamic Jihad” militant group (later claimed by Hezbollah) killing 60 people.

Increased opposition to MNF (headed by U.S.) for support of President Gemayel and negotiations with Israel

Pakistan, 1979


January: US government acquires evidence of Pakistan's uranium enrichment program; initiates diplomatic dialog with Pakistan government.

April: Deposed ex-president ZulfikarAli Bhutto is executed (hanged) in Rawalpindi as a result of a Supreme court ruling in the murder case of Mohammad Qussory, a political opponent whose murder was allegedly authorized by Bhutto.

August: Rumors that the US is considering a commando raid against Pakistan's nuclear facilities prompts it to announce that anti-aircraft guns are being positioned around these installations.

February: Mohammad Zia ul-Haq(Pakistan’s military dictator) begins the process of Islamization with the promulgation of Hudood Ordinances and established Shariah Benches.

April: The US cuts off aid to Pakistan because of its covert construction of a uranium enrichment facility.

October: Pakistan enacts Martial Law regulation 49 imposing pre-censorship on the press and allows journalists violating the rules to be fined, imprisoned or flogged.

November: A mob of hundreds of Pakistani students stormed and set fire to the US embassy in Islamabad (killing 2 Americans and 2 Pakistani employees) after being enraged by a false radio report from the Ayatollah Khomeini claiming that the US bombed a holy site at Mecca.

December: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Afghan refugee camps established around Peshawar for those fleeing the Soviets (up to 3 million refugees).

November: Afghans flee to Pakistan and organize resistance against "atheistic" and "infidel" communist regime of Afghan President Amin.

November: US cultural centers in Rawalpindi and Lahore also torched.

1981: Publication of book, Islamic Bomb cites PK efforts to

construct nuclear site.

Pakistan, 1980-1984


JAN, 1980: US president Jimmy Carter pledges $400 million in military assistance to PK. Rejected by Zia ulHaq as “peanuts”.

AUG, 1983: Pres Zia ul-Haq announces

martial law will be lifted in 1985; Warns

arm will retain key role in future govts.

1980: Zia issues Provisional Constitutional Order of 1980 – Excluded all martial law actions from jurisdiction of Courts

Zia presses for PK policy of Islamization ensuring its survival and progress

Zia cancels elections and keeps PK under martial law until 1985.

Quetta High Court rules beyond powers of martial law regime; Provisional Constitutional Order of 1981 issued.

Required all judges of Supreme Court and higher courts to take new oaths swearing to act in accordance of with order; Several resign

1984: Referendum passes vote for Zia to stay in power 5 more yrs with 98% margin; Policy of Islamizationinstituted

FEB, 1981: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leads formation of the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) 1982: A.Q. Khan claims

PK had enriched uranium by 90% and

conducted number of cold tests, validating nuclear design could

work

1984: A.Q. Khan claims PK capability for

manufacturing nuclear bomb has been

achieved

USSR-1977

02 FEB: Burn up of Salyut 4 space station.

24 MAY: Surprise decision to oust Nikolai Podgorny from Presidency.

16 JUN: Leonid Brezhnev becomes President of the USSR. Marks return to more of an “iron fist” approach to ruling. Political policing also reinforced. First person to hold Presidency and General Secretary at the same time.

National anthem changed to include lyrics again. Lyrics were altered to refer to Lenin instead of Stalin.

07 OCT: USSR adopts 3rd Constitution. Communist party no longer defender of just workers and peasants. Also, granted republics power to secede from union.

24 Nuclear Test Detonations

13 NOV: Somalia rejects Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, expels all Soviets. Moscow reassigns them to Ethiopia.

07 SEP: In exchange for renouncing alliances with the US USSR backs the Marxist movement in Ethiopia in the Ogaden war. All shipments and supplies to Somalia are suspended. Before the war the Soviets had outfitted the Somali armed forces.

10 DEC: UN Human Rights Day, places 20 prominent dissidents under house arrest, cutting off telephones and threatening to break up a planned silent demonstration in Moscow’s Pushkin Square.

01 JUN: USSR formally charges Jewish human rights activist Anatoly Shcharansky with treason. Charge leads to a conviction in 1978 and he is imprisoned. In 1986 he will be released to the West.


8 Jan: Moscow bombings claim 7 lives, leave 37 others injured. Perpetrators never determined.

USSR, 1977


16 Jun: Brezhnev named president of the USSR, becoming first person to hold both the presidency and the position of the General Secretary of the Communist Party simultaneously.

29 Sep: Salyut-6 launched. The second generation of Soviet space station, it remained in orbit for five years.

1977: Russia supports (through provision of tanks) both Somalia and Ethiopia in the Ogaden War. Initially backing Somalia, the USSR switched its allegiance to Ethiopia on 7 Sep. This caused the Somalis to cancel the Somali-Soviet treaty of friendship in Nov, and the US to switch its backing of Ethiopia to that of Somalia.

21 Sep: 15 nuclear supplier countries, including the USSR and US, reach agreement in London on a set of principles and guidelines to govern the transfer of nuclear materials, equipment and technology. The suppliers´ policies are based on a "trigger list" of nuclear and other materials for which certain conditions would have to be met before they would be exported.

7 Oct: Third (and last) Soviet Constitution (aka the “Brezhnev Constitution”) adopted. It was the first to explicitly state the supremacy of the Communist Party. Article 72 affords each Republic the right to secede from the Union.

1 Jun: Jewish human rights activist Anatoly Shcharansky charged with treason; he would be imprisoned the following year.

1977: The Soviet National Anthem's lyrics are returned after a 24 year period, with Joseph Stalin's name omitted. After Destalinaztion, the hymn had been played without any lyrics

24 May: Soviet President Nikolai Podgorny ousted from the Politburo

12 Apr: Afghan President Daoud met Leonid Brezhnev on a state visit to Moscow from April 12 to 15. Daoudwould decide later in the year that Kabul would no longer have any personal relationships with the Soviet Union and try to make Afghanistan closer to the West.

USSR-1978


Jan 24: Cosmos 954, Nuclear Satellite crashes in Canada. 1% of wreck is recovered, Canada bills USSR $6.1 mil.

Apr 20: KAL flight 902 shot by Soviet Interceptors. Made emergency landing, 2 died.

Apr 14: Demonstrations in Georgia as a result of Communist Party attempting to eliminate Georgian as the official state language

Apr 22: Daoud killed in coup. Soviet involvement is suspected

5 DEC: A friendship treaty is signed w/Afghanistan, building on Soviet economic and military support since 50’s.

Oct: Yankees win the World Series 25 DEC: Communist

Gov’t installed in Afghanistan

Jul 7: “Grease” released in theatres

USSR, 1979


MARCH: The USSR begins massive military aid to the Afghanistan, including hundreds of advisers, as the US scales down its presence after the murder of its kidnapped ambassador. Afghan soldiers mutiny in Herat, massacring Soviet citizens before their rebellion is crushed.

12 DECMBER: The Politbureau's inner circle, fearing the spectre of an Iranian-style Islamist revolution and wary of Amin's secret meetings with US diplomats in Afghanistan, decides to invade.

24 DECEMBER: The Soviet defense ministry reveals orders to senior staff to send troops into Afghanistan. Commandos seize strategic installations in Kabul. Armored columns cross the border at Termez and Kushka heading towards Kabul and Herat respectively.

5 DECEMBER: A friendship treaty is signed with the USSR, building on Soviet economic and military support given to Afghanistan since the early 1950s.

18 JUNE: Soviet Union and US sign SALT-2 agreement. The Treaty establishes a ceiling of 2,400 strategic offensive weapons and limits Multiple Independently-targeted Reentry Vehicles (MIRV) to 1,320 launchers.

Two Soviet spies in custody in the U.S. are exchanged for five imprisoned dissidents in the Soviet Union, including refuseniks Mark Dymshyts and Eduard Kuznetsov, who are serving long prison terms for their part in the attempted 1970 hijacking in Leningrad.

MAY: USSR wins the 46th Ice Hockey World Championship in Moscow.

27 DECEMBER: OPERATION STORM 333 -War with Afghanistan begins. After a week of heavy fighting during which Soviet commandos kill Amin and tens of thousands of troops invade by ground and air, Babrak Kamal is installed as the DRA's new Soviet-backed leader.

2 APRIL: The accidental release of a biological weapon causes an outbreak of pulmonary anthrax in Sverdlovsk over a two month period. Killed ~ 100 people. Reports of occurrence did not emerge until October!

20 MARCH: In Moscow, President Taraki of Afghanistan requested Soviet troops. He is told by Brezhnev that Soviet forces "would only play into the hands of our enemies - both yours and ours." Brezhnev advises Tarakito go slow with social reforms and to seek broad support for his regime. He advises Taraki to remove Prime Minister Amin. He promises Taraki military equipment.

1979: the Soviet Union violated the Cuban Missile crisis agreement by deploying a brigade in Cuba. Buildup was continuous throughout the year. Exact dates UNK.

15 Jan: The Soviet Union vetoed a United Nations resolution and called for the withdrawal of all Vietnamese troops from Cambodia.

18 AUGUST: USSR performed a nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh, Semipalitinsk, USSR.

USSR-1980


4 JAN: U.S proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR

25 MAR: The British Olympic Association has voted by a large majority to defy the government and send athletes to the Olympic Games in Moscow.

3 JAN: The new president of Afghanistan Babrak Karmal told foreign journalists that Soviet troops are defending his country “against outside threats”

22 JAN: One of the Soviet Union’s most outspoken critics, nuclear physicist Dr Andrei Sakharov, has been ordered into internal exile

APR: The 30-year Treaty of Alliance between China and USSR expired. China called off the new negotiations because of the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan

21 JUN: TASS reports that Russian troops will leave Afghanistan

19 JUL-3 AUG: The 1980 Summer Olympics are held in Moscow 64 countries boycott the Olympics Games to protest Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

22 SEP: Youth riots in the capital of the Soviet Republic of Estonia are quickly forced down.

OCT: Gorbachev promoted to full member of Politburo.

23 OCT: Kosygin is replaced as prime minister by Nikolay Tikhonov.

18 DEC: Former Prime Minister Kosygin dies in Moscow.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kossygin_Glassboro.jpg

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Olympic_Rings.svg/800px-Olympic_Rings.svg.png&imgrefurl=http://www.waltham.lib.ma.us/blog/main/?cat=37&usg=__AbEl3aW31V5AD28INMOEl1HJrlE=&h=388&w=800&sz=39&hl=en&start=4&um=1&tbnid=gDmntUKKRT4hOM:&tbnh=69&tbnw=143&prev=/images?q=olympics&hl=en&rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS315US315&sa=N&um=1

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.solarnavigator.net/geography/geography_images/afghanistan_russian_troops_mountain_passes.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.solarnavigator.net/geography/afghanistan.htm&usg=__yNZ8QMn7iCQnXfC0v5y5LpVhp18=&h=406&w=603&sz=32&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=P-tIRgIZIrtWDM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=135&prev=/images?q=russian+troops+in+afghanistan&hl=en&rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS315US315&um=1

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nndb.com/people/416/000023347/gorbachev1-sized.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nndb.com/people/416/000023347/&usg=__cFD1QY0wlp_yMYYqrgypbFQN_Rk=&h=320&w=234&sz=26&hl=en&start=19&um=1&tbnid=GdBnkoTSietyeM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=86&prev=/images?q=gorbachev&ndsp=18&hl=en&rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS315US315&sa=N&start=18&um=1

31 Jan: Polish Solidarity leader Lech Walesa forces labor dispute settlement.

USSR, 1981


22 Apr: Soviet nuclear test at Semipalitinsk, Kazakhstan.

24 Apr: US lifts grain embargo on USSR (since 4 Jan 80 due to Afghan War).

1981: Soviets funded Communist insurgency in El Salvador.

9 Jun: USSR warns Polish Communist Party to crack down on anti-Soviet activities.

14-20 Jul: Polish Communist Party emergency session; Political reform effort is stopped.

28 Aug: Call in the UN to recognize the guerrillas in El Salvador as a political force.

4 Sep: Soviet FTX on the Polish border (100,000 troops); against Solidarity.

7 Sep: USSR threatens greater world tension if Spain joins NATO.

15 Sep: Egypt expels Soviet ambassador for fostering religious unrest.

24 Sep: US/USSR announce Geneva summit on 20 Nov to limit nuclear weapons in Europe.

18 Nov: US/USSR a quid pro quo deal: Pershing II missiles for Soviet SS-20s from Europe.

22 Nov: Brezhnev arrives in Bonn to discuss arms control with Schmidt.

30 Nov: Geneva Summit (US/USSR) on medium range nuclear arms control.

1981: Soviets funded leftist Sandinista regime in Nicaragua; US funded Contras.

13 Dec: Polish government declares state of emergency; raids Solidarity HQ; arrests Lech Walesa.

24 Dec: Soviet nuclear weapon test at Semipalitinsk.

23 Feb-3 Mar: 26th Soviet Communist Congress; Brezhnev requests summit with US.

17 Apr: Polish government officially recognizes Rural Solidarity (farmers union).

Documents

Timeline of USSR's Invasion in Afghanistan