This is the timeline of events for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series.

Interestingly, in Build 1935, the game was supposed to begin on August 1, 2015, 4:30 PM. In other builds, the date is constant - May 1, 2012.

Unknown

• Limansk is founded as a closed city for scientists working on affecting human minds with the use of radio-waves. The city soon gains notoriety among neighboring villages.^[1]

1960s

• The Institute of Crop Selection and Genetics is established as cover for Soviet research into consciousness control.^[2][3]

1966

• Project IRCD-1 (Individual Remote Communication Device), also known as "FIBER-1P", is commenced by Associate Prof. Sakharov. The project is suspended due to technical constraints.^[4]

1976

• November 8: Dr. Orlov completes a test of the Duga array aimed at mapping the Noosphere. The information is stored at the lab under Promin CMD Factory. ^[5]

1981

• The science center in what would become the Dark Valley begins construction.^[6]

1986

• April 26: At around 1:23 in the morning, Reactor Four of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (CNPP) explodes, releasing dangerous radioactive materials over a widespread area. This event is known as Chernobyl disaster.
• April 28: The nearby city of Pripyat as well as other settlements are rapidly evacuated.
• After the accident, groups of workers called 'Liquidators' are raised by the Soviet Union to build a temporary containment shelter around the remnants of Reactor Four. It was later nicknamed the Sarcophagus.
• The four-hundred square kilometers surrounding the CNPP is strictly cordoned off and labeled as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
• The Institute of Crop Selection and Genetics is shut down.
• The Skadovsk is grounded in Zaton. ^[7]
• An archive of military facility blueprints are moved to the Prometheus Movie Theater.^[8]

1987-1989

• The Institute of Crop Selection and Genetics is re-established as the Agroprom Research Institute.
• A vehicle factory set up in the vicinity of Agroprom to build vehicles fitted for treating and turning irradiated soil.

1989

• The C-Consciousness Project begins, led by scientists from The Group. The presence of numerous high-powered antennae in the Zone, coupled with a still-functioning nuclear power plant and the lack of human habitation provide the perfect setting for clandestine research into various methods aimed at fixing humanity's flaws.^[9]
• FIBER-1P is successfully tested at the Troposphere Comm Station, though the range is limited to 50 meters, and it is suffering interference from a much stronger psi-source. As a side-effect, the researchers found that psi-radiation is linked to a powerful external information field.^[10]

1991

• December 26: The Soviet Union collapses. Several republics break away from the USSR, declaring independence, and resulting in many clandestine projects being discontinued. In particular, several Soviet military and scientific research laboratories in the Zone lose state funding.
  • (Anarchy Cell) However, most project leaders are unwilling to cease operations and press their research deeper into the noosphere. The Ukrainian government is unable to assert control over the situation, in part due to fear of international sanctions.^[11][12]
• The Group's scientists receive funding from the Regulatory Board.^[13]
• Ideas are drafted to grow a giant brain at Lab X-16 in an attempt to create a source of psi-radiation. Other scientists focus on electromagnetic generation of psi radiation. Furthermore, Beta Psi radiation is discovered.^[14]

1993

• First test of Raduga. Its modulator can only create a small field, and, due to interference from the Noosphere, it is deadly to any sentient being. V. I. Suslov and E. F. Kalancha suggest to modify it to work as an aggression-supressing device.^[15]

1995

• The first Caribbean Experiment is conducted at Lab X-6 in the CNPP cooling pond. The first Alpha Artifact is accidentally created at a receiving vessel in the Caribbean Sea.^[16]

1996

• Fall 1996: Dr. Kaymanov creates the first pod to observe the Noosphere at Orbita Station and tests it. He could sense the potential to influence the Noosphere's entities, but fails to achieve it. Valentyn Dalin creates plans for an eight pod system to connect multiple minds into a single Common Consciousness.

1998

• March 6: Engineers working for a local contractor claim that six field Generators have been built deep in the center of the Zone. Speculation abounds as to their purpose, with some suggesting they are used for some bizarre psychic tests.^[17]
• September, 1998: Scouting is underway for a site to build the C-Consciousness installation. Azimuth Station, Sphere, and Krug antenna complex are used to probe the Noosphere's density.^[18]

1999

• February 22: Concerned by unsettling reports about illegal experiments carried out in the Zone, the Ukrainian government launches an official investigation.
• After examining accounts and intelligence service reports about the tests held in the underground complexes, the Security Service of Ukraine made an attempt to take control of the situation by sending over a special commission into the Zone. Reports uncover disturbing memos by one O. O. Dobrynin. ^[19]

2001

• The Zone begins to attract attention. Rumours about strange phenomena within c.a. 10 km radius of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The city of Pripyat is often mentioned as a hot spot for sightings of unusual phenomena and strange creatures. After a bus full of foreign tourists disappears, the authorities seal off the Zone completely. ^[20]
• The 1st generation Exoskeleton test prototype was assembled at an engineering laboratory led by V. I. Suslov.^[21]

2003

• The Agroprom Research Institute begins working for the Group under the direction of Petr Strizh^[22].
• March, 2003: Final assembly of the C-Consciousness installation, Laboratory X7, is underway north of the CNPP. The Generator units are being delivered, while Valentyn Dalin assembles the eight pods, O-KTA. At the same time, Laboratory X11 is being built to house the Alpha Artifact, and also to act as a station for debugging, test runs, and securing a connection to the center.^[23]

2004

• A top secret electromagnetic rifle project at the Jupiter factory is cancelled.^[24]

2005

• Unnatural forces within the Zone begin to have an influence over a wider area. Significant changes in weather patterns are noted, including hurricane winds and tremors.

2006

• January: A rift forms between the C-Consciousness scientists. Dr. Kaymanov is having second thoughts about entering the eighth pod. Valentyn Dalin replaces his pod with a small Variometer created by Suslov.^[25]
• March 4: A phenomena of blinding light illuminates the sky high above the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The incident lasted two full hours before subsiding, with witnesses saying that it disappeared as if power suddenly failed.^[26]
• April 12 14:33 +2 GMT: The phenomena repeats itself with the skies illuminated by an intolerably bright light. However, the clouds rapidly evaporate. This is followed by a tremendous thunderous crash, lasting far longer than normal. After the thunder fades, there was an ominous silence, followed by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake. The glow in the sky continues, spreading over the entire region, while deadly energy disturbances raged through the Zone, making any rescue effort impossible. Subsequent investigation turned up the fact, that the center of the explosion was at least one kilometer away from the CNPP, evidently the nuclear fuel dump going up.^[27]
• May 21: Prof. Dvupalov experiments with controlling mutants with a Leash.^[28]
• June 10: The Zone abruptly grows five kilometers bigger after the supposed 'emission' which came to be known as the "Second Disaster". The 'new' Zone manifests, with reported instances of the very laws of science being defied. Most of the Military presence around the perimeter perish, together with the staff and crew of the various laboratories in the Zone. Panic-stricken people from nearby villages are once again evacuated.^[29]
• In response, the Ukrainian Military moves in force to the center of the Zone with the objective of destroying it with the use of nuclear weapons. However, without any protective gear, proper equipment such as detectors, or any adequate information about the Zone, many of the ground troops are killed by anomalies before they even managed to reach their objective. The troops that did reach the CNPP are destroyed by another emission of less intensity than the first. The operation ends in massive failure, with the survivors scattered and left to fend for themselves against the Zone's harsh environment.
• Captain Tachenko, squad leader of a group of survivors, sabotages the communications of his squad to prevent them from calling HQ. They decide to create a group within the Zone dedicated to fighting against the Zone's 'spawns of evil' - Duty.
• June: Dr. Kaymanov flees and assumes the identity of Doctor.^[30]

2007

• Scientists are still unable to explain what exactly happened during the Second Disaster. Most of the expeditions into the Zone end in tragedy. The few who manage to survive speaking of mutated animals with unusual abilities.

2008

• VPC Mirror facility shuts down. It was used to study induced illusions.^[31]

2009

• September 28: A group of Kyiv scientists succeeds in creating a special device for detecting anomalous activity at a distance of up to 10 meters.
• During winter, an expedition is launched with participants in protective suits and equipped with detectors. They manage to travel approximately one kilometer deep into the Zone and return without incident or injury.
• A group of Stalkers, Strelok, Fang, and Ghost wander into Doctor's swamp, and they make first contact.^[32]

2010

• August 17: Expeditions begin penetrating further into the Zone with one in particular locating an abandoned camp attributed to the first "Stalker". They also locate the first artifacts and observe the emergence of the first blowouts.^[33]
• Strelok brings the Heart of Chornobyl to Doctor.^[34]

2011

• Elements of the State Security Service, reinforced by several Military Stalker detachments, mount a second raid towards the center of the Zone with the aim of seizing control of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and hopefully eliminate the source of anomalies. In the event of failure, the Military would default to collecting first-hand information on the current state of affairs within the Zone. Zvyagintsev, commander of a Military Stalker battalion, along with the soldiers under his command, are parachuted close to the center of the Zone. Unfortunately, similar to the failed operation of 2006, these actions triggered another serious emission that destroyed much of the Military presence, leading to the failure of the entire operation. Zvyagintsev's battalion is among the first casualties with Zvyagintsev himself being one of the few survivors.
• One Month Later: Zvyagintsev, after wandering the Zone, links up with several battered military units that had survived the failed raid. Together, they enlist or are absorbed into Duty, significantly boosting the faction's manpower pool.
• With news of the possibility to survive in the Zone leaked, several individuals ranging from amateur researchers, marauders, poachers, scavengers, looters, and adventurers begin to make their way to the Zone. These individuals soon become known as 'Stalkers,' seeking 'artifacts' in dangerous areas often filled with anomalies or exploring the Zone's twisted landscape.
  • The Ukrainian government initially ignores the Stalker presence but is soon forced to re-evaluate their policies in light of several artifacts making their way into private hands and other unsanctioned entities.^[35]
• Stalkers begin reporting 'zombies' within the Zone. According to particular anecdote traced to an unknown Stalker in Yantar, one of his friends encountered some zombies who muttered what sounded like English, presumably remnants of a foreign tour group that vanished within the Zone ten years prior.
• February 4: The Ukrainian government retaliates against 'illegal' Stalkers. During the initial campaign, over 70 supposed Stalkers or Stalkers-to-be are arrested with ten trading posts forcibly closed down.
• Summer, 2011: Strelok's group reach the Sarcophagus and came across the Wish Granter. During their retreat, Strelok is gravely wounded. Fang and Ghost bring him to Doctor, who nurses him back to health.^[36]
• Early September: A large group of Stalkers disappears after attempting to penetrate the Brain Scorcher. The group soon reorganises into a heavily-armed, radicalised faction called the Monolith with a belief set that claims that the Zone is 'alive' and that there is an alien crystal in the center of the Zone, called the Wish Granter of which the group's members are its sole protectors. The Monolith establishes their headquarters within the CNPP which they fiercely guard. Members hoard military weapons and equipment, creating supply caches throughout the center of the Zone.
• A small band of Free Stalkers, going by the names of Strelok, Fang, and Ghost, manage to successfully penetrate the Brain Scorcher without ill effects. The Zone, allegedly 'offended by their presence,' triggers an heavily severe emission, reshaping the near entire landscape of the Zone. These changes include previously explored paths being suddenly filled with clusters of anomalies, forcing Stalkers and other operatives within the Zone to reevaluate their routes; alternatively, anomalies preventing passage through certain areas have vanished, granting access to areas formerly considered inaccessible. Some artifacts and anomalies have been noted to become invisible to the naked eye due to the sheer power of the emission. These changes led to a chaotic war among the various Stalker factions for loot and territory.
  • The Military presence at the Army Warehouses are almost entirely eradicated by the emission. The soldiers stationed at the Barrier are reported to have been instantly killed. The estimated number of Military survivors is believed to be around 20 with the survivors claiming that their superiors have been largely unresponsive to their cries for help despite their best efforts to call for assistance. The Army Warehouses are later claimed by Stalkers who have taken to manning the Barrier.
• Several Free Stalkers make profit salvaging valuable material such as old radioactive parts of the CNPP at the Garbage. Due to the 'gold rush,' a group of Free Stalkers called Diggers begin ambushing anyone they see in an attempt to steal their loot. Shortly thereafter, Bandits, under the leadership of Yoga, took over the area and establishing a punitive form of order. Stalkers are now expected to pay 'taxes' for their protection; failure to pay results in slave labor via salvaging or hunting for artifacts in dangerous areas.
• The Loners engage in a turf war with Bandits over the control of the Garbage and the Cordon. When the Loners learns that the military commander of the Cordon Outpost, Major Khaletskiy, has been selling out Loners to the Bandits, Father Valerian orders a Loner team to capture Khaletskiy. They hold him captive at the Northern farm in the Cordon, their main base of operations, and eventually execute him.
• With the Zone becoming more accessible, a Freedom reconnaissance team is dispatched to look for a new path leading to the Army Warehouses as part of the group's attempt to claim more territory for expansion. They eventually relocate their main base of operations to the warehouses, leaving their Dark Valley base abandoned.
• Rumors begin spreading of a small Soviet-era town deep within the Zone, alleged to be practically preserved. Chekhov, the leader of Freedom, sends a large party to search for the town. He later learns that Duty has likewise sent a sizeable detachment with the same objective; the detachment is reported to have been comprised of half of Duty's entire force.
• September 3: E. F. Kalancha receives orders from Valentyn Dalin to observe the fluctuations in the Noosphere. ^[37]
• September 10: N. A. Lebedev receives orders from Valentyn Dalin to eliminate to accept the agent A:MS-017 into Clear Sky, and to task him with eliminating stalker A:LS-013. ^[38]
• September 10, 6:20 +2 GMT: Clear Sky begins - Scar, a veteran mercenary, awakes in the Clear Sky camp after being caught in the aforementioned blowout.
  • He begins operating as an agent of Clear Sky. He is eventually tasked with tracking and dealing with Strelok's group which Clear Sky believes is indirectly negatively affecting the Zone.
• October 25: Following a deadly skirmish between a Military patrol and a group of Stalkers, the Ukrainian government authorises a shoot-on-sight policy towards Stalkers.
• Duty and Freedom reach the supposedly mysterious town of Limansk, leading to a battle for control over the area.
• Aggressive Stalkers have been sighted coming from the Brain Scorcher. They are widely reported to be dressed very similarly to members of the Monolith.
• After extensive preparation, Clear Sky mounts its own operation to penetrate into the CNPP and in pursuit of Strelok. Scar is among the participants. However, the operation triggers another severe emission that annihilates the Clear Sky strike force.

2012

• May 1, 5:30 +2 GMT: Shadow of Chernobyl begins - Strelok, now called the Marked One, awakes in the care of Sidorovich at his bunker after surviving a death truck crash.
• May 12 until 25: Captain D. F. Maksimenko investigates the abandoned Agroprom Research Institute, revealing it as a front for The Group.^[39]
• Strelok disables the Brain Scorcher, opening the path to the center of the Zone. Consequently, several Stalkers from various factions throughout the Zone mount several attempts to explore the uncharted center.
• No longer impeded by the Brain Scorcher, the Military stages Operation Monolith, a massive military operation to reclaim the CNPP and hopefully restore government control over the Zone. They are nearly successful, but an emission is released which wipes out the military force.
• Strelok reaches the CNPP amidst fierce fighting between soldiers and the Monolith, and destroys the C-Consciousness.
• As a result of Strelok's actions, the Zone becomes more unstable with the Monolith faction weakening significantly.
  • Several bands of Monolith fighters are released from Monolith control and begin aimlessly wandering the Zone, among them Strider and his squad.
• Free Stalkers Beard and Grouse establish a Stalker camp aboard a grounded container ship in Zaton, deep in the heart of the Zone. Additionally, Sultan and his Bandits entrench their presence in Zaton to "keep the peace."
• A free Stalker named Garry becomes the first to discover a path leading to the area around Jupiter, leading to the establishment of another Stalker camp at Yanov Station.
• A Freedom forward detachment led by Loki, which has been sent to scout the center of the Zone, arrives at Yanov. They engage in a severe gun battle with a Duty force following after them led by Lieutenant Colonel Shulga, resulting in casualties even among other unaffiliated Stalkers. During the engagement, Zulu senses an incoming emission. With no nearby cover except Yanov Station, Loki stands down his men and allows Shulga and his forces to take shelter alongside them. This results in both factions agreeing to set Yanov Station as neutral (ceasefire) territory. Outside of Yanov, however, Freedom and Duty remain at open war.
  • Zulu later retires from Duty, opting to live in a tower near the station.
• The Ukrainian government executes Operation Fairway, a more surgical mission with the same goal of restoring control over the Zone by striking at the CNPP. The operation almost immediately results in disaster.
• August 3, 9:00 +2GMT: Call of Pripyat begins - SBU agent Major Degtyarev is dispatched into the Zone as an undercover Free Stalker to investigate the failure of Operation Fairway.
• During the course of his investigation, Degtyarev learns that the survivors of Operation Fairway have taken shelter in a fortified laundromat in Pripyat. He assembles a squad of Free Stalkers including Zulu and they pioneer a path to the city via a secret military underpass, eventually linking up with the survivors under the command of Colonel Kovalsky.
• Degtyarev and Kovalsky salvage Operation Fairway, clashing with the dwindling Monolith presence in the city, ultimately reestablishing communications with the SBU and the Military high command who organise a small relief force to evacuate the stranded survivors. They are joined by Strelok who intends to leave with them, promising to share his insider knowledge of the Zone and the CNPP.
• Major Degtyarev helps Strider, which leads him to forming Noontide with other former Monolithians.

2013

• Iskra Scientific Research and Investigation Team moves into the Chemical Plant. The Scientists' Bunker at Yaniv is abandoned.
• Ward raids the Chemical Plant. Iskra Scientific Research and Investigation Team is almost completely wiped out. Marshal and Spirit are the only survivors who manage to escape. Marshal decides to move to the northern parts of the Zone. After the attack, Ward moves its headquarters to the Chemical Plant.
• D4 Treaty is signed.
• Proxy war between Duty and Freedom in Garbage begins. Both fund and support rival bandit gangs.
• September 17: Marshal's memories are transferred to Scar. Marshal's corpse is left in the brainwashing hallway in X-7.
• Prior to November 18: Operation Zenith attempts to reach the Generators to shut them down. It results in total failure.

2014

• Sometime in 2014-2015 Duty cedes Rostok to Freedom. Freedom abandons Army Warehouses and moves to Rostok. Duty moves to the Cement factory.
• Sultan, his bandits, and Owl stage a successful coup and take the Skadovsk from Beard and his loners.
  • Beard and Sultan sign a contract renaming the ship to the Sultansk, among other things.^[40] Beard leaves Zaton all together, and joins Degtyarev in Prypiat.
• February 17th, 2014: Cpt. Sukhin is admitted to Volodymyr Pidvysotskyi Military Clinical Hospital with partial retrograde amnesia after allegedly surviving a shootout with Monolith fighters. He does not recall anything before the encounter.^[41]

2016

• November, 2016: The 4th generation Exoskeleton project begins at SIRCAA.^[42]

2017

• March 3rd, 2017: Strelok records a message to himself due to his failing memory. He recounts how he previously left SIRCAA and attempted to sabotage Laboratory X-11.^[43]

2018

• July 6: Cpt. Sukhin is transferred to the Sphere and granted command of the garrison.
• October, 2018: 4th generation Exoskeleton is unveiled.^[44]

2019

• The second Caribbean Experiment is attempted at Laboratory X-11, which results in total failure due to Spark intervention.^[45]

2020

• Beard leaves Prypiat and returns to Zaton. He sets up aboard the Shevchenko.

2021

• Skif's apartment is destroyed by an anomaly. He finds a dummy Alpha Artifact.
• Heart of Chornobyl begins - Skif enters the Zone to investigate the Alpha Artifact.
• Monolith faction is reborn, due to the failed attempt to conduct the Second Caribbean Experiment. All Noon members and other former Monolithians are re-activated.

• Anomalous energy of Zone is taken under control. (if Skif chose side of the Ward)
• Zone is engulfed into global illusion of happiness. (if Skif chose side of the Spark)
• Zone became completely isolated from outer world. (if Skif chose side of Strelok)
• Zone is freed and spread across entire planet. (if Skif chose side of Doctor)

References