← 1937 1936 1935 1938 in the Soviet Union → 1939 1940 1941
Decades:	1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s
See also:	History of the Soviet Union List of years in the Soviet Union

← 1937 1936 1935 1938 in Russia → 1939 1940 1941
Decades:	1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s
See also:	History of Russia Timeline of Russian history List of years in Russia

The following lists events that happened during 1938 in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Incumbents

• General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union – Joseph Stalin
• Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union – Mikhail Kalinin
• Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union – Vyacheslav Molotov

Events

• March – Trial of the Twenty-One
• 15 March – The Soviet Union announces officially that Nikolai Bukharin has been executed.
• 29 July–11 August – Battle of Lake Khasan
• 2 September – Soviet Ambassador to Britain Ivan Maisky calls on Winston Churchill, telling him that Soviet Foreign Commissar Maxim Litvinov has expressed to the French chargé d'affaires in Moscow that the Soviet Union is willing to fight over the territorial integrity of Czechoslovakia.
• unknown date – Family plots produce 22% of all Soviet agricultural produce, on only 4% of all cultivated land.

Births

• January 2 – Anatoly Samoilenko, Ukrainian mathematician (died 2020)
• January 8 – Yevgeny Nesterenko, Russian operatic bass (died 2021)
• January 18 – Stepan Topal, Moldovan politician (died 2018)
• February 24 – Emma Gapchenko, archer^[1]
• March 2 – Vyacheslav Zaitsev, Russian fashion designer (died 2023)
• March 17 – Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-born dancer, choreographer (died 1993)
• June 9 – Tengiz Kitovani, Georgian politician military commander (died 2023 in Georgia)
• June 24 – Boris Lagutin, boxer (died 2022)
• July 9 – Liya Akhedzhakova, Russian actress
• July 10 – Vera Shebeko, Russian anchorwoman
• July 14 – Lillian Malkina, Russian actress
• July 18 – Valery Kerdemelidi, Russian artistic gymnast
• July 21 – Vladimir Radionov, Russian football player, coach and official
• July 22 – Mark Rakita, Russian sabreur and coach
• August 9 – Oleksandr Omelchenko, Ukrainian politician, Mayor of Kyiv (died 2021)
• August 19 – Valentin Mankin, Ukrainian Soviet sailor, Olympic triple champion and silver medalist (died 2014)
• October 10 – Oleg Gordievsky, Russian double agent
• November 11 – Ants Antson, Estonian speed skater (died 2015)

Deaths

• January 22 – Sergei Buturlin, Soviet ornithologist (b. 1872)
• February 8
  • Mikhail Batorsky, Soviet komkor (executed) (b. 1890)^[2]
  • Nikolai Kuzmin, Soviet political and military leader (executed) (b. 1883)
• March 15 – Nikolai Bukharin, Alexei Rykov, Nikolay Krestinsky, Genrikh Yagoda, Arkady Rosengolts, Vladimir Ivanovich Ivanov, Mikhail Alexandrovich Chernov, Hryhoriy Hrynko, Fayzulla Khodzhayev and Vasily Sharangovich
• June 20 – Nikolai Janson, Russian politician (shot)
• July 28 – Yakov Alksnis
• July 29 – Pavel Dybenko
• August 16 – Sergey Aydarov, actor (b. 1867)
• August 22 – Eduard Lepin, Latvian-born Soviet general (b. 1889)
• November 9 – Vasily Blyukher
• December 15 – Valery Chkalov, test pilot (b. 1904)^[3]
• December 27 – Osip Mandelstam, poet (b. 1891)^[4]

See also

• 1938 in fine arts of the Soviet Union
• List of Soviet films of 1938

References