The following lists events that happened during

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

in the

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Incumbents

General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

–

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

*Chairman of the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (russian: Президиум Верховного Совета, Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta) was a body of state power in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).Andrei Gromyko Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (russian: Андрей Андреевич Громыко; be, Андрэй Андрэевіч Грамыка; – 2 July 1989) was a Soviet communist politician and diplomat during the Cold War. He served as ...

(until 1 October, then Mikhail Gorbachev) *

Premier of the Soviet Union The Premier of the Soviet Union (russian: Глава Правительства СССР) was the head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The office had four different names throughout its existence: Chairman of the ...

–

Nikolai Ryzhkov Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov ( uk, Микола Іванович Рижков; russian: Николай Иванович Рыжков; born 28 September 1929) is a Soviet, and later Russian, politician. He served as the last Chairman of the Counci ...

*Chairman of the

Supreme Court of the Soviet Union The Supreme Court of the Soviet Union (russian: Верховный Суд СССР) was the highest court of the Soviet Union during its existence. The Supreme Court of the USSR included a Military Collegium and other elements which were not typic ...

– Vladimir Terebilov

Events

January

*7 January – The decision by the

Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, – TsK KPSS was the executive leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, acting between sessions of Congress. According to party statutes, the committee direct ...

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (russian: Президиум Верховного Совета, Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta) was a body of state power in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Совет министров СССР, r=Sovet Ministrov SSSR, p=sɐˈvʲet mʲɪˈnʲistrəf ɛsɛsɛˈsɛr; sometimes abbreviated to ''Sovmin'' or referred to as the '' ...

to rename the city of Brezhnev to

Naberezhnye Chelny Naberezhnye Chelny ( rus, На́бережные Челны́, p=ˈnabʲɪrʲɪʐnɨjə tɕɪlˈnɨ; tt-Cyrl, Яр Чаллы, ''Yar Çallı'', IPA: �jar ɕɑlːɤ̆ is the second largest city in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. A major indus ...

is published. This was followed by the decision to remove the names of

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet Union, Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Gener ...

and

Konstantin Chernenko Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko uk, Костянтин Устинович Черненко, translit=Kostiantyn Ustynovych Chernenko (24 September 1911 – 10 March 1985) was a Soviet politician and the seventh General Secretary of the Commun ...

from the names of all Soviet institutions, streets and inhabited places later that year. *16 January – The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet adopts a Decree on the Establishment of the State Committee for Nature Protection. *18 January – Aeroflot Flight 699 crashes on approach to Krasnovodsk Airport (now

Turkmenbashi International Airport Turkmenbashi International Airport ( tk, Türkmenbaşy halkara howa menzili) is an international airport located in the city of Türkmenbaşy, Turkmenistan. It accepts both passenger and cargo flights. It opened in 1959 and is one of the five m ...

), killing eleven people.

February

*12 February – American

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

USS ''Yorktown'' and

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

USS ''Caron'' enter Soviet

territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potenti ...

in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

, where they are bumped by the Soviet

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s '' Bezzavetny'' and ''SKR-6'', respectively. *14 February – Fire breaks out in the Library of the USSR Academy of Sciences, destroying approximately 300,000 volumes. 3.5 million volumes become damp due to

firefighting foam Firefighting foam is a foam used for fire suppression. Its role is to cool the fire and to coat the fuel, preventing its contact with oxygen, thus achieving suppression of the combustion. Firefighting foam was invented by the Russian engineer and ...

. *20 February – Council of People's Deputies of the

Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), DQMV, hy, Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի Ինքնավար Մարզ, ԼՂԻՄ was an autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its cap ...

(NKAO) declares the secession of the oblast from the

Azerbaijan SSR Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...

, triggering the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in th ...

. *22–23 February – Rallies in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

and

Sumgait Sumgait (; az, Sumqayıt, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, located near the Caspian Sea, on the Absheron Peninsula, about away from the capital Baku. The city has a population of around 345,300, making it the second largest city in Azerbaijan after Ba ...

under the slogan "NKAO is an integral part of Azerbaijan" take place.

March

*8 March – Aeroflot Flight 3739 is hijacked en route from

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is ...

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. *25 March – ASSA

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...

event opens in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

April

*5 April – ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the co ...

'' publishes the article of

Alexander Yakovlev Alexander Nikolayevich Yakovlev (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Я́ковлев; 2 December 1923 – 18 October 2005) was a Soviet and Russian politician, diplomat, and historian. A member of the Politburo and Secreta ...

"The Principles of

Perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...

: The Revolutionism of Thought and Actions", which criticizes

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

and supports ''perestroika''. President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev at the signing ceremony for INF Treaty

May

*29 May – U.S. President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

visits the Soviet Union. The Moscow Summit takes place. The Medium and Short-Range Missile Reduction Treaty is signed, including

OTR-23 Oka The OTR-23 Oka (russian: OTP-23 «Ока»; named after Oka River) was a mobile theatre ballistic missile (russian: оперативно-тактический ракетный комплекс) deployed by the Soviet Union near the end of the Co ...

as a "bonus for American partners". *31 May – President Reagan addresses 600

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

students.

June

*3 June – The formation of

Sąjūdis Sąjūdis (, "Movement"), initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Persitvarkymo Sąjūdis), is the political organisation which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was es ...

is announced in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

. *5 June – The celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Christianization of Rus' begins in the

Yelokhovo Cathedral The Epiphany Cathedral at Yelokhovo, Moscow, is the vicarial church of the Moscow Patriarchs. The surviving building was designed and built by Yevgraph Tyurin in 1837–1845. The original church in the village of Yelokhovo near Moscow was buil ...

. *17 June – ''

Moskovskiye Novosti ''Moskovskiye Novosti'' (russian: Московские новости, ''Moscow News'') was a Russian-language daily newspaper in Russia relaunched in 2011. The paper - by then a 'youth-oriented' free sheet handed out at more than 850 places aro ...

'' publishes the information about

Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre, "Katyń crime"; russian: link=yes, Катынская резня ''Katynskaya reznya'', "Katyn massacre", or russian: link=no, Катынский расстрел, ''Katynsky rasstrel'', "Katyn execution" was a series of m ...

, demanding an investigation of the event. *28 June – The 19th Conference of

CPSU "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

opens in Moscow.

July

*1 July – At the 19th All-Union Conference of the

Yegor Ligachev Yegor Kuzmich Ligachyov (also transliterated as Ligachev; russian: Егор Кузьмич Лигачёв, link=no; 29 November 1920 – 7 May 2021) was a Soviet and Russian politician who was a high-ranking official in the Communist Party ...

utters his famous phrase " Boris, you are wrong". *12 July – The first Soviet

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

is held. The winner becomes

Mariya Kalinina Mariya is a variation of the feminine given name Maria. People * Mariya Abakumova (born 1986), Russian Olympic javelin thrower * Mariya Agapova (born 1997), Kazakhstani mixed martial arts fighter * Mariya Alyokhina (born 1988), Russian politica ...

. *26 July – The

September

*5 September – The first

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

case in the Soviet Union kills a 29-year-old woman Olga G.

October

*1 October –

Andrei Gromyko Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (russian: Андрей Андреевич Громыко; be, Андрэй Андрэевіч Грамыка; – 2 July 1989) was a Soviet communist politician and diplomat during the Cold War. He served as ...

retires from the office of Chairman of the

. *3 October –

OMON OMON (russian: ОМОН – Отряд Мобильный Особого Назначения , translit = Otryad Mobil'nyy Osobogo Naznacheniya , translation = Special Purpose Mobile Unit, , previously ru , Отряд Милиции Осо� ...

is created. *16 October – '' Escrava Isaura'' premieres in the Soviet Union on the Central Television.

November

*12 November – Large-scale demonstrations and hunger strike began in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

, the capital of the

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц� ...

, against the Soviet policies. *15 November – Buran spacecraft makes its first and only flight. *18 November – The Soviet Union recognizes the

State of Palestine Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), Legal status of the State of Palestine, officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state (polity), state located in Western Asia. Officiall ...

, proclaimed three days earlier in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

by the

Palestinian Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and s ...

December

*1 December **The

Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...

adopts the laws "On the Election of People's Deputies" and "On Amendments and Additions to the

Constitution of the USSR During its existence, the Soviet Union had three different constitutions in force individually at different times between 31 January 1924 to 26 December 1991. Chronology of Soviet constitutions These three constitutions were: * 1924 Constitut ...

". **The hijacking of a LAZ-687 bus with schoolchildren takes place in Ordzhonikidze. *7 December **

Spitak earthquake The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake ( hy, Սպիտակի երկրաշարժ, ), occurred on December 7 at with a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X (''Devastating''). The shock occurre ...

kills several thousands of people. **

Singing Revolution The Singing Revolution; lv, dziesmotā revolūcija; lt, dainuojanti revoliucija) was a series of events that led to the restoration of independence of the Baltic states, Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania from the Soviet Union a ...

Estonian language Estonian ( ) is a Finnic language, written in the Latin script. It is the official language of Estonia and one of the official languages of the European Union, spoken natively by about 1.1 million people; 922,000 people in Estonia and 160,0 ...

replaces Russian as the official language of the

Estonian SSR The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an ethnically based adminis ...

. *30 December – The

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (russian: Президиум Верховного Совета, Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta) was a body of state power in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Совет министров СССР, r=Sovet Ministrov SSSR, p=sɐˈvʲet mʲɪˈnʲistrəf ɛsɛsɛˈsɛr; sometimes abbreviated to ''Sovmin'' or referred to as the '' ...

publish the decision to remove the names of

and

from the names of all institutions, streets and inhabited places.

Births

*10 January –

Vladimir Zharkov Vladimir Alexanderovich Zharkov (russian: Влади́мир Алекса́ндрович Жарко́в; born January 10, 1988) is a Russian professional ice hockey right winger. He is currently playing with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hoc ...

, Russian ice hockey player *15 January –

Nataliia Mandryk Nataliia Mandryk (born 15 January 1988) is a Ukrainian wheelchair fencer. Mandryk competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 Au ...

, Ukrainian Paralympic wheelchair fencer *19 January –

Alexey Vorobyov Alexey Vladimirovich Vorobyov (russian: Алексей Владимирович Воробьёв; 19 January 1988) is a Russian singer and actor who performs both in Russian and English. For international purposes Vorobyov is also credited as ...

, Russian singer and actor *3 March –

Valeriy Chybineyev Valeriy Viktorovych Chybineyev ( uk, Валерій Вікторович Чибінєєв; 3 March 1988 – 3 March 2022) was a Ukrainian sniper who served as commander of the sniper company of the 79th Air Assault Brigade. He fought in the war ...

, Ukrainian sniper (died 2022) *1 April –

Alexander Bychkov Alexander Vladimirovich Bychkov (russian: Александр Владимирович Бычков; born April 1, 1988) is a Russian serial killer, convicted for the murder of nine men in Belinsky, Penza Oblast between 2009 and 2012. Bychkov ta ...

, Russian serial killer *16 May –

Martynas Gecevičius Martynas "Marty" Gecevičius (born May 16, 1988) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Juventus Utena of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL). Standing at , he primarily plays at the shooting guard position. Professional career G ...

, Lithuanian basketball player *12 June –

Artūrs Bērziņš Artūrs Bērziņš (born June 12, 1988) is a Latvian former basketball player, who plays the power forward position. For the 2017–2018 season he is signed with the BK Ventspils of the Latvian Basketball League. He is now youth basketball coach a ...

, Latvian basketball player *2 August – Anton Makovich, Russian former professional football player *17 September – Pavel Mamayev, Russian footballerCSKA profile
*20 September –

Khabib Nurmagomedov Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov av, ХIабиб ГӀабдулманапил НурмухӀамадов (born 20 September 1988) is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the lightweight division of the Ultima ...

, Russian professional mixed martial artist *19 October –

Markiyan Kamysh Markiyan Kamysh ( uk, Маркіян Камиш, born 19 October 1988) is a Ukrainian novelist. Biography Markiyan Kamysh is the only person who represents the Chernobyl underground in literature. Since 2010, he has been illegally exploring the ...

, Ukrainian novelist *10 November –

Natalia Pereverzeva Natalia Vladimirovna Pereverzeva (russian: Наталья Владимировна Переверзева, born 10 November 1988, Kursk) is a Russian model. Pereverzeva won the 2010 Miss Moscow and 2011 Krasa Rossii contests. She also participat ...

, Russian model *20 November –

Liis Lindmaa Liis Lindmaa (born 20 November 1988) is an Estonian stage, television and film actress. Early life and education Liis Lindmaa was born and raised in the town of Rakvere in Lääne-Viru County, where she attended primary and secondary schools. Sh ...

, Estonian actress

Deaths

*11 February – Nikolai Sergeyev, Admiral of the Fleet (born 1909) *17 February – Alexander Bashlachev, singer-songwriter (born 1960) *13 May –

Sergey Gorshkov Sergey Georgyevich Gorshkov (russian: Серге́й Гео́ргиевич Горшко́в; 26 February 1910 – 13 May 1988) was an admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union. Twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, he oversaw the exp ...

, Admiral of the Fleet (born 1910) *31 August –

Edgar Elbakyan Edgar Elbakyan ( hy, Էդգար Գևորգի Էլբակյան, 7 March 1928 - 31 August 1988) was an Armenian actor. Biography Elbakyan was born in Tbilisi, Tiflis in school-teacher family. In 1946 he graduated from secondary school, he move ...

, Armenian actor (born 1928) *1 October – Anatoly Blatov, diplomat (born 1914)

Unknown dates

*''

Little Vera ''Little Vera'' (russian: links=no, italics=yes, Маленькая Вера, Malenkaya Vera), produced by Gorky Film Studio and released in 1988, is a film by Russian film director Vasili Pichul. The title in Russian is ambiguous and can also mea ...

'' premieres in the Soviet Union. *Many higher education institutes cancel military training departments, which helped students to avoid military draft.