Soviet Union (New Union)

The Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics (: Союз Советских Cуверенных Республик, Soyuz Sovetskikh Suverennykh Respublik ), also known as the Soviet Union (Советский Союз Sovetski Soyuz) and abbreviated as the U.S.S.R. (С.С.С.Р. S.S.S.R.), and often informally refereed to as Russia (Россия, Rossiya), is a loose federation comprised of 33 republics extending from the to the, and from the  to the. The Soviet Union is the largest nation in the world by area, and is one of the two s in global politics and world culture. The Soviet Union formed in 1922 as a unification of four Soviet [Federative] Socialist Republics, forming one of the first communist nations. During (known as the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union), the Soviets would suffer the most in casualties.

After the war, the Soviet Union and the would emerge as the two superpowers. The conflict between Soviet and American interests would lead to the, which pitted the communist world and the non-communist world. Beginning in the mid 1980s, the Soviet Union would go threw political and economic change. Programs such as ' ("openness") and ' ("restructuring") would help eliminate corruption in the USSR, leading to greater moral, and bring an end to the communist monopoly not just in the Soviet Union, but globally.

History


The Soviet Union began with the unification of the, the , the , and the into a single "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" on December 22, 1922. The four communist nations agreed to unite as part of the.

New Union Treaty
On August 20, 1991, the Soviet republics of, , , , become the signatories of the. The treaty abolished the former which created the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922, replacing it with a new nation called the Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics. Upon the signing, the new USSR was comprised of five republics, and 10 dependent regions.

On September 27,, , , and signed the treaty, with the  signing on November 1. The remaining republics were recognized as independent nations by the Soviet Union on December 26, 1991.

Economy
The Soviet Union enjoys high economic revenue, beneficial to all its member states. Its joint currency, the Soviet Ruble has seen a steady rise over the years. Trade with China has also increased since 2000, which has been profitable for both countries.

Government and politics


According to the, the country is a and  , wherein the President is the  and the  is the. The Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics is fundamentally structured as a, with the federal government composed of three branches:


 * : The, made up of the 766-member  and the 762-member , adopts , , approves treaties, has the  and the power of  of the President.
 * : The President is the of the military, can veto s before they become law, and appoints the Cabinet and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.
 * : The Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Supreme Court of Arbitration and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the President, interpret laws and can overturn laws they deem.

The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term, but not for a third consecutive term). Ministries of the government are composed of the Premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister (whereas the appointment of the latter requires the consent of the Union of the Republics). Leading political parties in the Soviet Union include, the , the Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union, and Fair Union.

Foreign relations

 * Main: 

The Soviet Union continues to implement the international commitments of the former communist regime, and continues to hold a permanent seat in the, membership in other international organizations, the rights and obligations under international treaties, and property and debts. The USSR has a multifaceted foreign policy. As of 2009, it maintains diplomatic relations with 191 countries and has. The foreign policy is determined by the President and implemented by the.

As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the Soviet Union plays a major role in maintaining international peace and security. The country participates in the and the  with. The USSR is a member of the (G8) industrialized nations, the,  and. The USSR usually takes a leading role in regional organizations such as the (SCO).



Former President had advocated a strategic partnership with close integration in various dimensions including establishment of. Since the reformation of the Soviet Union, the USSR has developed a friendlier, albeit volatile with. The was established in 2002 to allow the 26 Allies and the USSR to work together as equal partners to pursue opportunities for joint collaboration.

Under Putin, the Soviet Union has sought to strengthen ties with the by signing the  as well building the  geared toward growing Chinese energy needs.

Military


The Soviet military is divided into the Ground Forces, Navy, and Air Force. There are also three independent arms of service: Strategic Rocket Forces, Military Space Forces, and the Airborne Troops. In 2006, the military had 2.246 million personnel on active duty.

Russia has the the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. It has the second largest fleet of ballistic missile submarines and is the only country apart from the US with a modern force. The USSR's force is the largest in the world, its surface navy and air force are among the strongest.

The country has a large and fully indigenous, producing most of its own military equipment with only few types of weapons imported. Russia is the world's top supplier of arms, a spot it has held since 2001, accounting for around 30% of worldwide weapons sales and exporting weapons to about 80 countries.

Official government military spending for 2008 was $58 billion, the, though various sources have estimated Russia’s military expenditures to be considerably higher.

It is mandatory for all male citizens aged 18–27 to be drafted for a year of service in Armed Forces; the government plans to increase the proportion of contract servicemen to 70% by 2010. Defense expenditure has quadrupled over the past six years. According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates, official government military spending for 2008 was $58 billion, the fifth largest in the world, though various sources, including US intelligence, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, have estimated the USSR’s military expenditures to be considerably higher. Currently, the military is undergoing a major equipment upgrade worth about $200 billion between 2006 and 2015. Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov supervises the major reforms aimed to transform a mass mobilization army into a smaller force of contract soldiers.

Political divisions

 * Main: and 

The Soviet Union is a made up of 33 Union Republics and one Union City. Each republic runs itself as a sovereign nation, working on their own affairs, economy, presidents, and each have their own militias. All have agreed to unite under a single legislature, leader, currency, foreign affairs, and a united militia. Each republic holds the right to secede from the Union if they so do, which contributed to the reformation of the USSR in 1991.

Prior to the signing of the, the Soviet Union was constitutionally a federation, but ran more as a centralist state in practice. Glasnost and Perestroika brought the centralist ideals out in the open, leading to the formation of a union of sovereign states.



Demographics
The Soviet Union is one of the world's most ethnically diverse countries, with more than 200 distinct ethnic groups within its borders. The total population was estimated at 271 million in 2010, the 4th most populous nation after China, India and the United States of America.

The majority of the population are Russians (50.78%), followed by Ukrainians (15.45%) and Uzbeks (5.84%). Other ethnic groups include Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Belarusians, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Moldovans, Tajiks, and Turkmen as well as Abkhaz, Adyghes, Aleuts, Assyrians, Avars, Bashkirs, Bulgarians, Buryats, Chechens, Chinese, Chuvash, Cossacks, Evenks, Finns, Gagauz, Germans, Greeks, Hungarians, Ingushes, Inuit, Jews, Kalmyks, Karakalpaks, Karelians, Kets, Koreans, Lezgins, Maris, Mongols, Mordvins, Nenetses, Ossetians, Poles, Roma, Romanians, Tats, Tatars, Tuvans, Udmurts, Yakuts, and others.

Mainly because of differences in birth rates among the Soviet nationalities, the share of the population that was Russian steadily declined in the post-World War II period.