1977

According to former KGB major Yuri Shvets, Trump became the target of a joint Czech intelligence services and KGB spying operation after he married Czech model Ivana Zelnickova^[9] and was cultivated as an "asset" by Russian intelligence since 1977: "Russian intelligence gained an interest in Trump as far back as 1977, viewing Trump as an exploitable target."^[10]

1986

Soviet Ambassador Yuri Dubinin invites Trump on an all-expenses-paid trip to the Soviet Union.^[11]

1987

Konstantin Kilimnik attends the Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense [ru] from 1987 until 1992.^[12]^: 141
July: Trump and his wife, Ivana, who spoke Russian,^[13] make their first visit to the Soviet Union (which included the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic [RSFSR]).^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18]^: 13 They scout potential construction sites for a Trump Tower Moscow.^[16]^[17]

1991

December 26: Dissolution of the Soviet Union occurs, wherein the RSFSR becomes the Russian Federation (commonly known as "Russia").

1996

Trump returns to Russia, visits Moscow with Howard Lorber and Bennett S. LeBow^[19] to scout potential properties for "skyscrapers and hotels",^[20] registers his trademark, and makes connections with the development company Bayrock Group (which would result in Trump Soho) and Felix Sater, who became crucial to later Trump Moscow talks.^[21]^[17] Trump subsequently announces a plan to invest $250 million in Russia and brand two luxury residential buildings in Moscow, which doesn't come to fruition.^[2]^: 14 Other people on the trip include Leon Black of Apollo Global Management, Ron Bernstein, Theodore Liebman, and Matthew Calamari.^[22]^: 649 During the trip, Trump brings two women he met the night before to a business meeting, and begins a long-term relationship with a former "Miss Moscow".^[22]^{: 650–655} In 2020, the Senate Intelligence Committee reports that it is unable to determine whether Russia has compromising material involving Trump and the three women.^[23]

2000

February 14: Trump withdraws his bid for the Reform Party nomination in the 2000 United States presidential election,^[18]^: 75 but writes that he cannot rule out another run for president.^[24] Roger Stone chaired Trump's exploratory committee.^[25]^[26]

2001–2004

Patten and Kilimnik work together at the International Republican Institute (IRI). Patten runs the think tank's Moscow office and considers Kilimnik a key employee.^[27]

2004

Manafort begins his relationship with his patron, Deripaska.^[18]
November 22: The Orange Revolution begins, eventually resulting in a revote ordered by the Supreme Court of Ukraine.^[18]^: 155

2005

Trump gives Bayrock Group an exclusive deal to build a Trump-branded property in Moscow.^[28]
Kilimnik leaves the IRI to work for Manafort in Ukraine.^[27]
June 23: Paul Manafort and a business partner, Rick Davis, propose a plan to Oleg Deripaska under which they would influence news coverage, business dealings, and politics in the former Soviet Union, Europe, and the United States "to benefit President Vladimir Putin's government".^[29]^[30]^: 131 They eventually sign a $10 million contract that starts in 2006 using LOAV Ltd. instead of Davis-Manafort; they maintain a business relationship until at least 2009.^[29]

2006

At Donald Trump's request, Sater accompanies Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. on a Moscow trip, and arranges for Ivanka to sit in Putin's office chair during a tour of the Kremlin.^[31]^[2]^: 17
January: Davis introduces Senators John McCain, Saxby Chambliss, and John E. Sununu to Deripaska at the World Economic Forum in Davos. They meet at a private apartment and have dinner at Peter Munk's ski chalet. Later in the month, Deripaska sends Davis and Manafort a letter thanking Davis for arranging the meeting with the senators.^[32]

2007

Manafort and Richard Davis found Pericles Emerging Markets, an investment fund solely backed by Deripaska.^[33]^[34]^[30]^: 131
October 15: Trump praises Putin in an interview on CNN.^[35]
2007–2012: Manafort receives $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments from Viktor Yanukovych's pro-Russian Ukrainian Party of Regions.^[34]
November: Trump attends the Millionaire's Fair in Moscow, where he announces that Trump Vodka will expand its distribution into Russia, his first foray into the Russian market.^[36]^[37]^[38]
November 20 Manafort receives his first payment from the Ukrainian Party of Regions.^[39]
December 19: Trump sends Putin a congratulatory letter for being named Time magazine's "Man of the Year". He writes, "As you probably have heard, I am a big fan of yours!"^[22]^{: 417–418}^[40]^[41]

2008

2008:
- Around 2008, Trump Jr. travels to Russia a half-dozen times in 18 months, looking for deals.^[42]
- Deripaska transfers $18.9 million to Pericles Emerging Markets to purchase Black Sea Cable. It is unclear what happened to the money: Deripaska demands an accounting of the funds in 2013, sues Pericles in 2014, and sues Manafort in 2018.^[33]^[34]^[43]
- A spokesperson for Deripaska denies he ever hired Manafort's consulting company.^[29]
2008–2013: Carter Page is an "operational contact" for the CIA, which means the agency can ask him for information he already knows but not task him with gathering information.^[44]
July: Trump sells the Palm Beach estate Maison de L'Amitie to Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev for a record $95 million. Trump bought the property for $41.35 million three years earlier and made only minor improvements.^[45] According to Cohen, Trump later tells his associates that he believes Putin was behind Rybolovlev's purchase.^[46]
September: Trump Jr., then an executive vice president of The Trump Organization, says, "Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets, say, in Dubai, and certainly with our project in SoHo and anywhere in New York. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia."^[47]^[48]^[49]
November: Davis-Manafort is disbanded shortly after the presidential election.^[50]

2009

May: Kislyak attempts to arrange a meeting between Torshin and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin during Torshin's planned visit to Alaska on June 6.^[51] Palin's office declines and suggests Torshin meet with Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell.^[51] It is unclear whether the meeting took place.^[22]^: 577

2010

The Trump International Hotel and Tower in Toronto receives timely financing from Vnesheconombank (VEB), a Russian state-run investment bank.^[52]
Deripaska lends $10 million to a company jointly owned by Manafort and his wife.^[53]
August: Trump and Bannon first meet, and David Bossie is present. Trump says he is thinking of running for president in 2012; Bannon replies, "for what country?"^[54]

2011

Maria Butina founds the "Right to Bear Arms [ru]" organization.^[55]^[56]
2011–2013: Protests occur in Russia against its legislative and presidential election processes. Putin accuses U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of interfering in Russian politics.^[57]
April 29 – May 1: Nashville lawyer G. Kline Preston IV and NRA Secretary Jim Land introduce Russian Senator Alexander Torshin to National Rifle Association (NRA) president David Keene at the NRA annual meeting in Pittsburgh.^[58]^[59]^[22]^: 578
May 7: Keene sends Torshin a handwritten letter offering to help in his endeavors.^[60]

October 12–27: Mueller resigns his family membership from the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, and asks for a refund of the unused portion of the annual fees. Two weeks later, the club confirms the membership will end on October 31 and says he will be put on a waitlist for fee refunds, but Mueller never receives the refund. Beginning in May 2017, Trump claims this incident forms a conflict of interest that should prevent Mueller from serving as the special counsel investigating him.^[61]^: 80–81^[62]
December 8: Putin states that Clinton "set the tone for some opposition activists", and "gave them a signal, they heard this signal and started active work".^[63]

2012

The FBI warns Representative Dana Rohrabacher that he is being targeted by Russian agents to recruit him as an "agent of influence"; that is, someone who can affect US policy.^[64]
Italian MEP Gianni Pittella introduces Simona Mangiante, the future wife of George Papadopoulos, to Mifsud in Brussels. Mangiante worked for the European Parliament as an attorney specializing in child abduction cases.^[7]^[65]
February 10: Torshin registers as a life member of the NRA using Russian diplomat Igor Matveev's address and Preston's phone number.^[22]^: 578
April 12–15: Torshin attends the NRA annual convention in St. Louis, Missouri, with an "all access" pass.^[66]^[67]
October 11: Preston applies for Torshin to receive election observer status in Tennessee.^[51]
October 25: Manafort receives the last of $12.7 million in payments from the Ukrainian Party of Regions.^[39]
November 6: Torshin and Matveev visit Davidson and Williamson counties in Tennessee as election observers.^[51]
November 8: Torshin visits the NRA headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia.^[66]
December 14: President Barack Obama signs the Magnitsky Act into law to punish Russian officials responsible for human rights violations.^[68]

2013

Apparent security hackers gain access to the Trump Organization's domain registrar account at GoDaddy and register hundreds of "shadow" subdomains with IP addresses located at a company in St. Petersburg Russia known for hosting websites containing malware. Most of the subdomains are created in August. By November 1, 2017, the subdomains disappeared after the Trump Organization was notified of the issue, although the organization denied that any breach occurred.^[69]
January: Carter Page, a petroleum industry consultant, passes documents about the oil market to Victor Podobnyy, a Russian intelligence agent. He later claims the documents were public information. Podobnyy is charged with being an unregistered foreign agent in 2015.^[70]
March 13: The FBI interviews Manafort about his offshore business dealings.^[71]
March 19: Manafort has dinner with Rohrabacher as part of his lobbying efforts for the government of Ukraine. Vin Weber, a partner at Mercury Affairs, is also in attendance.^[72] Three days later, Manafort gives Rohrabacher a $1,000 campaign contribution.^[73] Richard Gates, Manafort's deputy, pleads guilty in 2018 to lying about the meeting to the FBI.^[72]
April 13: Two agents of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) discuss recruiting Page.^[74]^[75]
May 3–5: Butina and Torshin attend the NRA convention in Houston, Texas.^[76]^[77]
June: Flynn travels to Moscow at Major General Igor Sergun's invitation. Kislyak helps arrange and coordinate the trip. Flynn visits the GRU headquarters, where he meets with GRU officials, briefs GRU staff, and presents a professional development class on leadership.^[22]^: 753
June 15–18: Attending the Miss USA 2013 pageant, Trump dines with Aras Agalarov, Emin Agalarov, and Rob Goldstone in Las Vegas.^[78] The next day he announces that Miss Universe 2013 will be held in Moscow.^[78] He sends Putin a letter inviting him to the pageant^[79] and asks on Twitter whether the Russian president will be his "new best friend".^[80]
July 3: Carter Page schedules a dinner with potential investor Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg to pitch his fledgling natural gas business. It is unclear whether the meeting took place.^[81]
August: Eric Trump tells author James Dodson, "We don't rely on American banks [...] We have all the funding we need out of Russia", and says, "We go there all the time". In May 2017, Eric Trump calls this "fabricated" and an example of why people distrust the media.^[82]^[47]^[83]^[84]^[85]
August 25: Page sends a letter to an academic press in which he claims to be an adviser to the Kremlin.^[86]
Early October:
- Butina makes a presentation on "Right to Bear Arms" to the Association for the Promotion of Weapons Culture in Israel. Her presentation includes a slide claiming her organization has cooperation agreements with similar organizations in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Estonia, and she informs the group that it also has a cooperation agreement with the NRA. Another slide states it has a cooperation agreement with the International Defensive Pistol Association, which the Texas-based organization denies when asked in 2018.^[87]
- Torshin or Butina invites Keene to the November "Right to Bear Arms" conference in Moscow.^[22]^: 580
October 17:
- In an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, Donald Trump says he has conducted "a lot of business with the Russians" and that he has met President Vladimir Putin.^[88]^[89]
- Erickson begins an email conversation with Butina to make arrangements for his and Keene's trip to Moscow.^[22]^: 580 Erickson informs Butina that Keen may have a "formal diplomatic meeting" after they arrive on October 30.^[22]^{: 580–581}
October 30: After Keene and Erickson arrive in Moscow, Keene dines with Torshin and his wife.^[22]^: 581
October 31 – November 1: Keene, Alan Gottlieb, and Paul Erickson attend the "Right to Bear Arms" conference in Moscow where they meet with Butina and Torshin.^[58] Gottlieb and Keene are invited speakers at the event.^[90]^[66]^[91] Keene is scheduled to speak on the second day.^[22]^: 581 Gottlieb and his wife dine with Torshin and Butina, and receive "gifts that [display] research into their interests". In 2017, Gottlieb tells The Washington Post, "They wanted to keep communications open and form friendships."^[58]
November 1: Keene is scheduled to meet with Peskov, though he later tells the Senate Intelligence Committee that he does not recall meeting with any government officials while in Moscow.^[22]^: 581
Early November: Butina and Erickson discuss holding an NRA-hosted event in Moscow in 2014, an idea raised by Torshin and Keene during the "Right to Bear Arms" conference. The proposed event would honor "Right to Bear Arms," Torshin, and General Mikhail Kalashnikov. Putin would be an invitee. Erickson describes the idea as having "HIGH importance to the NRA". Later, Keene tells the Senate Intelligence Committee that the plans were dropped partly because Kalishnikov died in December 2013.^[22]^: 584
November 3: Butina emails Erickson asking him to not publish photographs of Keene and Torshin dining together because she needs "time to think how to position this".^[22]^: 581
November 6: Erickson begins assisting Butina with a visa application so that she can visit the NRA.^[22]^: 581 This is the first occurrence of Butina using the NRA as a reason for visiting the U.S., but there is no evidence she made the trip.^[22]^: 581
November 7: Butina again emails Erickson to dissuade him from publishing the photographs because she is concerned about attracting attention.^[22]^: 581
November 9–11: The Trump-owned Miss Universe pageant is held in Moscow, sponsored by Sberbank.^[82] According to various reports, the event's $20 million licensing fee is paid by a Moscow real estate development firm called the Crocus Group, whose president is Aras Agalarov and vice president is his son, pop singer Emin Agalarov.^[36]^[92] One VIP guest is Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, an alleged Russian mobster and fugitive who was recently indicted for running a high-stakes illegal gambling ring out of a Trump Tower apartment in New York City.^[93] While Putin does not attend, the event is attended by Vladimir Kozhin,^[93] the head of the Kremlin's property department,^[94] which is responsible for development projects.^[95] After the event, Trump tells Real Estate Weekly, "the Russian market is attracted to me. I have a great relationship with many Russians".^[47]^[96] During the trip, Trump meets Herman Gref, the CEO of state-controlled Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, and other oligarchs close to Putin.^[97] Agalarov and Gref co-host a dinner for Trump at the Moscow branch of Nobu, which is owned by Agalarov.^[98] Afterwards, Trump tweets to Agalarov, "I had a great weekend with you and your family. You have done a FANTASTIC job. TRUMP TOWER-MOSCOW is next."^[98]^[99]
November 12: The Moscow Times reports that Trump is in talks with Russian companies to build a new Trump tower in Moscow.^[100]
November 21: The Euromaidan starts when President Yanukovych suspends preparations for the implementation of an association agreement with the European Union.^[18]^{: 150, 157}^[101]
December 10: John Bolton promotes gun rights in Russia in a video made for Butina's "Right to Bear Arms" organization that is shown to members of the Duma.^[102]^[76]^[22]^: 582 Bolton made the video at the request of Keene, who was himself asked to find someone by Butina and Torshin, though Keene didn't mention Torshin by name.^[22]^: 582
December 13: Keene emails Butina to follow up on the Bolton video and ask Butina and Torshin for advice on inviting Rogozin to the NRA's Las Vegas event in 2014. Butina responds that she and Torshin think it is a good idea.^[22]^{: 583–584}
December 23: Trump, Trump Jr., Emin Agalarov, and Kaveladze reach an agreement for the Trump Tower Moscow project under which the Trump Organization would receive a 3.5% commission on all sales.^[30]^: 67–68

2014

2014:
- Butina tells an American Facebook friend who complained about California's gun restrictions that he should "hold demonstrations" for gun rights.^[103]
- Patten provides lobbying and consulting services to the Ukrainian Opposition Bloc political party and Lyovochkin, a party leader, without registering as a foreign agent. He travels many times to Ukraine to meet with Lyovochkin and Kilimnik.^[104]
- Patten works for Cambridge Analytica to hone their microtargeting operations during the 2014 midterm elections.^[105]
January 2: Keene, who is also the opinion editor for The Washington Times, publishes in the newspaper a piece on Kalashnikov written by Torshin and partly translated by Erickson and Butina.^[22]^: 584^[106]
Early 2014: Erickson meets Butina in Israel, where they become romantically involved.^[22]^: 582
Before January 24: The Crocus Group sends The Trump Organization a proposal to build a 194-meter tall building with 800 units at the Crocus City site in Moscow where the Miss Universe pageant was held. Trump Jr. and Emin Agalarov sign the proposal.^[30]^: 68
February 1–4: Kushner and Ivanka Trump travel to Russia on a four-day trip at the invitation of Dasha Zhukova, a longtime friend of Ivanka and the wife of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.^[107] They attend a gala fundraiser for the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow along with Vekselberg, other oligarchs, Russian government officials, and their families.^[107] Ivanka and Emin Agalarov tour the proposed Trump Tower Moscow site at Crocus City.^[30]^: 68 In 2016–17, Kushner omits the trip from his security clearance applications.^[107]
February 10: In a Fox and Friends phone interview, Trump says Putin contacted him while he was in Moscow for the Miss Universe pageant.^[108]
March 6:
- Obama initiates international sanctions on certain Russian individuals, businesses and officials, in response to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea.^[109]
- Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Trump says, "You know, I was in Moscow a couple of months ago, I own the Miss Universe Pageant and they treated me so great. Putin even sent me a present, a beautiful present."^[110]
March 21: Trump posts two tweets praising Putin regarding "Russian Empire"^[111]^[112] on the day the Russian Federal Assembly ratifies the Treaty on Accession of the "Republic of Crimea", formalizing the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.
April:
- The Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA) creates a department called the "translator project". The department's focus is on interfering in the U.S. election.^[113]^[114]
- The Obama administration receives a report from a well-connected Russian source that Russia is building disinformation infrastructure to disrupt the political systems in the United States and Europe.^[115]
Early April: Erickson and Keene help Butina secure a visa for her visit to the U.S., including Keene making a "standard call" to the office of Congressman Edward Royce, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.^[22]^{: 584–585}
April 12: Asked about Putin by Eric Bolling on the Fox News show Cashin' In, Trump says Putin has taken the mantle from Obama. He continues, "Interestingly, I own the Miss Universe pageant, and we just left Moscow. He could not have been nicer. He was so nice and so everything. But you have to give him credit that what he's doing for that country in terms of their world prestige is very strong."^[116]
April 24: Butina presents NRA president Jim Porter with an honorary membership in "Right to Bear Arms".^[117]^[118]
April 25–27: Butina and Torshin attend the NRA annual conference in Indianapolis. Butina attends several meetings as a guest of Keene.^[119]^[120]
May: The IRA begins its election interference campaign of "spread[ing] distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general".^[113]^[114]
May 27: Speaking at a National Press Club luncheon, Trump again claims to have spoken to Putin. "I own the Miss Universe [pageant]. I was in Russia. I was in Moscow recently. And I spoke indirectly and directly with President Putin who could not have been nicer. And we had a tremendous success."^[121]
June 2: BuzzFeed News reports on a cache of Internet Archive emails leaked by Russian hackers. The emails reveal a well-funded effort to recruit and train online trolls to post comments on top American websites.^[122]^[123]^: 24–28
June 3: Kaveladze emails Trump Jr. and others about design elements and architectural details for Trump Tower Moscow.^[30]^: 68
June 4–26: Aleksandra Krylova and Anna Bogacheva, two IRA employees, travel to the U.S. to collect intelligence. Maria Bovda, a third employee, is denied a visa.^[113] All three are indicted in February 2018 for their work on election interference.^[114]
June 10: Trump Jr. emails Kaveladze and others about design elements and architectural details for Trump Tower Moscow.^[30]^: 68
June 16: Trump Jr. emails Kaveladze and others again about design elements and architectural details for Trump Tower Moscow.^[30]^: 68
Mid 2014: Dutch intelligence gains access to Russian hacking group Cozy Bear, which later, together with Fancy Bear, hacked the DNC servers. They were able to photograph each hacker, get their names, and compile dossiers on each, as they were watching the Russians perform their hacking operations in real time.^[124]
July 2: The FBI interviews Richard Gates about his international business dealings.^[71]
July 7: The Trump Organization sends Crocus Group a set of questions about the "demographics of these prospective buyers" in the area around the proposed Trump Tower Moscow site, the development of neighboring parcels, and concepts for redesigning portions of the building.^[30]^: 68
July 22: Laurence Levy, a lawyer with the law firm Bracewell & Giuliani, advises Rebekah Mercer, Steve Bannon, and Alexander Nix on the legality of their company, Cambridge Analytica, being involved in U.S. elections. He advises that Nix and any foreign nationals without a green card working for the company not be involved in any decisions about work the company performs for any clients related to U.S. elections. He further advises Nix to recuse himself from any involvement with the company's U.S. election work because he is not a U.S. citizen.^[125]^[126]
July 30: The FBI interviews Manafort about his international business dealings.^[71]^[30]^: 132
August 4: The Trump Organization requests from Crocus Group the specifications for a Marriott-branded tower under construction near Crocus City.^[30]^: 68
August 7: Lieutenant General Flynn retires from the U.S. Army.^[127]
August 26: Butina invites Keene to the September "Right to Bear Arms" conference in Moscow. Keene declines citing travel conflicts and the upcoming midterm elections, but promises to attend the 2015 conference.^[22]^: 585
Late 2014: Butina resigns from her position as the head of "Right to Bear Arms".^[128]
September–November: The Trump Organization becomes less and less responsive to emails from the Crocus Group about the Trump Tower Moscow project, with the last response sent on November 24. Discussions end in the planning stage with no construction occurring.^[30]^: 68 The death of Tamir Sapir, a potential funding source for the project, may be a contributing factor in the project's collapse.^[129]
September 3: Paul Erickson attends a "Right to Bear Arms" forum in Moscow where he is a featured speaker.^[119]^[130]^[131]
September 11: The IRA spreads a hoax they created about a fictitious chemical plant fire in Centerville, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, purportedly started by ISIS. The hoax includes tweets and YouTube videos showing a chemical plant fire. Centerville is home to many chemical plants, but the plant named in the tweets does not exist. Initial tweets are sent directly to politicians, journalists, and Centerville residents.^[132]
September 21 – October 11: The Material Evidence art exhibition is displayed at the Art Beam gallery in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. It portrays the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine in a pro-Russian light. It is promoted by Twitter accounts that also spread the September 11 chemical plant fire hoax.^[132] The exhibition is partly funded by the IRA.^[133]
October 8: A Defense Department lawyer informs Flynn in writing that as a retired officer he is bound by the emoluments clause of the U.S. constitution because he can be recalled to service at any time.^[134] On April 27, 2017, Flynn comes under investigation for possibly receiving emoluments from Turkey and Russia.^[134]
November 21: Bruce Ohr and Christopher Steele discuss cultivating Deripaska as a U.S. intelligence asset.^[135]
November 26–30: An unnamed IRA employee travels to Atlanta.^[113]^[114]
November 27: A tweet allegedly from a woman in New York City claims that she had food poisoning from a turkey she bought at Walmart. Within hours, there are numerous similar postings on Tumblr and Twitter making similar claims, Wikipedia articles about the incident, and a story on an alleged news site. All are created by the IRA in what is later believed to be a test to gauge how easily they can manipulate Americans.^[136]^[123]^: 53
December 1: Butina emails Erickson asking him to help two Russian firearms companies, the Scientific Research Institute of Applied Chemistry and the Vyatsko-Polyansky Engineering Plant, attend the April 2015 NRA conference.^[22]^{: 585–586}
December 13:
- The IRA uses Twitter to spread a hoax about an Ebola outbreak in Atlanta. Many of the Twitter accounts used in the September 11 chemical plant fire hoax also spread this hoax. The hoax includes a YouTube video of medical workers wearing hazmat suits.^[132]
- Using a different set of Twitter accounts, the IRA spreads a hoax about a purported police shooting of an unarmed black woman in Atlanta. The hoax includes a blurry video of the purported event.^[132]

January–June 2015

2015
- Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin's investment fund AltPoint Capital Partners purchases ByteGrid LLC, which operates some of Maryland's election systems. Potanin is described as "very close" to Putin.^[137] State officials are not informed of the purchase, and remain unaware until the FBI briefs them in July 2018.^[138]
- Patten and Kilimnik start a consulting firm together in Washington, D.C., called Begemot Ventures International Ltd. The firm provides consulting services in Ukraine and lobbying services in the U.S. for Ukrainian political parties without registering as a foreign agent.^[104]^[139] Begemot shares office space with Cambridge Analytica.^[105]
January 19–21: Patten and Kilimnik coordinate to arrange meetings for Serhiy Lyovochkin with members of the Senate Foreign Relations and the House Foreign Affairs committees, with officials from the State Department, and with numerous members of the U.S. media. In August 2018, Patten pleads guilty to failing to register as a foreign agent for this work.^[27]^[139]
January 20: Butina emails Keene to notify him of Torshin's recent appointment as vice chairman of the Russian Central Bank, and to express concerns about the implications for Torshin's continuing relationship with the NRA.^[22]^: 586
January 22: Butina asks Keene for assistance securing invitations for two Russian firearms companies to attend the April NRA convention. It is unknown whether the companies attended.^[22]^: 586
January 23: A court filing by the U.S. government contains a transcript of a recorded conversation between two members of a Russian SVR spy ring, Victor Podobnyy and Igor Sporyshev. Their conversation concerns efforts to recruit "Male-1", later confirmed as Carter Page. Podobnyy calls Page an "idiot" and tells Sporyshev, "You get the documents from him and tell him to go fuck himself".^[74]^[70]^[140]
February: Dimitri Simes meets with Putin and other Russian officials in Moscow. Simes is the publisher of The National Interest and CEO of the think tank Center for the National Interest (CNI). The Center arranges meetings between Torshin, Butina, and U.S. government officials in April, and also arranges Trump's April 27, 2016, speech at the Mayflower Hotel.^[141]
February 5: The NRA sends invitation letters to Butina and Torshin to help them obtain U.S. visas to attend the NRA convention in April.^[22]^: 589
February 10: Butina emails Keene and his wife with an update on Torshin's appointment. She tells them about Torshin's "recommendation" that she expand her "participation in conferences and meetings in the political circles of the Republican Party" to lay the foundation for a "trusted dialogue" between the U.S. and Russia.^[22]^{: 586–587}
February 26–28: Butina attends CPAC at Keene's invitation.^[117]^[142]^[22]^: 587
March 16: Keene sends Butina a list of "Key Conservative Meeting Dates" from the Conservative Action Project to help her make her U.S. travel plans.^[22]^: 589
March 18: Trump announces he is forming a presidential exploratory committee.^[143]
March 20: Butina asks Perrine for a list of U.S. governors and members of Congress that will be attending the NRA convention. Perrine responds with a publicly available list of politicians.^[22]^: 592
March 24: Butina sends Erickson a Google-translated copy of her and Torshin's plan to use their existing NRA connections to develop an "informal channel of communication" with the new U.S. presidential administration, which they expect to be Republican. She requests $125,000 to attend a series of Republican-focused conferences and other outreach purposes.^[22]^{: 587–588}
Spring:
- U.S. Intelligence intercepts conversations of Russian government officials discussing associates of Donald Trump.^[144]
- The IRA performs its first experiment in organizing a live event. They lure Facebook users in New York City to a purported event offering free hot dogs. There are no hot dogs, but enough people show up for the IRA to consider the experiment a success.^[145]^[123]^: 46–47
April
- Flynn begins advising ACU Strategic Partners, a company seeking to build nuclear power plants in the Middle East involving a sanctioned Russian company.^[146]
- Butina and Torshin meet with Treasury undersecretary for international affairs Nathan Sheets to discuss U.S. Russian economic relations during the Obama administration. The meeting was arranged by the CNI.^[141]
April 5: The CNI sends Butina an itinerary of events it arranged for Butina and Torshin to attend, including meetings with U.S. government officials.^[22]^{: 589–590}
April 7:
- Torshin and Butina meet with Federal Reserve vice chairman Stanley Fischer to discuss U.S. Russian economic relations during the Obama administration. The meeting was arranged by the CNI.^[141]
- Torshin and Butina participate in discussions about the "Russian financial situation and its impact on Russian politics" at a private event moderated by Hank Greenberg and organized by the CNI.^[141] Keene, Grover Norquist, and CNI officials including Simes, Burt, and Paul Saunders.^[22]^: 590
April 8: At Keene's invitation, Torshin, with Butina translating, gives remarks at the NRA's Charlton Heston Recognition Dinner.^[22]^{: 590–591}
April 10: Butina, Torshin, and David Keene attend a fundraiser in Tennessee for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.^[147]^[119]
April 11–12: Torshin and Butina attend the NRA convention in Nashville, Tennessee.^[119] Erickson arranged the trip, and the NRA president's assistant Nick Perrine handled the itinerary.^[22]^: 589 Torshin briefly converses with Trump. Torshin and the Trump family dispute how much was said.^[148] At a reception, Keene introduces Butina and Torshin to Governor Walker, and they give Walker a gift from Russia.^[22]^: 592
May: Kislyak and Butina discuss Governor Walker, Keene and the NRA.^[22]^: 594
Mid-June: Kislyak hosts Keene for lunch at the Russian embassy.^[22]^: 593 Afterward, Butina reaches out to Keene about the lunch, and he gives her a readout of the discussion.^[22]^: 594
June 10: Flynn testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on nuclear power in the Middle East. He omits his work for ACU Strategic Partners from both a committee disclosure form and his testimony.^[149]
June 12: Maria Butina argues in an article she wrote for The National Interest that only a Republican president can improve relations between the U.S. and Russia.^[150]^[151]