Soviet Union (USSR): what it was, history and characteristics

We explain what the USSR was, its history, and the countries that formed it. We also explain its characteristics, how it dissolved, and more.

The Soviet Union was created after the Russian Revolution of 1917.

What was the USSR?

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) It was a socialist federal state which existed between 1922 and 1991. It was a world power and made communism the dominant mode of production in much of the world during the Cold War.

The USSR was located in Eurasia and occupied the present-day territory of Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Its surface area, in 1991, covered 22.4 million km2.

The history of the USSR was marked by The Cold War, a political, economic and ideological confrontation with the United Stateswhich lasted from the end of World War II until the disintegration of the USSR in 1991. In that context, the USSR emerged as a superpower that influenced and, in many cases, controlled the communist countries of the Eastern Bloc.

What countries made up the USSR?

In 1922, the USSR was created with the state unification of the socialist republics of Russia, Transcaucasia (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia), Ukraine and Belarus.

In the following years, the socialist republics formed in the current territories of Estonia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Lithuania, Latvia, and Uzbekistan were incorporated.

History of the USSR

The USSR was founded in 1922, after the Russian Revolution overthrew the Tsarist government.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 transformed the former Russian Empire into a socialist republic. The Russian Civil War (1918-1921) ended with the victory of the Bolshevik Party led by Lenin and the elimination of political forces opposed to communism.

Since then, the government began to implement measures to transform the political, economic and social organization towards a communist regime.

1922-1927: Lenin and the formation of the USSR

During this period, the government of the USSR was in the hands of the Party Committee, led by Lenin. The parameters of the one-party state organization were established and The New Economic Plan was created.

The old feudal relations were dissolved, the land was distributed among the peasantry, and industrial production was centralised through the nationalisation of large enterprises. All these measures improved the general economic situation of the population.

With Lenin’s death, there arose some internal competition within the party for the succession of the post of General Secretary between Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. Their opposing positions on the USSR’s domestic and international economic policy divided the party’s support. The dispute ended with Trotsky’s exile and Stalin’s rise to power.

1927-1953: Stalin and the totalitarian dictatorship

Through propaganda, the cult of Stalin was fostered.

Once in power, Stalin managed to centralize more and more functions as General Secretary of the party and, over time, “democratic centralism” became a totalitarian dictatorshipHis opponents were persecuted, exiled or imprisoned during what became known as the “Great Purge.”

Although there was no category of “political prisoner,” dissidents of the regime were considered criminals and imprisoned in forced labor camps (whose penal system was known as Gulag).

Through propaganda, Stalin sought to educate society within the parameters of communist and Soviet ideology. Censorship and guidelines allowed for any type of publication were established.

To consolidate popular support, he developed a cult of personality of the leaderHis figure was one of the few that was portrayed individually (the other leaders of the Party were portrayed as a group), highlighting the traits of strength, autonomy and greatness.

In economic terms, Stalin argued that measures should be applied to build “socialism in one country” because he believed that the socialist revolution would not spread to other countries in the short term. In this way, He set up his Five-Year Plans through which he established state control of all existing enterprises, centralized industrial planning and the collectivization of agricultural land.

These economic plans took resources away from companies that were intended to produce manufactured goods for the local market. As a result, The Stalinist economy was marked by continuous shortages of basic products that particularly affected the urban population.

1939-1945: World War II and the origin of the Cold War

In 1939, against the backdrop of the outbreak of World War II, the USSR invaded Poland and in 1940 occupied Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In 1941, after Germany broke the non-aggression pact signed two years earlier, The USSR allied itself with Great Britain, France and the United States and officially entered the conflict.The USSR lost more than 27 million lives during the war.

During the post-war period, the USSR cooperated in the economic revival of the countries of Eastern Europe and thus intervened in the political future of the new governments, known as “people’s democracies.”

Through direct financing of communist parties or the use of force, The USSR managed to control the politics of the eastern countries and align it with their own interests.

The United States, in turn, acted in the same way in its own European zones of influence. It was in this context that the Cold War was unleashed.

1953-1964: Khrushchev and de-Stalinization

With Stalin’s death, the Communist Party defined a government in committee headed by Nikita Khrushchev. This government initiated a new period in the history of the USSR marked by what was called the “de-Stalinization process.” It was believed that, During the Stalinist dictatorship, the USSR had lost the direction marked by Lenin. during the Russian Revolution: the well-being of the proletariat.

Khrushchev undertook measures to reform the strong centralism and economic control that existed over industries by the State. The objective was to improve the quality of life of the population, which was a central axis of Marxism-Leninism. To do so, Greater civil liberties were granted and the consumer goods industry was encouraged.In addition, virgin lands were colonized with the use of modern agricultural machinery to increase agricultural production.

National industrial ministries were replaced by regional planning councils, which allowed for greater productive flexibility. In addition, during this period, Heavy industries dedicated to arms production and space technology received a great boost.

In foreign policy, tensions with the West intensified during this period. In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis broke out and almost led to a direct nuclear confrontation with the US. Khrushchev and Kennedy (the US president) held secret negotiations and reached a compromise.

The reforms in domestic politics and economy, and the resolution of the international conflict aroused opposition within the Communist Party. In 1964 Khrushchev was dismissed by the Committee and replaced by Leonid Brezhnev.

1964-1985: Brezhnev and détente with the West

During this period, the Soviet government returned to the Stalinist model of extreme political control and strong economic centralization. Repression against dissidents of the regime intensified and freedom of expression was completely eliminated. In economic terms, the USSR went through a period of stagnation and productive decline.

In the international arena, the concept known as the Brezhnev Doctrine was applied, according to which the USSR had the right to intervene militarily when the interests of other socialist countries were threatened. In this way, the military invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 by Soviet troops and the support of the Warsaw Pact was justified. On the other hand, in the context of decolonization in Africa, Brezhnev expanded the Soviet zone of influence on the continent.

Brezhnev’s government coincided with the détente stage of the Cold War. Relations with West Germany were normalised and the SALT Agreements limiting arms production were signed.

Brezhnev died of illness in 1982. The following years were ruled by Yuri Andropov (who died in 1984) and Konstantin Chernenko (who died the following year).

1985-1991: Gorbachev and the last Soviet government

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev was elected General Secretary of the Party in a context of political and economic crisis. Gorbachev initiated an immediate reform programme, known as Perestroika (which in Russian means “restructuring”). The programme included the moderate introduction of a local market economy, the granting of greater entrepreneurial freedom and the authorisation of foreign investment in the creation of mixed-ownership (private and public) enterprises.

On the other hand, a transparency policy was established, called Glasnostwhich allowed for greater freedom of expression in the mass media. In addition, a reform of the electoral system was initiated, which allowed the political participation of dissidents.

Symbols of the USSR

The republics that formed the USSR had their own flags.

The USSR was identified with a completely red flag with a yellow hammer and sickle, topped by a five-pointed star in the upper right corner. The republics that formed the USSR had their own flags that were versions of this one.

On the other hand, The Soviet coat of arms showed the hammer and sickle. on a globe, surrounded by two groups of three ears of wheat, which embrace a red ribbon with the motto of the Union written in the different languages ​​of its population.

Population of the USSR

The total population of the USSR was about 293 million peoplewith an average density of 13.1 inhabitants per km2. It was an ethnically…