With Soviet Red Army support, Mongolian revolutionaries led by Sükhbaatar take power, paving the way for a socialist state.
The First National Congress meets in Shanghai, formally founding the Chinese Communist Party.
The Treaty on the Creation of the USSR unites Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and the Transcaucasian Federation into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Koreans proclaim independence and stage nationwide peaceful protests against Japanese rule; the movement is suppressed.
Beijing students protest the Paris Peace Conference's Shandong decision, sparking a wave of nationalism and cultural renewal.
A powerful earthquake and ensuing fires devastate Tokyo and Yokohama, killing more than 100,000 people.
Former Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, their children and their retainers are shot by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg.