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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.

— Anglo-Russian Convention

31 Aug 1907 — Britain and Russia divide Persia into a Russian sphere in the north and a British one in the south-east without consulting the Persians, who had just won a constitution and an elected parliament in 1906. The Triple Entente is completed over their heads.

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

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 →

— Khasavyurt Accord

31 Aug 1996 — Weeks after Chechen fighters retake Grozny, Russia’s security chief Alexander Lebed and the Chechen commander Aslan Maskhadov sign an accord that ends the war and postpones the question of Chechnya’s status until 2001.

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

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