Soviet Union

The Soviet Union, also called The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (?????????? ?????; tr.: Sovetsky Soyuz or {{lang-ru|????? ?????????? ????????????????? ??????????}} (????) {{Audio|Ru-CCCP.ogg|listen}}; tr.: Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik ), was an officially socialist state founded in 1922, centered on Russia, and dissolved in 1991. From 1945 until its dissolution it was historically notable as one of the world's two superpowers.

Republics

:Main article: Republics of the Soviet Union

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The Soviet Union was a federation of Soviet Socialist Republics (SSR). The first Republics were established shortly after the October Revolution of 1917. At that time, republics were technically independent from one another but their governments acted in closely coordinated confederation, as directed by the CPSU leadership. In 1922, four Republics (Russian SFSR, Ukrainian SSR, Belarusian SSR, and Transcaucasian SFSR) joined into the Soviet Union. Between 1922 and 1940, the number of Republics grew to sixteen. Some of the new Republics were formed from territories acquired, or reacquired by the Soviet Union, others by splitting existing Republics into several parts. The criteria for establishing new republics were as follows:

Related Topics:
October Revolution - 1917 - 1922 - Russian SFSR - Ukrainian SSR - Belarusian SSR - Transcaucasian SFSR - Soviet Union - 1940

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• to be located on the periphery of the Soviet Union so as to be able to exercise their alleged right to secession;
• be economically strong enough to survive on their own upon secession; and
• be named after the dominant ethnic group which should consist of at least one million people.

The system remained almost unchanged after 1940. No new Republics were established. One republic, Karelo-Finnish SSR, was disbanded in 1956. The remaining 15 republics lasted until 1991. Secession remained theoretical, and very unlikely, given Soviet centralism, until the 1991 collapse of the Union. At that time, the republics became independent countries, with some still loosely organized under the heading Commonwealth of Independent States.

Related Topics:
Karelo-Finnish SSR - 1956 - 1991 - Commonwealth of Independent States

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Some republics had common history and geographical regions, and were referred by group names. These were Baltic Republics, Transcaucasian Republics, and Central Asian Republics.

Related Topics:
Baltic Republics - Transcaucasian Republics - Central Asian Republics

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In its final state, the Soviet Union consisted of the following republics. (See Republics of the Soviet Union for the list and timeline of other Union republics that existed over time.)

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