Soviet Union | History, Leaders, Flag, Map, & Anthem

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data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union">Soviet Union</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/place/Soviet-Union">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref42037"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Russian-Revolution">The Russian Revolution</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42038"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Russian-Revolution#ref42038">Late tsarist Russia</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42039"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Russian-Revolution#ref42039">The February Revolution</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42040"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/Lenin-and-the-Bolsheviks">Lenin and the Bolsheviks</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42041"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/Lenin-and-the-Bolsheviks#ref42041">The Bolshevik coup</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42042"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/Lenin-and-the-Bolsheviks#ref42042">The Bolshevik dictatorship</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42043"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/Brest-Litovsk">Brest-Litovsk</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42044"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/Brest-Litovsk#ref42044">“War Communism”</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42045"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/Brest-Litovsk#ref42045">The Civil War and the creation of the U.S.S.R.</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42046"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Communist-International">The Communist International</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42047"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Communist-International#ref42047">Culture and religion under communism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42048"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Communist-International#ref42048">Foreign policy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42049"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Communist-International#ref42049">The communist regime in crisis: 1920–21</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42050"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/Lenins-disillusionment">Lenin’s disillusionment</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42051"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/Lenins-disillusionment#ref42051">The struggle for succession</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref42052"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-U-S-S-R-from-the-death-of-Lenin-to-the-death-of-Stalin">The U.S.S.R. from the death of Lenin to the death of Stalin</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42053"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-U-S-S-R-from-the-death-of-Lenin-to-the-death-of-Stalin#ref42053">The NEP and the defeat of the Left</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42054"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/Toward-the-second-Revolution-1927-30">Toward the “second Revolution”: 1927–30</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42055"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/Toward-the-second-Revolution-1927-30#ref42055">The Party versus the peasants</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42056"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/Industrialization-1929-34">Industrialization, 1929–34</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42057"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/Industrialization-1929-34#ref42057">Internal, 1930–37</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42058"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/Industrialization-1929-34#ref42058">Foreign policy, 1928–40</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42059"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/Into-the-war-1940-45">Into the war: 1940–45</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42060"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/Into-the-war-1940-45#ref42060">Postwar</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref42061"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-U-S-S-R-from-1953-to-1991">The U.S.S.R. from 1953 to 1991</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42062"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-U-S-S-R-from-1953-to-1991#ref42062">The Khrushchev era</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42063"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-U-S-S-R-from-1953-to-1991#ref42063">The transition</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42064"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-20th-Party-Congress-and-after">The 20th Party Congress and after</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42065"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-20th-Party-Congress-and-after#ref42065">Nationality policy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42066"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-20th-Party-Congress-and-after#ref42066">The cultural Thaw</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42067"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-20th-Party-Congress-and-after#ref42067">Economic problems</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42068"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-20th-Party-Congress-and-after#ref42068">Khrushchev’s fall</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42069"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Brezhnev-era">The Brezhnev era</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42070"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Brezhnev-era#ref42070">Collective leadership</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42071"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Brezhnev-era#ref42071">Economic policy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42072"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Brezhnev-era#ref42072">Cultural retrenchment</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42073"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Brezhnev-era#ref42073">Nationality policy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42074"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Brezhnev-era#ref42074">Foreign policy</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42075"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Interregnum-Andropov-and-Chernenko">The Interregnum: Andropov and Chernenko</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42076"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Interregnum-Andropov-and-Chernenko#ref42076">The Gorbachev era</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42077"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Interregnum-Andropov-and-Chernenko#ref42077">Gorbachev’s succession</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42078"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Interregnum-Andropov-and-Chernenko#ref42078">Economic and social reforms</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42079"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-Interregnum-Andropov-and-Chernenko#ref42079">Political restructuring</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42080"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/Economic-policy">Economic policy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42081"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/Economic-policy#ref42081">Foreign policy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42082"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Soviet-Union/The-attempted-coup">The attempted coup</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" 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Editor of <i>The Soviet Union Under Gorbachev.</i></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Martin McCauley</span>, <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Robert-Conquest/3922" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Robert Conquest</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford University, California. Author of <i>The Great Terror: Stalin's Purge of the Thirties </i>and many others.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Robert Conquest</span><span class="text-gray-700 mx-5">•</span><a class="see-all border-gray-700 gtm-byline" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union/additional-info#contributors">All</a> </div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-11-17T00:00:00CST" >Nov 17, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>In full: </dt> <dd>Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.)</dd> </dl> <dl> <dt>Russian: </dt> <dd>Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik or Sovetsky Soyuz</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Major Events: </dt> <dd><a href="/event/World-War-II" topicid="648813">World War II</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Russian-Provisional-Government" topicid="480716">Russian Provisional Government</a></dd> <dd><a href="/event/the-collapse-of-the-Soviet-Union" topicid="2127834">collapse of the Soviet Union</a></dd> <dd><a href="/event/Operation-Barbarossa" topicid="52772">Operation Barbarossa</a></dd> <dd><a href="/event/Russo-Polish-War-1919-1920" topicid="514051">Russo-Polish War</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Key People: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Vladimir-Lenin" topicid="335881">Vladimir Lenin</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Joseph-Stalin" topicid="562617">Joseph Stalin</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Isaac-Babel" topicid="47418">Isaac Babel</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Nikita-Sergeyevich-Khrushchev" topicid="316972">Nikita Khrushchev</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Leon-Trotsky" topicid="606722">Leon Trotsky</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/money/socialism" topicid="551569">socialism</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/communism" topicid="129104">communism</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Communist-Party-of-the-Soviet-Union" topicid="129291">Communist Party of the Soviet Union</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/National-Defense-Education-Act" topicid="404717">National Defense Education Act</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Lenins-Testament" topicid="335969">“Lenin’s Testament”</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Places: </dt> <dd><a href="/place/Russia" topicid="513251">Russia</a></dd> <dd><a href="/place/Ukraine" topicid="612921">Ukraine</a></dd> <dd><a href="/place/Kazakhstan" topicid="313790">Kazakhstan</a></dd> <dd><a href="/place/Georgia" topicid="230186">Georgia</a></dd> <dd><a href="/place/Armenia" topicid="35178">Armenia</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Soviet-Union"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><div class="ai-top-questions-module with-dotted-border module-spacing ai-tq collapsed font-sans-serif"> <div class="font-weight-bold font-16"> Top Questions </div> <ul class="mt-5"> <li class="ai-qa-item mb-5 bg-gray-50 rounded "> <div class="ai-top-question font-14 font-weight-semi-bold px-10 py-5 rounded " data-qn="0"> <span class="question d-inline-flex align-items-center">What was the Soviet Union and where was it located?</span> </div> <div class="answer p-10 ui-hidden" data-loaded="false"></div> <div class="ai-loader ui-hidden" /> </li> <li class="ai-qa-item mb-5 bg-gray-50 rounded "> <div class="ai-top-question font-14 font-weight-semi-bold px-10 py-5 rounded " data-qn="1"> <span class="question d-inline-flex align-items-center">When was the Soviet Union established and when did it dissolve?</span> </div> <div class="answer p-10 ui-hidden" data-loaded="false"></div> <div class="ai-loader ui-hidden" /> </li> <li class="ai-qa-item mb-5 bg-gray-50 rounded "> <div class="ai-top-question font-14 font-weight-semi-bold px-10 py-5 rounded " data-qn="2"> <span class="question d-inline-flex align-items-center">What countries were part of the Soviet Union?</span> </div> <div class="answer p-10 ui-hidden" data-loaded="false"></div> <div class="ai-loader ui-hidden" /> </li> <li class="ai-qa-item mb-5 bg-gray-50 rounded af3"> <div class="ai-top-question font-14 font-weight-semi-bold px-10 py-5 rounded " data-qn="3"> <span class="question d-inline-flex align-items-center">Who were some of the key leaders of the Soviet Union?</span> </div> <div class="answer p-10 ui-hidden" data-loaded="false"></div> <div class="ai-loader ui-hidden" /> </li> <li class="ai-qa-item mb-5 bg-gray-50 rounded af3"> <div class="ai-top-question font-14 font-weight-semi-bold px-10 py-5 rounded " data-qn="4"> <span class="question d-inline-flex align-items-center">What was the political system of the Soviet Union?</span> </div> <div class="answer p-10 ui-hidden" data-loaded="false"></div> <div class="ai-loader ui-hidden" /> </li> <li class="ai-qa-item mb-5 bg-gray-50 rounded af3"> <div class="ai-top-question font-14 font-weight-semi-bold px-10 py-5 rounded " data-qn="5"> <span class="question d-inline-flex align-items-center">How did the Soviet Union's economy function?</span> </div> <div class="answer p-10 ui-hidden" data-loaded="false"></div> <div class="ai-loader ui-hidden" /> </li> <li class="ai-qa-item mb-5 bg-gray-50 rounded af3"> <div class="ai-top-question font-14 font-weight-semi-bold px-10 py-5 rounded " data-qn="6"> <span class="question d-inline-flex align-items-center">What role did the Soviet Union play during World War II?</span> </div> <div class="answer p-10 ui-hidden" data-loaded="false"></div> <div class="ai-loader ui-hidden" /> </li> <li class="ai-qa-item mb-5 bg-gray-50 rounded af3"> <div class="ai-top-question font-14 font-weight-semi-bold px-10 py-5 rounded " data-qn="7"> <span class="question d-inline-flex align-items-center">How did the Cold War involve the Soviet Union?</span> </div> <div class="answer p-10 ui-hidden" 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d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="3893" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/78/4878-050-C55238A0/Union-of-Soviet-Socialist-Republics.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/614785/3893"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/78/4878-050-C55238A0/Union-of-Soviet-Socialist-Republics.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/78/4878-050-C55238A0/Union-of-Soviet-Socialist-Republics.jpg?w=300" alt="Soviet Union" data-width="2000" data-height="1630" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/78/4878-050-C55238A0/Union-of-Soviet-Socialist-Republics.jpg" data-href="/media/1/614785/3893">Soviet Union</a><span>The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref174838"></span>Soviet Union</strong>, former northern Eurasian <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/empire-political-science" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">empire</a> (1917/22–1991) stretching from the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Baltic-Sea" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Baltic</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Black-Sea" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Black</a> seas to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Pacific-Ocean" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Pacific Ocean</a> and, in its final years, consisting of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics (S.S.R.’s): <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Armenia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Armenia</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Azerbaijan" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Azerbaijan</a>, Belorussia (now <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Belarus" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Belarus</a>), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Estonia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Estonia</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Georgia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Georgia</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Kazakhstan" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Kazakhstan</a>, Kirgiziya (now <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Kyrgyzstan" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Kyrgyzstan</a>), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Latvia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Latvia</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Lithuania" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Lithuania</a>, Moldavia (now <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Moldova" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Moldova</a>), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Russia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Russia</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Tajikistan" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Tajikistan</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Turkmenistan" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Turkmenistan</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Ukraine" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ukraine</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Uzbekistan" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Uzbekistan</a>. The capital was <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Moscow" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Moscow</a>, then and now the capital of Russia.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="250534" data-asm-type="audio"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media border-0" data-type="audio"><audio src="https://cdn.britannica.com/70/145770-005-D8B12301/instrumental-national-anthem-Russia.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" controls=""></audio></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/70/145770-005-D8B12301/instrumental-national-anthem-Russia.mp3" data-href="/media/1/614785/250534">national anthem of the Soviet Union</a><span>Instrumental version of “State Anthem of the Soviet Union,” the national anthem of the Soviet Union from 1944 to 1991. Its melody is identical to the current national anthem of Russia.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">During the period of its existence, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was by area the world’s largest country. It was also one of the most <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="diverse" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diverse" data-type="MW">diverse</a>, with more than 100 distinct nationalities living within its borders. The majority of the population, however, was made up of East Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians, and Belorussians); these groups together made up more than two-thirds of the total population in the late 1980s.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">At its greatest extent, between 1946 and 1991 (the figures and descriptions given below refer to this period), the U.S.S.R. covered some 8,650,000 square miles (22,400,000 square kilometres), seven times the area of India and two and one-half times that of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">United States</a>. The country occupied nearly one-sixth of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Earth" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Earth’s</a> land surface, including the eastern half of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Europe" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Europe</a> and roughly the northern third of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Asia" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Asia</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The U.S.S.R. extended more than 6,800 miles (10,900 kilometres) from east to west, covering 11 of the world’s 24 time zones. The most westerly point was on the Baltic Sea, near <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Kaliningrad" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Kaliningrad</a>; the easternmost was <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Cape-Dezhnyov" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Cape Dezhnev</a> on the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Bering-Strait" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Bering Strait</a>, nearly halfway around the world. From north to south the U.S.S.R. extended some 2,800 miles from <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Cape-Chelyuskin" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Cape Chelyuskin</a> to Kushka on the Afghan border. Nearly half the territory of the U.S.S.R. was north of 60° N, at the same latitude as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Alaska" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Alaska</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Baffin-Island" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Baffin Island</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Greenland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Greenland</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In addition to having the world’s longest coastline, the U.S.S.R. had the longest frontiers. To the north the country was bounded by the seas of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Arctic-Ocean" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Arctic Ocean</a>, and to the east were the seas of the Pacific. On the south the U.S.S.R. was bordered by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/North-Korea" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">North Korea</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Mongolia" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Mongolia</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/China" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">China</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Afghanistan" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Afghanistan</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Iran" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Iran</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Turkey" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Turkey</a>. On the southern frontier there were three seas: the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Caspian-Sea" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Caspian Sea</a>, the world’s largest inland sea, as well as the almost completely landlocked Black Sea and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Sea-of-Azov" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Sea of Azov</a>. Romania, Hungary, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Czechoslovakia" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Czechoslovakia</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Poland" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Poland</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Finland" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Finland</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Norway" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Norway</a> lay to the west.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/facts-you-should-know-the-cold-war-quiz" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/73/130473-131-E8E49EEC/hydrogen-bomb-MIKE-Marshall-Islands-Photo-height-1952.jpg" alt="Thermonuclear hydrogen bomb, code-named MIKE, detonated in the Marshall Islands in the fall of 1952. Photo taken at a height of 12,000 feet, 50 miles from the detonation site. (Photo 3 of a series of 8) Atomic bomb explosion nuclear energy hydrogen energy" class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Facts You Should Know: The Cold War Quiz</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The U.S.S.R. was the successor to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Russian-Empire" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Russian Empire</a> of the tsars. Following the 1917 Revolution, four socialist republics were established on the territory of the former empire: the Russian and Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republics and the Ukrainian and Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republics. On December 30, 1922, these <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="constituent" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/constituent" data-type="MW">constituent</a> republics established the U.S.S.R. Additional union republics (Soviet Socialist Republics) were set up in subsequent years: the Turkmen and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Uzbek-people" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Uzbek</a> S.S.R.’s in 1924, the Tadzhik S.S.R. in 1929, and the Kazakh and Kirgiz S.S.R.’s in 1936. In that year the Transcaucasian Republic was abolished and its territory was divided between three new republics: the Armenian, Azerbaijan, and Georgian S.S.R.’s. In 1940 the Karelo-Finnish, Moldavian, Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian S.S.R.’s were established. The Karelo-Finnish S.S.R. became an <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="autonomous" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autonomous" data-type="MW">autonomous</a> republic in 1956, leaving a total of 15 union republics (<em>soyuznye respubliki</em>). In addition to these, the U.S.S.R. as of 1990 was made up of 20 autonomous republics (<em>avtonomnye respubliki</em>), 8 autonomous provinces (<em>avtonomnye oblasti</em>), 10 autonomous districts (<em>avtonomnye okruga</em>), 6 regions (<em>kraya</em>), and 114 provinces (<em>oblasti</em>).</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Under the constitution adopted in the 1930s and modified down to October 1977, the political foundation of the U.S.S.R. was formed by the Soviets (Councils) of People’s Deputies. These existed at all levels of the administrative <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="hierarchy" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hierarchy" data-type="MW">hierarchy</a>, with the Soviet Union as a whole under the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="nominal" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nominal" data-type="MW">nominal</a> control of the <span id="ref174839"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Supreme-Soviet" class="md-crosslink ">Supreme Soviet</a> of the U.S.S.R., located in Moscow. This body had two chambers—the Soviet of the Union, with 750 members elected on a single-member <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="constituency" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/constituency" data-type="MW">constituency</a> basis; and the Soviet of Nationalities, with 750 members representing the various political divisions: 32 from each union republic, 11 from each autonomous republic, 5 from each autonomous region, and 1 from each autonomous district. In elections to these bodies, the voters were rarely given any choice of candidate other than those presented by the <span id="ref174840"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Communist-Party-of-the-Soviet-Union" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Communist Party of the Soviet Union</a> (CPSU), which, until the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="amendment" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amendment" data-type="MW">amendment</a> of Article 6 of the constitution in March 1990, was the “leading and guiding force of Soviet society and the nucleus of its political system.” In theory, all legislation required the approval of both chambers of the Supreme Soviet; in practice, all decisions were made by the small group known as the <span id="ref174841"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Presidium-of-the-Supreme-Soviet" class="md-crosslink ">Presidium of the Supreme Soviet</a>, itself strongly influenced by the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Politburo" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Politburo</a> of the CPSU, and were unanimously approved by the deputies. The role of the soviets in the individual republics and other territories was primarily to put into effect the decisions made by the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=black-friday-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/political-system" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">political system</a> was thus <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="authoritarian" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/authoritarian" data-type="MW">authoritarian</a> and highly centralized, and this also applied to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/economic-system" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">economic system</a>. The economic foundation of the U.S.S.R. was “Socialist ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange,” and the economy of the entire country was controlled by a series of five-year plans that set targets for all forms of production.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Dramatic changes, both political and economic, occurred during the late 1980s and early ’90s, ushered in by the adoption of <em><span id="ref174842"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/perestroika-Soviet-government-policy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">perestroika</a></em> (“restructuring”) and <em><span id="ref174843"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/glasnost" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">glasnost</a></em> (“openness”). On the economic side the planned, highly centralized <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/command-economy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">command economy</a> was to be replaced by the progressive introduction of elements of a market economy, a change that proved difficult to achieve and was accompanied by declining production in many sectors and increasing distribution problems. In the political sphere, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="amendments" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amendments" data-type="MW">amendments</a> to the constitution in 1988 replaced the old Supreme Soviet with the <span id="ref174844"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Congress-of-Peoples-Deputies" class="md-crosslink ">Congress of People’s Deputies</a> of the U.S.S.R. The new congress had 2,250 members; one-third of these were elected on a constituency basis, one-third represented the political territories (as in the old Supreme Soviet), and the remaining third came from “all-union social organizations” such as the trade unions, the CPSU, and the Academy of Sciences. Voters were presented with a choice of candidates, and many non-Communists were elected. The Congress of People’s Deputies elected a new Supreme Soviet of 542 members and also chose the chairman of that body, who was to be the executive president of the U.S.S.R. Congresses of People’s Deputies were also established in each republic.</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">These congresses could be legitimately described as parliaments, and they engaged in vigorous debate over the economic and political future of the country. From 1989, conflicts developed between the parliament of the U.S.S.R. and those of the individual republics, mainly over the respective powers of the centre (the U.S.S.R. government) and the republics. These conflicts were <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="exacerbated" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exacerbated" data-type="MW">exacerbated</a> by the resurgence of ethnic <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="nationalism" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nationalism" data-type="MW">nationalism</a> and increasing demands for <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="autonomy" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autonomy" data-type="MW">autonomy</a> and even for full independence. Following the abortive <span id="ref174845"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/1991-Soviet-coup-attempt" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">coup of August 1991</a>, in which the CPSU was heavily implicated, the party itself was abolished.</p><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD11 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">By December 1991 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had virtually ceased to exist, and the future of its territories and peoples was uncertain. Three republics—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—had achieved complete independence and were internationally recognized as <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="sovereign" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sovereign" data-type="MW">sovereign</a> states, and several others were demanding independence. Attempts were made, led by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mikhail-Gorbachev" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Mikhail Gorbachev</a>, the president of the Soviet Union, to establish a new “Union of Sovereign States” with some degree of <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="integration" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/integration" data-type="MW">integration</a> in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/foreign-policy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">foreign policy</a>, defense, and economic affairs, but agreement among the remaining 12 republics was not achieved. Whatever the legal position, the union republics had begun to act as if they were sovereign states and were negotiating with each other, bypassing the vestigial central government. This process culminated on December 8, 1991, in the signing of an agreement between the three Slav republics of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus for the establishment of the <span id="ref174846"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Commonwealth-of-Independent-States" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Commonwealth of Independent States</a> (CIS), with an agreed common policy for foreign affairs and defense. The CIS later came to include all the remaining republics except Georgia, but great difficulty was experienced in arriving at agreed policies. The future thus remained uncertain, but there could be no disagreement with the statement by the leaders of the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="Commonwealth" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/Commonwealth" data-type="EB">Commonwealth</a> that “the U.S.S.R. has ceased to exist as a geopolitical reality.”</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD12 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">This article contains a history of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from 1917 to 1991. For the geography and history of the former Soviet Socialist republics, see the articles Moldova, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Russia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Russia</a>, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Ukraine" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ukraine</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD12 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/contributor/John-C-Dewdney/736">John C. 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Soviet Union | History, Leaders, Flag, Map, & Anthem | Britannica