Soviet Union (New Union)

The Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics (Russian: Союз Советских Cуверенных Республик Soyuz Sovyetskikh Suvyeruennykh 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.), is a loose federation comprised of 19 republics extending from the Baltic Sea to the Baltic Sea, and from the Arctic Ocean to the Caspian Sea. The Soviet Union is the largest nation in the world, and is a major superpower in global politics and world culture. The Soviet Union formed in 1922 as a unification of four Soviet Socialist Republics, forming the world's first communist nation. The Soviet Union would suffer the most from World War II in the number of lives lost. The Soviet Union and the would rise from the war as the world powers, leading to the Cold War and the Arms Race, dividing the capitalist world between the communist world.

During the 1980s and 1990s, the Soviet Union would greatly transform from an oppressed communist nation into a free democracy.

History
The Union of Soviet Sovereign Republic came into existence on August 20, 1991, in which the Soviet republics of, , , , and signed the , which voided their activities in the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The New Union Treaty was written after rising ethnic tensions prompted to take action and create a union based only on a joint president, military, and joint foreign affairs. Four additional republics would sign the treaty in 1991, with the remaining six being recognized as independent nations on October 25 of that year.

Since its creation, the new USSR quickly established itself as a world power, retaining the Security Council seat in the United Nations. In the Spring of 1992, the USSR actively helped from gaining independence from, and assisted  in gaining independence from. It also went about easing tensions with the west by signing START II and it also tried to strengthen ties with China. During the turbulent 90s, the Soviet Union assisted in the civil war that gripped, assisting on behalf of the Yugoslavian Serbs, and also mediated the peace accords between Yugoslavia and the former Yugoslav Republics.

Conflicts within the Soviet Union would be just as turbulent. While the Union Republics were granted sovereignty, several autonomous republics attempted to gain similar status. In 1994, the turbulent republic of would fully become its own sovereign republic within the USSR. Other autonomous republics within the Soviet Union would request the same thing. In 1997, the Russian Federation and the autonomous republics within the federation would meet in Leningrad to. In 1998, the majority of the autonomous republics of Russia would be upgraded to full republics, leading to a greater amount of peace unionwide (as claimed by many).

The Soviet Union would get into more conflict with its neighbor (and former USSR republic), over the independence of. The Red Army would cross the border in 2008, "liberating" the tiny republic from Georgian control. It would be merged into the Soviet Union in 2009.

Supreme Soviet
The (known before 1936 as the Central Executive Committee) is the governing body of the Soviet Union. The Supreme Soviet runs as a bicameral government, divided by the (upper house), and the  (lower house).

Military
The new union assumed control of Soviet assets abroad and most of the Soviet Union's production facilities and defense industries. 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.

The Soviet Union has 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 U.S. with a modern strategic bomber force. Russia's tank force is the largest in the world, it's surface navy and air force are among the strongest. The country has a large and fully indigenous arms industry, producing most of its own military equipment with only few types of weapons imported. The USSR 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.

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.

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.

Subdivisions

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The Union of Soviet Sovereign republics is a confederation currently made up of 19 republics. Each republic holds their own sovereignty, governments, leaders, but work together under a single, federal government, presidency, currency, and foreign affairs. Each republic holds the right to secede from the Union if they so do.

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.

Foreign Relations

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Much like the United State, the Soviet Union retains a strong international recognition and has formed some sort of relationship with all nations. The most conflicted region of Soviet relations are the former breakaway republics of the First Soviet Union. The Soviets have dubbed these nations as "Near abroad," as they still consist of native Russians and other minorities of the Soviet Union.

Since the reformations of both the Soviet Union and China, the overall relations between the two communist superpowers has greatly improved. Both nations have moved passed the Sino-Soviet split and have began a cordial relationship. Though the Soviet Union is known to be more free bound than China, the relations have gone almost to an integration level. The relations grew more in 2003, when the once buffer state of Mongolia was made a Union Republic, creating a longer border between the two nations.

The Soviet-US relations has also improved since the 90s, though a Cold War feel remains on the two superpowers. The once divided world has long be gone, and all nations have moved towards alliances between the USA and USSR. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Soviet President would become a strong ally to American President. The Soviets would assist the Americans in the War in Afghanistan, leading to the fall of the Taliban 2001. The Soviet Army remained out of Afghanistan however, not wanting to get involved in the region once again. But by 2005, the Soviet Army would once again enter Afghanistan, but as part of the UN peacekeeping coalition. The Soviet Union would strongly protest against the US invading Iraq without a UN vote, causing the USSR to vote against the war (along with France and China).