Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик (СССР), Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik (SSSR), also called Soviet Union (Сове́тский Сою́з, Sovetsky Soyuz), was a state in much of the northern region of Eurasia that existed from 1922 until 1991. The list of republics in the Soviet Union varied over the time. In its final years it consisted of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics (S.S.R.'s). Russia was by far the largest Republic in the Soviet Union, dominating in nearly all respects: land area, population, economics, political influence. The territory of the Soviet Union also varied, and in its most recent times approximately corresponded to that of the late Imperial Russia, with notable exclusions of Poland and Finland. The political organization of the country was defined by the only recognized political party, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Союз Советских Социалистических Республик
Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik

USSR flag	soviet coat of arms
(In Detail)	(Full size)

National motto: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Workers of the world, unite!)

Official language

Russian

Capital

Moscow

Area
- Total
- % water

1st before collapse
[[1 E13 m%B2|22,402,200 km²]]
xx%

Population
- Total
- Density

3rd before collapse
293,047,571 (July 1991)
13,08/km² (July 1991)

Establishment
- Declared
- Recognised

1922

Dissolution

UTC +3 to +11

The Internationale
(1922-1944)
Hymn of the Soviet Union
(1944-1991)

Internet TLD

.su

History

Main article: History of the Soviet Union.

Revolutionary activity in Russia began with the Decembrist Revolt, uncovered in 1825, and although serfdom was abolished in 1861, its abolition was achieved on terms unfavorable to the peasants and served to encourage revolutionaries. A parliament, the Duma, was established in 1906, but political and social unrest continued and was aggravated during World War I by military defeat and food shortages.

The February Revolution and October Revolutions (see also Russian Revolution) were followed by a period of civil war (see Russian Civil War), after which communist control was complete under the Bolsheviks who soon renamed themselves the Communist Party.

The collapse of Tsarist rule was followed by the eviction of the landlord class and the subdivision of land among peasant families. Poor and middle peasants generally did not benefit from the latter until Lenin announced the New Economic Policy (NEP), which saw an end to government requisitioning of food during the civil war. Peasants marketed most of their produce at free prices during the years of the NEP.

After the death of the Soviet Union's revolutionary founding figure VI Lenin (1924), Joseph Stalin finally emerged as uncontested leader after Lenin's death defeating Leon Trotsky and ultimately having him exiled from the Soviet Union in 1929.

Under Stalin, who replaced Lenin's NEP with five year plans and collective farming, the Soviet Union (established 1922) became a major industrial power, but with effective political opposition eliminated during the 1930s by purges. World War II established the Soviet Union as one of the two major world powers, a position maintained for four decades through military strength, aid to developing countries, and scientific research, especially into space technology and weaponry. Growing tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States, its former wartime ally and the other superpower, led to the Cold War.

Communist Party General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev promoted Soviet glasnost (openness) and perestroika (economic restructuring). A U.S.-Soviet summit meeting in 1986 and 1987 and a meeting of U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Gorbachev in late 1988 brought arms control cuts in Europe.

The disintegration of Communist allies in Eastern Europe heralded the dissolution of the Soviet Union. As the Russian republic's Boris Yeltsin eclipsed Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in power, the Soviet Union was peacefully dissolved in December 1991. Most former Soviet republics joined the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Politics

Main article: Politics of the Soviet Union

According to the most recent Soviet Constitution of 1977, the Soviet Union theoretically was a federal state consisting of fifteen republics joined together in a voluntary union and the government had a federal structure (see Constitution of the Soviet Union). The government of the Soviet Union implemented decisions made by the Communist Party (see Organization of the Communist Party of the USSR).

The organization of the CPSU was based on democratic centralism, the Leninist method of intraparty decision making. According to democratic centralism, lower party bodies executed the decisions of higher party bodies. The lowest bodies started from the town and district levels, working up to the Central Committee, the highest party body.

The party, using its nomenklatura authority, placed reliable individuals in leadership posts throughout the government. CPSU bodies monitored the actions of government ministries, agencies, and legislative organs. The highest government legislative body was the Supreme Soviet.

The leader of the Communist Party was the General Secretary. The party chief would sometimes hold other positions, such as the state presidency or premiership (see Leadership of the Soviet Union).

Foreign relations

The Soviet Union joined the League of Nations in 1934, but was expelled in 1939 because of its attack on Finland. The Soviet Union became a member of the United Nations at its foundation in 1945. It also became one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council which gave it the right to veto any of its resolutions.

In 1950 the Soviet Union protested against the fact that the Chinese seat at the Security Council was held by the (Nationalist controlled) Republic of China, and boycotted the meetings. It came to regret this decision when the Korean War started. The UN passed a resolution condemning North Korean actions and offering military support to South Korea. Had the Soviet Union been present at the meetings it would certainly have vetoed the outome, as it was firmly favouring the North Korean cause. After this incident the Soviet Union was never absent at the meetings.

Republics

Main article: Republics of the Soviet Union.

In its final decades of its existence, the Soviet Union consisted of 15 Socialist Soviet Republics (SSR). Some of these had common history and geographical regions, and were referred by group names. These are Baltic Republics, Transcausacian Republics, and Central Asian Republics. With the Soviet collapse they all became independent countries, with some still loosely organized under the heading Commonwealth of Independent States.

Soviet Republics	Independent states
Armenian SSR Azerbaijan SSR Byelorussian SSR Estonian SSR Georgian SSR Kazakh SSR Kirghiz SSR Latvian SSR Lithuanian SSR Moldavian SSR Russian SFSR Tadzhik SSR Turkmen SSR Ukrainian SSR Uzbek SSR	Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Estonia Georgia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lithuania Moldova Russia Tajikistan Turkmenistan Ukraine Uzbekistan

Geography

Main article: Geography of the Soviet Union

The Soviet Union covered the area of the 15 current countries mentioned in the previous section, with a total area of 22,402,200 sq. km.

Economy

Main article: Economy of the Soviet Union

Based on a system of state ownership, the Soviet economy was controlled through Gosplan (the State Planning Commission) and Gosbank (the State Bank). Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, all but a handful of the 15 former Soviet republics scrapped their Soviet-era systems of centralized planning and state ownership (see History of post-Communist Russia).

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of the Soviet Union

The Soviet Union was one of the world's most ethnically diverse countries, with more than 100 distinct national ethnicities living within its borders. The total population was estimated at 293 million in 1991. The Soviet Union was so large, in fact, that even after all associated republics gained independence, Russia remains the largest country by area, and remains quite ethnically diverse, including, e.g., minorities of Tatars, Udmurts, and many other non-Russian ethnicities.

Culture

Holidays

Date	English Name	Local Name	Remarks
January 1	New Year's Day	Новый Год
January 7	Eastern Orthodox Christmas	Православное Рождество
February 23	Soviet Army's Day	День Советской Армии и Военно-Морского Флота	February Revolution, 1917, Formation of the Red Army, 1918
March 8	International Women's Day	Международный Женский День
May 1	International Labor Day (May Day)	Первое Мая - День Солидарности Трудящихся
May 9	Victory Day	День Победы	Capitulation of Nazi Germany, 1945
November 7-November 8	Great October Socialist Revolution	Седьмое Ноября	October Revolution 1917; it is currently called День Примирения

External links