Soviet Union

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Other names Союз Советских Социалистических Республик Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik
1922–1991[1]
Top flag: 1922-1923 Bottom flag: 1955-1991 State Emblem
Motto: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Translit.: Proletarii vsekh stran, soyedinyaytes'!) English: Workers of the world, unite!
Anthem: "The Internationale" (1922–1944) "State Anthem of the Soviet Union" (1944–1991)
The Soviet Union after World War II
Capital and largest city	Moscow 55°45′N 37°37′E / 55.750°N 37.617°E / 55.750; 37.617
Official languages	Russian
Religion	None (State atheism)[2] (see text)
Demonym(s)	Soviet
Government	Federal, Marxist–Leninist single-party state
General Secretary of the CPSU
• 1922–1952	Joseph Stalin (first)
• 1991	Vladimir Ivashko (last)
President
• 1922–1938	Mikhail Kalinin (first)
• 1988–1991	Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
Premier
• 1922–1924	Vladimir Lenin (first)
• 1991	Ivan Silayev (last)
Legislature	Supreme Soviet
• Upper house	Soviet of the Union
• Lower house	Soviet of Nationalities
Historical era	Interwar period / World War II / Cold War
• Treaty of Creation	30 December 1922
• Union dissolved	26 December 1991[1]
Area
• Total	22,402,200 km2 (8,649,500 sq mi) (1st)
1989	22,276,060 km2 (8,600,830 sq mi)
Population
• 1989	293047571
GDP (PPP)	1990 estimate
• Total	2.7 trillion (2nd)
HDI (1990)	0.920 very high
Currency	Soviet ruble (руб) (SUR) (SUR)
Time zone	UTC+2 to +13
Calling code	7
Internet TLD	.su2
Preceded by Succeeded by Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic Russia Ukraine Belarus Uzbekistan Kazakhstan Georgia Azerbaijan Moldova Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Armenia Turkmenistan Estonia Latvia Lithuania
1On 21 December 1991, eleven of the former socialist republics declared in Alma-Ata (with the 12th republic – Georgia – attending as an observer) that with the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ceases to exist. 2Assigned on 19 September 1990, existing onwards.

The Soviet Union officialy Union of Soviet Socialist Republics also known as USSR^[3] was the Russian state after end of Tsarist Period and the world's first single-party Marxist–Leninist state from 1922 until 1991. It was the first country to declare itself socialist and build towards a communist society. It was a union of 14 Soviet socialist republics and one Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR).

The Soviet Union was created about five years after the Russian Revolution. It was announced after Vladimir Lenin overthrew Alexander Kerensky as Russian leader. The communist government developed industry and over time became a major, powerful union. The largest country in the Union was Russian SFSR, Kazakh SSR was the second, and Ukrainian SSR the third largest. The capital city of the Soviet Union and RSFSR was Moscow. The Soviet Union expanded its political control greatly after World War II. It took over the whole of Eastern Europe. Those countries were not made part of the Soviet Union, but they were controlled by the Soviet Union indirectly. These countries, like Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and East Germany, were called satellite states which each helped the soviet union in World War II.

The top-level committee which made the laws was the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. In practice, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the leader and most important decision-maker in their system of government.

Although the constitution said the Republics could leave the Union if they wanted, it was a completely centralized government, with no states' rights for the member countries.

The Union was formed with the idea to give everyone equal social and economic rights (equality). There was virtually no private property—everything belonged to the state (public property was an idea discussed by Karl Marx, and formed the basis for socialism) 'Soviets', or workers' councils, were created by the working class to lead the socialist state democratically, but they soon lost power with the rise of Stalinism. The Union was successful in many fields, putting the first man, first woman, and first satellite into space, defeating Hitler's Nazi Germany and winning World War II, together with the United States and United Kingdom, helping build infrastructure, as well as schools and hospitals in many third-world countries. However, its centralized government found innovation and change difficult to handle. The Union collapsed in 1991 due to the failed efforts to reform the country by its 8th Leader and the 10th President, Mikhail Gorbachev, leaving behind Russian Federation in its place along with 14 other nations.

1. ↑ Declaration № 142-Н of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, formally establishing the dissolution of the Soviet Union as a state and subject of international law. (in Russian)
2. ↑ "73 Years of State Atheism in the Soviet Union, ended amid collapse in 1990". Archived from the original on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
3. ↑ Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик/Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik