This day in history

1905: The beginning of the Battle of Mukden, one of the harshest battles during the Russo-Japanese War, to end in the Russian troops’ defeat and retreat.

1919: The Directorate [of the Ukrainian National Republic] asks the Central Powers to help in the fight against the Bolsheviks.

1919: The All-Union Central Executive Committee adopts a decree authorizing the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (for the Struggle against Counterrevolution, Speculation and Sabotage) — Cheka — to pass legal judgment.

1943: OUN-B’s third conference is called to order, stressing the need to fight the USSR, Germany, and resolutely condemning any collaboration with Nazi Germany.

1944: The Korsun-Shevchenkivsky offensive — one of the largest such operations during WW II — ends in Soviet victory.

1997: The International Journalist Center in established in Yalta.