Flag of the Soviet Union.
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from Советский Союз, Sovetskiy Soyuz. A soviet is a council, the theoretical basis for the socialist society of the USSR.
From 1945 until dissolution in 1991—a period known as the Cold War—the Soviet Union and the United States of America were the two world superpowers that dominated the global agenda of economic policy, foreign affairs, military operations, cultural exchange, scientific advancements including the pioneering of space exploration, and sports (including the Olympic Games and various world championships).
Initially established as a union of four Soviet Socialist Republics, the USSR grew to contain 15 constituent or "union republics" by 1956: Armenian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Estonian SSR, Georgian SSR, Kazakh SSR, Kirghiz SSR, Latvian SSR, Lithuanian SSR, Moldavian SSR, Russian SFSR, Tajik SSR, Turkmen SSR, Ukrainian SSR and Uzbek SSR. (From annexation of the Estonian SSR on August 6, 1940 up to the reorganization of the Karelo-Finnish SSR into the Karelian ASSR on July 16, 1956, the count of "union republics" was sixteen.)
The Russian Federation is the successor state to the USSR. Russia is the leading member of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Alternate versions of the USSR have been discovered in the multiverse:
- Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (Long live the Qing)
- Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (Princip Arrest)
- Union of Sovereign Socialist Republics (1983: Doomsday)
- Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics (New Union)
- Union of Soviet Republics (Soviet Freedom)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (14 points)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (American Commonwealth)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Atlantic Iron Curtain)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Broken Ice)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Central Victory)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Differently)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Finland Superpower)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Great Global War)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Multilateral Cold War)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Operation European Freedom)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Oswaldia)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (President Welles)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (PS-1)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (A Reich Disunited)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Russian Rise)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (The Soviet Dream)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (União de Sul África)
- Union of Soviet Stalinist Republics (Red Scare World)
- Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (Long live the Qing)
- Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (Princip Arrest)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Great Global War)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Oswaldia)
- Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Russian Rise)
- Soviet Union (6-2-5 Upheaval)
- Soviet Union (A World Divided)
- Soviet Union (Russia Ruins Stuff)
- The Soviet Union (Communist Victory)
See also
- Communist, Socialist, and Soviet Flags of Russia
- Russia disambiguation
