Soviet Union: Formation, History, Collapse and Facts

 

Summary of this Article:

•  The Soviet Union, also known as the USSR, was formed in 1922 after the Russian Revolution. Initially, it consisted of four republics: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Transcaucasian Republics.
• Over time, the Soviet Union expanded to include 15 republics, including the Transcaucasian Republics (Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia), Central Asian republics (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan), and Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia), as well as Moldova.
• During World War II, the Soviet Union joined the Allies after Germany invaded, leading to the emergence of the USA and USSR as superpowers and the beginning of the Cold War.
• The Cold War led to the formation of alliances such as NATO and the Warsaw Pact, with the USA and USSR supporting opposing ideological and military blocs.
• The collapse of the Soviet Union was due to various factors including economic decline, military overspending, and internal reforms initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev, such as Glasnost (political openness) and Perestroika (economic restructuring).
• Freedom movements within the Soviet republics led to declarations of sovereignty, culminating in the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 26, 1991.
• After the collapse, 15 new independent states emerged, with some former Soviet republics joining NATO and aligning with Western powers, while others, like Russia, maintained separate alliances or sought to join NATO.

Welcome to Historical Horizons! USSR or Union of Soviet Socialist Republics which is commonly known as Soviet Union extending from the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean covering an area of ​​22.4 million square kilometers. It was an alliance of 15 socialist republics when and how this alliance was formed, when and which countries joined it? and when and how did it collapse? and which countries came into being after the collapse? does these countries are still in alliance with Russia or Separate from it? That's all you will know in today's article.

Background:

The Russian Empire was a vast empire until the beginning of the twentieth century. The empire included 15 states that later became part of the Soviet Union, as well as Finland and some parts of Poland, and Turkey. After Russian Revolution of 1917, Vladimir Lenin overthrew the government of "Tsar of Russia" Nicholas II. Then there were supporters of Vladimir Lenin, known as the Reds, and opponents of the revolution, also known as the Whites.

Civil war broke out between Reds and Whites. The War was won by Revolutionists (Reds) and in old Russian Empire four Socialist Republics States Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Transcaucasian Republics came into being. An agreement was reached between the four republics in December 1922 to end the civil war under this agreement. The Soviet Union came into being the first country in this alliance was RSFSR today's Russia along with Russia, Ukraine and Belarus also became part of this alliance.

In addition to these three republics, the fourth republic was the Transcaucasian Republics. A three-state coalition which joined Soviet Union. This three-state alliance included Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia that is to say, the Soviet Union was initially joined by six republics in 1924. The Soviet Union was joined by the two Central Asian republics of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. This alliance gradually grew, and in 1929 Tajikistan joined the alliance.

In 1936, the Soviet Union was joined by Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and the number of republics in the alliance rose to 11 in 1940 during World War II. Four more republics were annexed to the Soviet Union and the total number of republics was now 15. The republics that joined in 1940 included the three Baltic States Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia as well as Moldova. These were the 15 republics that together formed this great Soviet Socialist Alliance of human history.

Soviet Union and World War II:

Non-Aggression Treaty was signed between the Soviet Union and Germany shortly before the outbreak of World War II, in which the two had promised not to take any military action against each other for the next ten years. But the opposite happened. When during the war, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in violation of the treaty. In this situation the Soviet Union had to join the Allies they say that the enemy of your enemy is your friend. That's what happened because the common enemy of the Soviet Union, Britain, and the United States was Germany.

So, under these circumstances, the Soviet Union joined the Allies. The war however, ended in a victory for Allies USA and USSR appeared as two superpowers after the war. Ideological difference between the USA and USSR brought them face to face. USA supported Liberal Democracy while USSR was a Communist Alliance. USA never wanted Communist to flourish in the world under any circumstances. So, this ideological difference became another controversy and the Cold War started between two powerful countries of the world.

After the War, as Britain and France feared that the Soviet Union might take action against them and there were fears that Germany would regain power. Therefore, in view of these circumstances, the United States, Canada and other Western European nations formed the NATO alliance in 1949. The main purpose of creating it was to adopt a common strategy against the ideological expansionist ambitions of the Soviet Union and strengthen their defenses in response to this agreement.

The Soviet Union and other Eastern and Central European nations which included Albania, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and East Germany signed WARSAW pact in 1955. So that a balance of power can be maintained against NATO. Although USA and USSR were not fighting against each other directly but the influence of their cold war was clear on the Wars in the other world. These wars were fought in Korea and Vietnam. In these wars, the two power blocs fully supported their respective ideological supporters

The Cold War between the USA and USSR was not only limited to proxy Wars but the two super powers wanted to dominate each other in every way. The war involved conquering space. In this race, the Soviet Union took over and they sent their first Artificial Satellite in Space in October 1957. Now Soviet Union dominated USA after sending it into space but you know USA landed first on the Moon in 1969. At the same time, the two world powers were experimenting more and more in the nuclear arms race.

Why USSR Collapsed?

It was an un-natural alliance which named Soviet Union. So, it was difficult for it to be maintained. Apart from this, there are some reasons for its collapse which we will mention to you.

The Soviet Union's economy has been in deep decline since the beginning of the Cold War, which began after World War II. Shortage of daily necessities, increase in storage had become a norm. Industrial production was also falling, living standards had begun to fall. The poor economy made it difficult for the Soviet Union to compete with the United States in the arms race. As Soviet Union's was a large military power, so its defense budget was increasing every year. In addition to that, Soviet Union also jumped into the unnecessary war in Afghanistan in 1979 due to which the situation got worse it was.

Under these circumstances that Mikhail Gorbachev, a Communist Party politician, emerged as the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985. He inherited the bad economy of the Soviet Union but also found a corrupt political system. All these issues had to be reformed under these circumstances. He adopted the policy of "Glasnost" so the citizens could be given freedom. Under his regime, political prisoners were released now, newspapers could print criticism. Apart from the Communist Party, other parties could now participate in the elections.

The second policy which he adopted was about economic restructuring. So the economy could be brought on the path of improvement it was named "Perestroika". Under this policy, individuals were now allowed to own businesses. He also opened Soviet Union for foreign investments. He also believed that for the better economy of Soviet Union, Soviet Union should expand its relations with other countries. In addition to that adopting a policy of non-intervention, in 1989 he announced withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan where they were fighting since 1979. All these measures were all good, but it was too late now.

Freedom movements began to emerge from within the Soviet Union in the late 1980s one by one. The countries in the alliance began to declare their sovereignty.

How USSR collapsed?

The collapse of the Soviet Union had begun in 1988 when the Baltic state of Estonia first declared to be a separate sovereign republic. After that in 1989, other along with two Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia. Azerbaijan also declared to be a separate sovereign republic. The rest of the Soviet republics declared their sovereignty in 1990.

On 25 December 1991, for the last time the Soviet flag waved and the Soviet anthem was played for the last time. Finally on December 26, 1991 the Soviet Union ceased to exist forever and 15 new independent states emerge on the world map.

It is interesting to note that Soviet States Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have now joined NATO. The same alliance which was made against Soviet Union. Countries included in Soviet Union have now joined that but Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union, now wants to be part of the NATO alliance. In addition, the WARSAW Pact, an alliance formed in response to NATO, its all member have now Joined NATO except Russia.

We tried to explain to you in simple terms, the formation and breakdown of the Soviet Union. Be sure to let us know in the comments section how you like our this effort.