Soviet Union

The Soviet Union (officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) was a federal state consisting of multiple republics, its territory extending from Eastern Europe to the Pacific coast. It was established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War and dissolved at the end of 1991. Its capital was Moscow.

The political system was based on single-party rule by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The economy operated under central planning: the state owned factories and land, and determined what would be produced and at what prices, rather than letting markets decide.

Founding and early years

The October Revolution of 1917 brought the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, to power in Russia. A civil war followed, and in 1922 several Soviet republics—including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Transcaucasia—were united. After Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin consolidated his power.

The Stalin era and the Second World War

Stalin launched five-year plans for rapid industrialization and the collectivization of agriculture, which resulted in widespread famine and death, particularly in Ukraine in the early 1930s. The 1930s were also marked by political purges and forced labor camps. In 1941, Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union; the fighting on the Eastern Front resulted in the highest casualties of any theater, and the Soviet Union was among the victors in 1945.

The Cold War

After the war, the Soviet Union became one of the two superpowers, competing with the United States ideologically, in nuclear weapons, and in space exploration. It maintained a military alliance (the Warsaw Pact) and client states in Eastern Europe. Following Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev initiated a reconsideration of Stalinist policies.

Dissolution

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the policies of perestroika (economic restructuring) and glasnost (press freedom and public debate). Economic stagnation, demands for independence from the republics, and a failed coup attempt in 1991 accelerated the breakup. At the end of 1991, the Soviet Union was formally dissolved, giving rise to fifteen independent states; Russia was recognized as the legal successor under international law.