THE DAY IN HISTORY · AUGUST 31

August 31 in history

What happened on August 31: 3 moments from the Maps of History atlases, in 1907, 1935 and 1996, each linked to the map that shows it.

1907 — Anglo-Russian Convention

31 Aug 1907 — Britain and Russia divide Persia into spheres of influence: Russia’s in the north, Britain’s in the south-east. Persians are not consulted, although they had won a constitution and an elected parliament in 1906. The agreement completes the Triple Entente over their heads.

READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE WWI MAP → · THE FULL STORY →

1935

Alexei Stakhanov cuts 102 tonnes of coal in a single shift, about fourteen times the norm — and a movement is born that will raise everyone else’s quotas.

READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE SOVIET UNION UNDER STALIN MAP →

1996 — Khasavyurt Accord

31 Aug 1996 — Chechen fighters had retaken Grozny weeks earlier. Now Russia’s security chief Alexander Lebed and the Chechen commander Aslan Maskhadov signed an accord ending the war. The question of Chechnya’s status was postponed until 2001.

READ THIS MOMENT → · SEE IT ON THE REMAKING THE STATE MAP → · THE FULL STORY →