July 17th

On this day - July 17th 1918 - The last tsar of Russia was executed 

On this day in 1918 was the whole family of Tsar Nicholas II executed. Nicholas II had ruled in Russia between 1894 and his forced abdication in 1917. He was known Nicholas the Bloody  by his political enemies. He spent the time between his abdication in 1917 and his execution in 1918 in prison, although he tried to go into exile in UK. On the morning of July 17th in 1918 was the family told to get dressed o they could be brought to safety. A firing squad was waiting for the family in the basement and the whole family was shot and killed, together with four non-members of the family who had chosen to stay with them in their imprisonment.

July 10th

On this day - July 10th 1991 - Boris Yeltsin takes office 

Boris Yeltsin was the first elected president of Russia. He served as the president between 1991 and 1999. He vowed to transform Russia former communist economy to a marked oriented and was very popular candidate when first elected. His popularity diminished by the 1996 election, which he still won. Much of his period as president of Russia was marked by corruption and he resigned in 1999 after massive pressure from the rest of the world. He chose prime minister Vladimir Putin to be his successor.

Picture by Kremlun.ru

May 29th

On this day - May 29th 1988 - Ronald Reagan and Gorbachev meet at the Moscow summit

The Moscow summit was a meeting between the american president, Ronald Reagan and the Soviet Unions leader, Michael Gorbachev. The summit lasted from may 29th til June 3 and it was the first time an American president had traveled to the soviet union since the cold war began. The two leaders discussed several topics such as human rights and fishing rights, and agreements was signed on several areas. Reagan also gave Gorbachev a version of the movie "Friendly Persuasion" which had been blacklisted in the USA due to its allegedly communist sympathies.

March 18th

On this day - March 18th 1965 - The first person to walk in space 

On March 16th left the Soviet cosmonaut Alexey Leonov his spacecraft for 12 minutts and 9 seconds for a walk in Space. He thereby became the first human to do Extravehicular activities, which is the official term for activities done in space outside of the spacecraft. Leonov was connected to the spacecraft with a long cable and pulling this cable was the only way he could control is motions while in space. In June the same year did the US their first spacewalk when Edward White left his spacecraft for 21 minutes. The first person to successfully stay outside of the spacecraft for longer periods was Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin who worked on the aircraft for over two hours in 1966.

October 28th

On this day - 28th October 1962 - Ended the Cuban Missile Crises 

The cuban missile crises lasted from the 16th to the 28th of October and was one of the most intense issues during the cold war. It was the closest the cold war came to become a warm, and potential nuclear, conflict. The reason for the conflict was the Soviet Unions deployment of ballistic missiles on Cuba after US failed "Bay of Pigs Invasion" of Cuba. After this followed a series of minor conflicts, including the US dropping of "Depth Charges" on a nuclear armed Soviet submarine and a military blockage by the US. On the 28th was finally an agreement between Kennedy and Khrushchev reached and agreed on by both sides.
The Soviet Union agreed to dismantle their offensive weapons on Cuba in exchange for an U.S official declaration to never invade Cuba without direct provocation. The US also agreed, in secretly, to dismantle U.S built Jupiter missiles in Turkey and Italy. As a result of the conflict was a hotline between Moscow and Washington established. The conflict became an embarrassment for Khrushchev, who fell from power only two years later.

J.F. Kennedy signing the proclamation authorizing the naval quarantine of Cuba