Editing Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)

{{Infobox country
| name                       = Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
| native_name                = Союз Советских Социалистических Республик
| image_flag                 = File:Flag of the Soviet Union (1955-1991).svg
| image_coat                 = Soviet-Coat-of-Arms.jpg
| image_map                  = File:Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (orthographic projection).svg
| map_width                  = 220px
| official_languages         = None (1922–1990)<br>Russian (1990–1991)| capital = [[Moscow]]
| largest_city               = capital
| mode_of_production         = [[Socialism]]
| government_type            = Federal [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] [[socialist state]] (until 1990)
| established_event1         = October Revolution
| established_date1          =  1917 November 7th
| established_event2         = [[Declaration and Treaty on the Formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Establishment of the USSR]]
| established_date2          = 1922 December 30th
| established_event3         = [[World War II]] victory
| established_date3          = 1945 May 9th
| established_event4         = Dissolution
| established_date4          = 1991 December 26th
| population_estimate        = 285,742,511<ref>Демоскоп Weekly. [http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng_nac_89.php  Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР] [The 1989 All-Union Population Census. National composition of the population by republics of the USSR].</ref>
| population_estimate_year   = 1989
| labour_force               = 152.3 million<ref name="CIA-factbook-1990">CIA World Factbook (1990). ''[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_World_Factbook_(1990)/Soviet_Union Soviet Union – World Factbook (Wikisource)]''</ref>
| labour_occupation          = 80% industry and other nonagricultural fields<br>20% agriculture<ref name="CIA-factbook-1990"/>
| unemployment               = 1–2%<ref name="CIA-factbook-1991">CIA World Factbook (1991). ''[https://www.theodora.com/wfb1991/soviet_union/soviet_union_economy.html Soviet Union Economy]''</ref>
| leader_title1              = Notable leaderships
| leader_name1               = [[Vladimir Lenin]] (1922–1924)<br>[[Joseph Stalin]] (1924–1953)
|HDI_year=1990|HDI=0.920| currency                   = Soviet ruble (РУБ)
| p1                         = '''1922:'''
| flag_p1                    =
| p2                         = [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1917–1991)|Russian SFSR]]
| flag_p2                    = Flag_of_the_RSFSR_%281918–1925%29.svg
| p3                         = [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1919–1991)|Ukrainian SSR]]
| flag_p3                    = Flag_of_the_UkSSR_%281919-1929%29.svg
| p4                         = [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (1920–1991)|Byelorussian SSR]]
| flag_p4                    = Flag of the BSSR (1919–1927).svg
| p5                         = [[Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1922–1936)|Transcaucasian SFSR]]
| flag_p5                    = Flag of the Transcaucasian SFSR (1925-1936).svg
| p6                         = '''1923:'''
| flag_p6                    = 
| p7                         = [[Provisional Priamurye Government]]
| flag_p7                    = Flag of the Provisional Priamurye Government (1896–1918).svg
| p8                         = '''1924:'''
| flag_p8                    =
| p9                         = [[Bukharan People's Soviet Republic|Bukharan SSR]]
| flag_p9                    = Flag of the Bukharan PSR (1920-1924).png
| p10                        = [[Khorezm People's Soviet Republic|Khorezm SSR]]
| flag_p10                   = Flag of the Khorezm PSR (1920-1923).svg
| p11                        = '''1939:'''
| flag_p11                   =
| p12                        = [[Republic of Poland (1918–1939)|Poland]] (portion)
| flag_p12                   = Flag_of_Poland_(1927–1980).svg
| p13                        = '''1940:'''
| flag_p13                   =
| p14                        = [[Republic of Finland|Finland]] (portion)
| flag_p14                   = Flag_of_Finland.svg
| p15                        = [[Kingdom of Romania (1881–1947)|Romania]] (portion)
| flag_p15                   = Flag of Romania.svg
| p16                        = [[Republic of Estonia|Estonia]]
| flag_p16                   = Flag of Estonia.svg
| p17                        = [[Republic of Latvia|Latvia]]
| flag_p17                   = Flag_of_Latvia.svg
| p18                        = [[Republic of Lithuania|Lithuania]]
| flag_p18                   = Flag_of_Lithuania.svg
| p19                        = '''1944:'''
| flag_19                    = 
| p20                        = [[Tuvan People's Republic|Tuva]]
| flag_p20                   = Flag of the Tuvan People's Republic (1943-1944).svg
| p21                        = '''1945:'''
| flag_21                    =
| p22                        = [[German Reich (1933–1945)|Nazi Germany]] (portion)
| flag_p22                   = Flag of Germany (1935–1945).svg
| p23                        = [[Empire of Japan (1868–1947)|Japan]] (portion)
| flag_p23                   = Flag of Japan (1870–1999).svg
| p24                        = '''1946:'''
| flag_p24                   =
| p25                        = [[Czechoslovak Republic (1945–1948)|Czechoslovakia]] (portion)
| flag_p25                   = Flag of the Czech Republic.svg
| s1                         = '''1990:'''
| flag_s1                    =
| s2                         = [[Republic of Lithuania|Lithuania]]
| flag_s2                    = Flag_of_Lithuania.svg
| s3                         = '''1991:'''
| flag_s3                    = 
| s4                         = [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]
| flag_s4                    = Flag of Georgia (1990–2004).svg
| s5                         = [[Republic of Estonia|Estonia]]
| flag_s5                    = Flag of Estonia.svg
| s6                         = [[Republic of Latvia|Latvia]]
| flag_s6                    = Flag_of_Latvia.svg
| s7                         = [[Ukraine]]
| flag_s7                    = Flag of Ukraine (1991-1992).svg
| s8                         = [[Republic of Moldova|Moldova]]
| flag_s8                    = Flag of Moldova (1990–2010).svg
| s9                         = [[Kyrgyz Republic|Kyrgyzstan]]
| flag_s9                    = Flag of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic.svg
| s10                        = [[Republic of Uzbekistan|Uzbekistan]]
| flag_s10                   = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg
| s11                        = [[Republic of Tajikistan|Tajikistan]]
| flag_s11                   = Flag of Tajikistan (1991–1992).svg
| s12                        = [[Republic of Armenia|Armenia]]
| flag_s12                   = Flag of Armenia.svg
| s13                        = [[Republic of Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]]
| flag_s13                   = Flag of Azerbaijan.svg
| s14                        = [[Republic of Turkmenistan|Turkmenistan]]
| flag_s14                   = Flag of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (1973–1991).svg
| s15                        = [[Republic of Belarus|Belarus]]
| flag_s15                   = Flag of Belarus (1918, 1991–1995).svg
| s16                        = [[Russian Federation|Russia]]
| flag_s16                   = Flag of Russia (1991–1993).svg
| s17                        = [[Republic of Kazakhstan|Kazakhstan]]
| flag_s17                   = Flag of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.svg
| s18                        = [[People's Republic of China|China]] (portion)
| flag_s18                   = Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg
| GDP_nominal_year           = 1989
| GDP_nominal                = $2.66 trillion<ref name="CIA-factbook-1990"/>
| GDP_nominal_rank           = 2nd
| GDP_nominal_per_capita     = $9,211<ref>CIA World Factbook (1990). ''[https://www.theodora.com/wfb/1990/rankings/gdp_per_capita_1.html GDP per Capita 1990]''</ref>
| export_year                = 1988
| export                     = $110.7 billion<ref name="CIA-factbook-1990"/>
| export_commodities         = Petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, metals, wood, agricultural products, and a wide variety of manufactured goods (primarily capital goods and arms)<ref name="CIA-factbook-1990"/>
| export_partners            = Eastern Europe (49%),<br>Western Europe (14%), [[Republic of Cuba|Cuba]] (5%), [[United States of America|United States]]<ref name="CIA-factbook-1990"/>
| import_year                = 1988
| import                     = $107.3 billion<ref name="CIA-factbook-1990"/>
| import_commodities         = Grain and other agricultural products, machinery and equipment, steel products (including large-diameter pipe), consumer manufactures<ref name="CIA-factbook-1990"/>
| import_partners            = Eastern Europe (43%),<br>Western Europe (18%),<br>[[Republic of Cuba|Cuba]], [[People's Republic of China|China]], [[United States of America|United States]]<ref name="CIA-factbook-1990"/>
| flag_caption               = [[Flag of the Soviet Union|Flag]]<br>(1955–1991)
| motto                      = Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь!
| englishmotto               = [[Workers of the world, unite!]]
| anthem                     = [[State Anthem of the Soviet Union|Государственный гимн СССР]][[File:Soviet anthem 1944.ogg]]
| life_span                  = 1922–1991
}}

The '''Soviet Union''', officially known as the '''Union of Soviet Socialist Republics''' ('''USSR'''),<ref group="note">Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (СССР)</ref> was a transnational union of [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] [[socialist state|socialist states]] that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.

It was established in 1922 as a union of four [[Socialist state|socialist republics]] created after the 1917 [[October Revolution of 1917|October Revolution]], namely the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1917-1991)|Russian SFSR]], the [[Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1922–1936)|Transcaucasian SFSR]], the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukrainian SSR]] and [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic|Byelorussian SSR]]. The years that followed saw the addition of the [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (1924–1991)|Uzbek]] and [[Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (1929–1991)|Tajik SSRs]]; the Transcaucasian SFSR was dissolved in 1936 in favor of the elevated SSRs of [[Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (1921–1991)|Georgia]], [[Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|Armenia]] and [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (1936–1991)|Azerbaijan]]. From 1956 to 1991, the union comprised 15 member republics, two of which had their own member seats at the [[United Nations]].

The USSR represented a groundbreaking political alternative for the [[working class]] as the first stable socialist state in history. This was remarkable especially in a time period where workers in the [[Imperial core|Western world]] were still struggling for basic [[Trade union|union]] rights; the [[1924 Soviet Constitution]] and the [[1936 Soviet Constitution]] represented some of the most progressive political advancements in history. 

The Soviet Union developed under extreme pressure from [[capitalist]] states and global [[Imperialist|imperialism]]; during the [[Russian Civil War]], starting from 1918, it suffered successive invasions by [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|Britain]], [[French Republic (1870–1940)|France]], the [[United States of America|United States]], [[Empire of Japan (1868–1947)|Japan]], [[Republic of Poland (1918–1939)|Poland]], and several other minor European powers. Some of these interventions temporarily succeeded in overthrowing local [[Soviet (governmental body)|soviets]] and installing [[anti-communist]] puppet regimes, although they were ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the founding of the Soviet Union. 

Barely two decades later, during [[World War II]], the [[German Reich (1933–1945)|Nazi]] invasion represented the second imperialist war on the USSR, this time in the name of [[fascism]]. Although the fascists inflicted catastrophic damage on the western USSR and its population, the [[Workers' and Peasants' Red Army|Red Army]] ultimately succeeded in repelling the Nazi forces and went on to play an integral role in the defeat of German [[National Socialism|Nazism]] in 1945.

Despite these difficulties, the Soviet Union achieved some of the most impressive economic developments in modern history.  Socialism transformed a country of illiterate and starving [[Peasantry|peasants]] into an industrial superpower with one of the fastest growing economies on Earth.  The Soviet people were one of the world's best-educated and healthiest populations, responsible for some of history's most impressive industrial and scientific achievements to date. And it provided a very influential model for other later socialist projects in places such as [[People's Republic of China|China]], [[Republic of Cuba|Cuba]] and [[Socialist Republic of Vietnam|Vietnam]].

Starting from 1988, many SSRs seceded from the USSR before [[Dissolution of the USSR|its illegal overthrow]] in 1991. Its former territory has been divided among the successor states of [[Russian Federation|Russia]], [[Republic of Latvia|Latvia]], [[Republic of Lithuania|Lithuania]], [[Republic of Estonia|Estonia]], [[Republic of Belarus|Belarus]], [[Ukraine]], [[Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic|Pridnestrovie]], [[Republic of Moldova|Moldova]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Republic of Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]], [[Republic of Armenia|Armenia]], [[Artsakh]] (existing until 2024), [[Republic of Abkhazia|Abkhazia]], [[Republic of South Ossetia|South Ossetia]], [[Republic of Kazakhstan|Kazakhstan]], [[Republic of Uzbekistan|Uzbekistan]], [[Republic of Turkmenistan|Turkmenistan]], [[Republic of Tajikistan|Tajikistan]], and [[Kyrgyz Republic|Kyrgyzstan]]. 

== History ==

=== Background ===
In early 20th century, the [[Russian Empire]] was a semi-feudal country ruled by an absolute [[monarchy]]. The average life expectancy in Russia was about 35 years. Literacy rates were only about 20%. The [[Proletariat|workers]] and [[Peasant|peasants]] lived horrible lives without minimum wage laws or basic work safety regulations and worked 60 or 70 hours per week.<ref name=":7">{{Web citation|newspaper=Oktaybr|title=Standard of living in the Soviet Union|date=2021-08-23|url=https://oktyabrvperedi.wordpress.com/2021/08/23/standard-of-living-in-the-soviet-union/?preview=true|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824102918/https://oktyabrvperedi.wordpress.com/2021/08/23/standard-of-living-in-the-soviet-union/?preview=true|archive-date=2021-08-24|retrieved=2022-09-11}}</ref> 

Despite the size of the country, there was a constant shortage of farm land and famines were common. Most of the land belonged to the wealthy [[Landlord|landlords]] and [[Kulak|rich peasants]]. Because of technological backwardness, only the softest and most fertile soil could be used, which severely limited the amount of available farm land. There were many large [[Strike action|strikes]] and protests but it was not uncommon that the [[police]] would be deployed and break the strike, often by firing at the strikers.

In 1898, the [[Russian Social Democratic Labor Party]] (RSDLP) was created, uniting the several communist study groups scattered around Russia. Among its founders were people like [[Vladimir Lenin]] and [[Julius Martov]]. It established itself as a Marxist party that had the task of overthrowing the monarchy and bring about socialism. However, during the course of the struggle, there was a lot of disagreement about when this goal was to be implemented and how. In 1903, emerged a ''de facto'' split in the party, and two factions were formed: the [[Mensheviks]] led by Martov and the [[Bolsheviks]] led by Lenin.

Through the leadership of the RSDLP, and against the worsening life conditions, the Russian workers attempted a [[Russian revolution of 1905|democratic revolution in 1905]]. Massive protests erupted all over the country, mutinies were widespread in the army and the people organized public meetings, called “soviets” or councils, which would get together and discuss what to do in an early form of organisation. The revolution eventually failed however. It won some democratic liberties from the Tsar, but those liberties would be constantly under attack by the monarchy afterwards. This revolution would be seen as a rehearsal for the later revolution.

In 1914, the [[First World War]] began and launched Russia into chaos. The economy was ruined by the war, there was a shortage of food and large amounts of the population were drafted to fight in the war. The war is seen by many people, especially the socialist, as an unjust imperialist conquest, where millions of poor and working class people from different countries had to die for the profits and wealth of the capitalist and monarchist governments of their countries.

The attitude towards the war ended up splitting the international socialist movement and the [[Second International]]. Many parties initially opposed the war, but then chose to support their own government in it, so as to protect their country from the other imperialist powers. Lenin, [[Rosa Luxemburg]] and other revolutionaries saw this as treachery. In their opinion, if everyone only supported their own imperialist government in an imperialist war, it wouldn't do anything to stop the war. They called for “turning the imperialist war to a class war”, friendship between the workers of the various countries, and unity against the capitalist governments of all warring countries. This led to the splitting of the International.

==== February Revolution ====
In February 1917, the Russian monarchy was overthrown. This led to the creation of the [[Russian Provisional Government]], consisting of the capitalist [[Constitutional Democratic Party|Cadet]] party, the [[Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries|Socialist-Revolutionary Party]] (or SRs) and the Mensheviks.

The Bolsheviks initially gave “conditional support” for the Provisional Government, meaning they supported it to the degree that it carried out the democratic reforms and other policies demanded by the population. However, it soon became very evident the Provisional Government was a failure.

The Provisional government refused to carry out [[Land reform|land reforms]]. This was necessary to prevent famine and reduce the land shortage, but it would have meant going against the landlords.

The Provisional government also refused to impose stricter regulations on trading and the economy. This would have been necessary to prevent economic disaster, but it would have meant going against the capitalists who greatly profited from the war and chaos.

Lastly, the Provisional government supported the war. They advocated a “war to a finish”, meaning until they won. It became evident that Russia was losing the war, however the Provisional government was still committed to fulfill the treaties and agreements with their allies in World War 1.

The Bolsheviks were quick to point out that the Provisional government acted exactly like the Tsarist government, which also sided with the landlords, capitalists and started the imperialist war. In their view, the Provisional government was continuing the Tsarist policy.

In April 1917, Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia from exile and puts forward his ''April theses'', political proposals which call for the overthrow of the Provisional government.

The Bolsheviks put forward their slogans:<blockquote>Down with the provisional government!

Down with the capitalist ministers!

Factories for the workers, land to the peasants, end to the imperialist war!

Peace, Bread & Land</blockquote>In June of that year, the capital city Petrograd (today called St. Petersburg) held municipal elections. Bolsheviks achieved a massive victory, growing from essentially nothing to one of the biggest parties in Russia. The so-called “defencist bloc” still held the majority of seats however. This bloc consisted of the SR-party and Mensheviks. Defencism meant that they supported the war effort. The biggest loser of the election was the Cadet party, which achieved only 15% of the votes and lost its power as the biggest party.

On July 1, Russia launched an offensive on the front, which was known as the “Kerensky offensive” or the “July offensive.” The war was going badly and casualties were mounting for Russia, the thirst for blood from the imperialists and the Provisional government were very evident.

On July 3 and 4, there was a massive demonstration in Petrograd, of hundreds of thousands of people. Among the demonstrators were armed soldiers who came from the front to demand change and revolution. The Bolsheviks urged caution and said that the demonstration should be peaceful and organized. They opposed bringing weapons to the demonstration and said that they were not yet strong enough for a revolution. The workers and soldiers decided to bring weapons despite the advice of the Bolsheviks but the Bolsheviks still took part in the demonstrations to lend support to the workers.

The workers and soldiers carried the Bolshevik slogans of "End the war”, "Peace, bread and land". There was a government crack down against the demonstrators. Machine guns were turned towards the crowd, leaving countless dead. The Bolsheviks were now seen as a serious threat by the government. A warrant was issued for Lenin’s arrest, which forced him into hiding. Bolshevik newspaper ''[[Pravda]]'' was banned, their printing plant and party offices were destroyed. This period of repression is known as the “July Days". The Provisional government restored the death penalty on the front against soldiers who disobeyed orders.

The Bolsheviks lost a lot of their forces, and many of their important resources. They began publishing their newspapers under new names to avoid censorship. Despite all their difficulties the workers supported them more than ever, the Provisional government was exposed as a supporter of the capitalist elite and the imperialists. The Provisional government started forming stronger ties with the old capitalist party, the Cadets, to make up for the support they lost from the workers.

In August, there was an attempted coup against the Provisional government, called the “Kornilov Affair”. Kornilov was a general of the White Guard in the Russian army, who wanted to institute military dictatorship and strong rule of law, to stop the chaos in Russia. In other words, complete counter-revolution, end to the demonstrations, end to democracy, end to the working class movement.

The railway workers started a strike and refused to transport his troops while the workers and soldiers of Petrograd formed the armed Red Guard units and took up the defence of Petrograd against Kornilov. Kornilov’s coup ended in failure.

After the overthrow of the monarchy, the formation of soviets had begun again in all large cities, but at the time their leadership would be predominantly Menshevik.

In September, the Bolsheviks gained the majority in the Petrograd Soviet and soon after in the soviets of Moscow and other large cities. The Soviets already carried out many important functions in the cities as the Russian government was incapable of doing so. The Soviets even organized the defence of Petrograd. As the economy was in ruins and the war effort was failing, more people turned towards the Soviets' leadership.

==== Great October Socialist Revolution ====
{{Main article|October Revolution}}
[[File:Lenin_proclaims_Soviet_power.jpeg|thumb|315x315px]]
The 6th Bolshevik party congress had agreed that they should carry out an armed revolution. In October, the Petrograd Soviet created a Military Revolutionary Committee. These special bodies were formed all over the country connected with each soviet in each city. The Menshevik and SR minorities in the soviets opposed revolution, but the SR party split. The “left-SR” group sided with the Bolsheviks.

The Bolshevik soldiers organization took over the garrison. On 24 October the Military Revolutionary Committee occupied the telegraph, telephone offices and other important buildings. The cruiser ''Aurora'', which was controlled by Bolshevik sailors, fired a shot to signal the beginning of the revolution. The workers and soldiers stormed the winter palace. The same evening there was a congress of Soviets, where delegates arrived from all over the country. This congress elected the new Russian government, elected by the soviets of workers and soldiers, the Soviet Government. The October Revolution had taken power.

The October Revolution showed that a revolution by the ordinary people was possible. It showed that capitalism is ultimately incapable of solving its internal contradictions. Despite getting moderate leftists into the government, the policy was as imperialist, profit-driven and anti-popular as during the Tsarist era. The moderate leftists didn’t improve capitalism, they were used by capitalism. Only revolution stopped Russia’s involvement in the World War, carried out land reform and dealt with the crisis of unregulated capitalism, and began the process of building a new economic model which would serve the needs and interests of the people, not profits.<ref name=":9">{{News citation|journalist=TheFinnishBolshevik|date=2017-11-08|title=Brief History of the October Revolution|url=https://mltheory.wordpress.com/2017/11/08/brief-history-of-the-october-revolution/|retrieved=2022-03-25}}</ref>

==== Civil War ====
{{Main article|Russian Civil War}}
The October Revolution led to a civil war where the capitalists tried to seize back the state. 14 capitalist governments including the [[United States of America|USA]], [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|Great Britain]], [[French Republic (1870–1940)|France]], [[Empire of Japan (1868–1947)|Japan]], [[Republic of Poland (1918–1939)|Poland]] and many others invaded [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1917–1991)|Soviet Russia]] to destroy the Soviet government, but they failed, and the Soviet Union was created.<ref name=":9" />

===Treaty on formation of the USSR ===
<blockquote>''See main article: [[Declaration and Treaty on the Formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]]''</blockquote>

=== New Economic Policy ===
Lenin proposed the [[New Economic Policy]] at the [[10th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)|10th Party Congress]] in March 1921. The NEP allowed peasants to keep their grain and sell their surplus. By 1924, the Soviet Union had defeated foreign invaders and the counterrevolutionary Whites and nationalized key industries. [[Leon Trotsky|Trotsky]] and the [[Left Opposition]] believed that the Soviet Union could only survive if there was a socialist revolution in the [[imperial core]]. The [[14th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)|14th Party Congress]] in 1925 rejected the Left Opposition and adopted a course of rapid industrialization for the Soviet economy to catch up to the West.<ref name=":02" /><sup>:18–25</sup> The Central Committee purged Trotsky and his supporters from the party in 1927.<ref name=":0223">{{Citation|author=Ludo Martens|year=1996|title=Another View of Stalin|chapter=|page=|pdf=https://gateway.ipfs.io/ipfs/bafykbzaceab64vxtxpqt2cdl4zsrsftmedqidn4foq74gr25qkd35z5nwogdi?filename=Ludo%20Martens%20-%20Another%20View%20of%20Stalin-Editions%20EPO%20%281996%29.pdf|publisher=Editions EPO|isbn=9782872620814}}</ref><sup>:116–9</sup>

The [[Right Opposition]], led by [[Nikolai Bukharin|Bukharin]] and [[Alexei Rykov|Rykov]], strongly supported the NEP and encouraged private enterprise. They opposed [[collectivization]] and rapid industrialization.<ref name=":02">{{Citation|author=Roger Keeran, Thomas Kenny|year=2010|title=Socialism Betrayed: Behind the Collapse of the Soviet Union|chapter=|page=|pdf=https://ipfs.io/ipfs/bafykbzaceaj5ucph44bjwyhlhsbycckr3ts76zbucn2hbrea32tltcd4s5ekg?filename=Roger%20Keeran_%20Thomas%20Kenny%20-%20Socialism%20Betrayed_%20Behind%20the%20Collapse%20of%20the%20Soviet%20Union-iUniverse.com%20%282010%29.pdf|publisher=iUniverse.com|isbn=9781450241717}}</ref><sup>:18–25</sup> When the Five Year Plans finally began, Bukharin wanted to prioritize light industry over heavy industry.<ref name=":0223" /><sup>:35–42</sup>

During the NEP, the rural economy recovered from the wars. The agricultural production of the peasants alone in 1926 was higher than the peasants and landlord's estates combined before World War I. The number of pigs and cattle in 1928 was between 7% and 10% higher than in 1914. Agriculture continued to be mostly individualized. Kulaks and Orthodox priests controlled much of the countryside and continued to take land from poor and middle peasants.<ref name=":0223" /><sup>:45–61</sup>

=== Industrialization and collectivization ===
[[File:Life has become better poster.png|thumb|315x315px|"Widen the front of the [[Alexei Stakhanov|Stakhanovite]] movement."]]
By the end of the NEP in 1928, different fields of heavy industry had reached or surpassed the pre-war level. The Soviet Union began its first Five Year Plan in 1928 to create modern industry in order to mechanize agriculture and strengthen the country against invaders.<ref name=":0223" /><sup>:35–42</sup> From 1928 to 1940, industrial production grew by an average of 11% every year. Literacy rates increased from 46% to 80%.<ref name=":02" /><sup>:18–25</sup>

In 1936, the Soviet Union adopted a [[Library:Constitution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1936)|new constitution]] that replaced the previous constitution from 1924. It guaranteed [[gender]], [[Race|racial]], and [[Nation|national]] equality and freedom of [[religion]], speech, and the press. It also established universal suffrage and equal election of deputies, whereas urban areas had previously had previously been overrepresented.<ref>{{Citation|author=[[Joseph Stalin]]|year=1939|title=History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks)|chapter=The Bolshevik Party in the Struggle to Complete the Building of the Socialist Society. Introduction of the New Constitution|mia=https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1939/x01/ch03.htm|chapter-url=https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1939/x01/ch12.htm}}</ref>

Between 1938 and 1941, the Red Army grew from two to six or seven million soldiers. Construction of railroads and factories continued in the Urals, Siberia, and Central Asia.<ref name=":0223" /><sup>:35–42</sup> 

==== Industrialization ====
The industrial output of the Soviet Union doubled between 1929 and 1933. During this same time period, the economies of capitalist countries were shrinking because of the [[Great Depression]], which did not affect the Soviet Union.<ref name=":6">{{Web citation|author=[[TheFinnishBolshevik]]|newspaper=ML-Theory|title=The results of the 1st & 2nd Five-Year Plans: Soviet industrial revolution.|date=2016-08-07|url=https://mltheory.wordpress.com/2016/08/07/the-results-of-the-1st-2nd-soviet-five-year-plans-soviet-industrial-revolution/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622100104/https://mltheory.wordpress.com/2016/08/07/the-results-of-the-1st-2nd-soviet-five-year-plans-soviet-industrial-revolution/|archive-date=2022-06-22|retrieved=2022-08-07}}</ref> Electrical generation reached 4.07 gigawatts by 1935, surpassing Lenin's goal by 133%.<ref name=":0223" /><sup>:35–42</sup> 

From 1928 to 1932, the number of industrial workers in the USSR doubled from three to six million, and the country began establishing industrial centers in the Urals and Siberia. By 1932, 56% of the USSR's national income was reinvested in capital outlay.<ref name=":0223" /><sup>:35–42</sup> 

==== Collectivization ====
A series of bad harvests in 1924, 1927, and 1928 led the Soviet government to seize grain from the kulaks to avoid famine in the cities. The government decided to collectivize farming as fast as possible, but Bukharin disagreed and believed kulak production would naturally develop into collective farms. By 1929, cities had to ration bread, meat, sugar, and tea.<ref name=":0223" /><sup>:45–61</sup> The Central Committee officially began collectivization in November 1929 and divided the USSR into three groups: the North Caucasus and Middle and Lower Volga would have to collectivize by spring 1931; Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Siberia, the Urals, and the Central Black Earth Region by spring 1932; and Transcaucasia, Moscow, and the rest of Central Asia by 1933.<ref>{{Citation|author=Joseph Stalin|year=1939|title=History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks)|chapter=The Bolshevik Party in the Struggle for the Collectivization of Agriculture|mia=https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1939/x01/ch03.htm|chapter-url=https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1939/x01/ch11.htm}}</ref>

Collective farms (''kolkhozy'') surpassed the kulaks in 1929, and 7.5% of peasants had joined collective farms by October 1929. The peasants expropriated kulaks and exiled many of them. By January 1930, 18.1% of peasant families were collectivized including more than 39% in the Volga and Ural regions. Some local authorities were overenthusiastic and tried to collectivize too quickly. Because rural areas lacked a strong party presence, the Central Committee sent [[Sergo Orjonikidze|Orjonikidze]], [[Lazar Kaganovich|Kaganovich]], and [[Yakov Yakovlev|Yakovlev]] to the countryside in February 1930 to educate and oversee the peasantry. Ukraine organized almost 4,000 courses for 275,000 peasants, and the Red Army trained tractor drivers and radio and agriculture specialists.

In January 1930, the party sent 25,000 industrial workers to the countryside to help with collectivization and prevent excesses. Many were [[All-Union Leninist Young Communist League|Komsomol]] members or veterans of the Civil War. They criticized local authorities for forcing peasants to collectivize without preparation and helped win support for collectivization. Kulaks murdered many of these workers and claimed they made an alliance with the antichrist. The workers organized literacy campaigns and ended the cycle of famines that had existed for centuries.<ref name=":0223" /><sup>:45–61</sup>

During the First Five Year Plan, crop area increased from 118 million hectares to 129.7 million. In 1929, only 3.9% of farms had been collectivized, but by 1933 75% of farmland was in collective farms, 10.8% was in state farms (''sovkhozy''), and 15.7% was farmed by individual peasants. Over 167,000 collective farms were established during this period. The number of livestock decreased dramatically due to kulaks killing their animals to sabotage the Soviet Union. The number of tractors increased from 34,900 to 204,100 during the First Five Year Plan, and the number of combine harvesters increased from 1,700 to 13,500.

During the Second Five Year Plan, livestock recovered from the kulak sabotage. By 1938, there were more than twice as many sheep, goats, and hogs as there had been in 1933. The number of cattle increased by 64.6% during the Second Five Year Plan and the number of horses increased by 5.4%. The amount of mechanical farm equipment continued to increase, and the number of tractors grew from 210,900 to 483,500.<ref name=":6" />

==== Internal struggles ====
In early 1932, Trotsky sent letters to [[Karl Radek|Radek]], [[Grigory Sokolnikov|Sokolnikov]] and [[Yevgeni Preobrazhensky|Probrazhensky]] and encouraged them to join anti-[[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]] activities. [[Leonid Nikolaev]] assassinated [[Sergei Kirov]] in December 1934 in a party office in Leningrad. [[Grigory Zinoviev]], a [[Trotskyism|Trotskyist]], had inspired the assassination.<ref name=":0223" /><sup>:116–9</sup>

Members of the Right Opposition also planned to overthrow the Soviet government, and Moscow party leader [[Martemyan Ryutin]] released a 200-page platform calling for the overthrow of the CPSU leadership and decollectivization.<ref name=":0223" /><sup>:135–41</sup>

Marshal [[Mikhail Tukhachevsky|Tukhachevsky]] and other military officials were executed in 1937 for planning to assassinate Stalin and install a pro-German government, and the political commissar system of the Civil War was introduced to prevent a [[Napoleon Bonaparte|Napoleon]]-style military coup.<ref name=":0223" /><sup>:150–2</sup> In 1939, Colonel Tokaev met with five high-ranking Red Army officers and discussed a plan to overthrow Stalin in the case of war.<ref name=":0223" /><sup>:135–41</sup>

In July 1937, Stalin and [[Vyacheslav Molotov|Molotov]] released a list of 72,950 criminals and wreckers to be executed, and [[Nikolai Yezhov|Yezhov]] signed the list. All executions had to be approved by troikas. In late 1937, local authorities attempted to increase execution quotas and purge innocent party members. In January 1938, the Central Committee criticized excessive repression, and [[Lavrentiy Beria|Beria]] even called Yezhov a [[German Reich (1933–1945)|Nazi]] agent in late 1938. On 11 November 1938, Stalin ordered Yezhov to stop the purges.<ref name=":0223" /><sup>:166–7</sup>

===Great Patriotic War===
<blockquote>''See main article: [[Second World War]]''</blockquote>[[File:Death to invaders poster.png|thumb|290x290px|"Death to the German invaders"]]Contrary to the propaganda that mentioned that Stalin wasn't ready for the war, on January 31st, 1931, he mentions the importance of the creation of an industrial base in the Ural mountains, Siberia and Kazakhstan.<ref>{{Citation|author=Domenico Losurdo, David Ferreira|year=2020|title=Stalin: The History and Critique of a Black Legend|chapter=How to Cast a God into Hell: The Khrushchev Report|section=The Quick Unraveling of the Blitzkrieg|page=22|quote=In fact, Stalin had insisted repeatedly and vigorously on this. On January 31st, 1931, he pushes forward the “creation of a new and well-equipped industrial base in the Ural Mountains, Siberia and Kazakhstan.”|lg=http://library.lol/main/fab891d8f6bbf7bb49e78240483751e4|trans-lang=Italian}}</ref> Following the [[Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)|Italian]] invasion of [[Ethiopian Empire|Ethiopia]] in 1935, the USSR proposed a collective security system for Europe and signed defense treaties with France and [[Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938)|Czechoslovakia]]. Germany and [[Empire of Japan (1868–1947)|Japan]] signed the [[Anti-Comintern Pact]] in November 1936, and Italy joined soon after. In May 1938, the USSR sent 40 divisions to guard the western border of Czechoslovakia from Germany, but Britain and France negotiated with Germany to let the Nazis annex the Sudeten region of Czechoslovakia. When the Nazis annexed the rest of Czechoslovakia, the USSR began more negotiations with Britain and France, but they refused to make an alliance and Britain instead made a secret agreement with the Nazis agreeing to protect the British Empire. Poland also refused a defense agreement against Germany. From May to August 1939, the USSR fought off a Japanese invasion of [[Mongolian People's Republic (1924–1992)|Mongolia]].<ref name=":0223" /><sup>:185–7</sup>

In March 1941, Stalin sent 800,000 reservists to the western border of the USSR. On 21 June, a German deserter reported that the Nazis would attack the next night. [[Semen Tymoshenko|Tymoshenko]] and [[Georgy Zhukov|Zhukov]] alerted all units and told them to occupy firing posts in fortified areas. Germany bombed border cities in the morning of 22 June and Stalin ordered the Politburo to convene. Two days after the Nazi invasion, the Soviets managed to move over 1500 major industrial companies after the Urals.<ref>{{Citation|author=Domenico Losurdo, David Ferreira|year=2020|title=Stalin: The History and Critique of a Black Legend|chapter=How to Cast a God into Hell: The Khrushchev Report|section=The Quick Unraveling of the Blitzkrieg|page=22|quote=Yes, “created two days after the German invasion, the Evacuation Committee managed to move to the East 1,500 major industrial companies, after titanic operations of great logistic complexity.”|lg=http://libgen.li/ads.php?md5=fab891d8f6bbf7bb49e78240483751e4|trans-lang=Italian}}</ref> On 26 June, the Red Army began building a reserve front 300 km behind the front lines. The Nazis broke the Western Front and approached Minsk in the same day.<ref name=":0223" /><sup>:191–223</sup> Hitler himself was amazed at the resistance posed by the Soviet Union, mentioning that they found railways that weren't on the maps, huge factories where only villages were before, and himself exclaiming "How is it possible that such a primitive people can reach such technical objectives in such a short period of time?"<ref>{{Citation|author=Domenico Losurdo, David Ferreira|year=2020|title=Stalin: The History and Critique of a Black Legend|chapter=How to Cast a God into Hell: The Khrushchev Report|section=The Quick Unraveling of the Blitzkrieg|page=23|quote=November 29th, 1941:
How is it possible that such a primitive people can reach such technical objectives in such a short period of time?

August 26th, 1942:
With respect to Russia, it is incontestable that Stalin raised the standard of living. The
Russian people don’t go hungry [at the moment when Operation Barbarossa was launched]. In general, it’s necessary to recognize that they have built factories of similar importance to Hermann Goering Reichswerke where two years ago nothing but unknown villages existed. We come across railway lines that aren’t on the maps.|lg=http://library.lol/main/fab891d8f6bbf7bb49e78240483751e4|trans-lang=Italian}}</ref>

During the Second World War, the Soviet Union took control of the [[Baltics|Baltic states]] and liberated them from [[Fascism|fascist]] rule.<ref name=":04">{{Citation|author=Albert Szymanski|year=1984|title=Human Rights in the Soviet Union|chapter=|page=|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceazdmtb2y3qq27fve5ib3gk7uv2unt6ae2xss74xmfpur7k5uhl5m?filename=Albert%20Szymanski%20-%20Human%20Rights%20in%20the%20Soviet%20Union_%20Including%20Comparisons%20with%20the%20U.S.A.-Zed%20Books%20Ltd.%20%281984%29.pdf|city=London|publisher=Zed Books Ltd|isbn=0862320186|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=C597B1232D9EA6B0F3DCB438D7E15A81}}</ref><sup>:78–82</sup> On 8 August 1945, exactly three months after the defeat of Nazi Germany, Soviet troops entered [[Empire of (Great) Manchuria|Manchuria]] and [[Korea]], and Japan surrendered within a week.<ref name=":12">{{Citation|author=Stephen Gowans|year=2018|title=Patriots, Traitors and Empires: The Story of Korea’s Struggle for Freedom|chapter=|page=|pdf=https://ipfs.io/ipfs/bafykbzaced4iiga4ngtxusr2civjxewbili5jne2sbpefbx2s3im2kphattzc?filename=Stephen%20Gowans%20-%20Patriots%2C%20Traitors%20and%20Empires_%20The%20Story%20of%20Korea%E2%80%99s%20Struggle%20for%20Freedom-Baraka%20Books%20%282018%29.pdf|city=Montreal|publisher=Baraka Books|isbn=9781771861427|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=8435F6FF91279531705764823FDC2A7F}}</ref><sup>:72</sup> The USSR and United States then agreed to temporarily divide Korea along the 38th parallel, with the occupation lasting no more than five years. The Soviets left Korea in late 1948, but the US military did not and continues to occupy [[Republic of Korea|south Korea]] to this day.<ref name=":12" /><sup>:79</sup>

=== Postwar period ===
==== Stalin's last years ====
The Fourth Five-Year Plan began in February 1946, and industry recovered to prewar levels by 1948. By 1950, industrial production was 73% higher than 1940 and consumer goods were 23% higher. The USSR developed its first [[Nuclear weapon|atomic bomb]] in 1947, ending the USA's nuclear monopoly.<ref name=":0223" /><sup>:239–45</sup>

After the war, Stalin and [[Andrei Zhdanov|Zhdanov]] initially wanted to reduce military and heavy industry spending. Stalin changed his mind when the [[Marshall Plan]] and [[Truman Doctrine]] showed that the United States was committed to destroying the USSR. By 1952, industrial production reached 2.5 times the amount from before the Second World War.<ref name=":02" /><sup>:18–53</sup>

The USSR recognized [[State of Israel|Israel]] shortly after its founding but reversed its position in 1953 and supported [[Arab Republic of Egypt|Egypt]] against Israel in the [[Six-Day War]].'''<ref name=":04" />'''<sup>:90–5</sup>

==== Khrushchev period ====
After Stalin died in 1953, [[Nikita Khrushchev]] became General Secretary and [[Georgy Malenkov]] became Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars. The Central Committee under Khrushchev secretly arrested [[Lavrentiy Beria]], head of the [[People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs|NKVD]], and began releasing [[Counterrevolution|counterrevolutionaries]] from prison.

In January 1954, Khrushchev introduced the Virgin Lands policy in an attempt to increase agricultural production by farming new areas in Siberia and Kazakhstan. 300,000 volunteers cultivated 13 million hectares of land in the first year and another 14 million the next year. Molotov criticized this policy for redirecting resources away from industrialization. The campaign was initially very successful, peaking in 1956, but it declined after that and ended in 1964. Khrushchev also tried to increase cattle production by growing corn to feed livestock and promoted chemical fertilizers instead of rotating crops.

Khrushchev delivered a "Secret Speech" in 1956 condemning Stalin. Although most of the Central Committee supported the speech, Molotov, Malenkov, Kaganovich, and [[Kliment Voroshilov|Voroshilov]] said it gave an unbalanced account of Stalin. In 1957, the Presidium voted 7 to 3 (with one abstention) to remove Khrushchev from power. The Central Committee then expelled Molotov, Malenkov, Shepilov, and Kaganovich from positions of power.

Khrushchev decentralized economic planning and replaced it with local planning authorities. He allowed some counterrevolutionary propaganda including [[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn|Solzhenitsyn]]'s novels to be published. He reduced quality of cadre by allowing mass recruitment into the party, required a third of officials to be replaced at every election, and split the party into industrial and agricultural sections.<ref name=":02" /><sup>:18–53</sup>

In the late 1950s, the Soviet Union rescinded the 1920 [[Karakhan Manifesto]], which returned all Chinese territories occupied by the Russian Empire to China.<ref name=":122222">{{Citation|author=[[Vijay Prashad]]|year=2008|title=The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World|chapter=Tawang|page=166|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceascnzh26r5d6uitjjs2z7rflhaxlt7rboz5whzdf76qg6xxvecqq?filename=%28A%20New%20Press%20People%27s%20history%29%20Vijay%20Prashad%20-%20The%20darker%20nations_%20a%20people%27s%20history%20of%20the%20third%20world-The%20New%20Press%20%282008%29.pdf|publisher=The New Press|isbn=9781595583420|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=9B40B96E830128A7FE0E0E887C06829F}}</ref>

==== Brezhnev period ====
The [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|CPSU]] removed Khrushchev from power in 1964 and reintroduced central planning. [[Leonid Brezhnev|Brezhnev]] succeeded Khrushchev as General Secretary and served until 1982. He replaced Khrushchev's replacement policy with a stability of cadre policy which resisted changes in leadership. He also reversed Khrushchev's division of the party and mass recruitment. Although the Brezhnev period is often seen as a period of stagnation, the Soviet economy continued to grow more than twice as fast as Western countries. Unfortunately, Brezhnev was also responsible for nepotism and corruption.<ref name=":02" /><sup>:18–53</sup> In addition, the black market grew during this period and led to the creation of a [[Petty bourgeoisie|petty-bourgeois]] class.<ref name=":02" /><sup>:63</sup>

==== Andropov year ====
After Brezhnev's death in 1982, [[Yuri Andropov]] was elected as General Secretary. He attempted to reverse the revisionist policies of his predecessors but died of kidney failure only 15 months into his term. He planned to modernize Soviet technology, improve economic planning, and combat absenteeism and drunkenness in the workplace.<ref name=":02" /><sup>:18–53</sup>

===Decline and counterrevolution===

====Glasnost and perestroika====
[[Mikhail Gorbachev]] became General Secretary of the CPSU in 1985 and introduced [[Liberalism|liberal]] reforms. A group led by Premier [[Nikolai Ryzhkov]] favored using science and technology to increase production instead of Gorbachev's privatization. Central Committee Secretary [[Lev Zaikov]] supported changing investment policy and promoting inspections and wage differentials. Second Secretary [[Yegor Ligachyov]] opposed consumerism and corruption and upheld central planning and discipline.<ref name=":02" /><sup>:110–1</sup> 

At the 19th Party Conference in June 1988, Gorbachev proposed a new system of government. It consisted of a Congress of People's Deputies with 50% of seats reserved for non-party members, and a smaller Supreme Soviet elected by the Congress. The Congress would elect an executive president instead of a Council of People's Commissars.<ref name=":02" /><sup>:148–9</sup>

Gorbachev ended assistance to Soviet allies in [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992)|Afghanistan]] and [[Warsaw Pact|Eastern Europe]] in 1988, allowing widespread [[Counterrevolutions of 1989|counterrevolution]]. He and [[Alexander Yakovlev|Yakovlev]] ignored [[Nationalism|nationalist]] and separatist movements in the Baltics. Gorbachev also failed to respond to nationalist riots in [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (1936–1991)|Kazakhstan]] and even incited a rebellion of Armenians in [[Nagorno-Karabakh]] to embarrass his political opponents.<ref name=":02" /><sup>:157–64</sup> Shortages were common, caused by Gorbachev's policies, as well as economic sanctions, and being forced to participate in the Arms Race, which drained money and resources.

Between 1989 and 1991, Gorbachev changed the CPSU from a [[vanguard party]] into a parliamentary party, undermined central planning, encouraged black market activity, allowed the West to infiltrate media through ''[[glasnost]]'', and surrendered to  the United States in terms of foreign policy, abandoning [[anti-imperialism]] and seeking Western support. He changed positions on the national question and initially attempted to repress Baltic separatists before negotiating with them.<ref name=":02" /><sup>:170–205</sup>

==== Yeltsin–Gorbachev struggle ====
The March 1989 elections to Congress of People's Deputies overrepresented intellectuals and underrepresented workers and peasants. 87% of its members were from the CPSU, but 44% of party members who ran unopposed were not elected. [[Boris Yeltsin]] was elected, but many party leaders lost their positions. Members of the Congress disputed basic ideas of Marxism–Leninism such as the vanguard party and [[Marxist economics]].

In 1989, a massive mine strike began, which was the first major labor unrest since the 1920s. The government shipped large quantities of food and supplies to mining areas.

By early 1990, there was a system of [[dual power]] in which Gorbachev controlled the USSR and Yeltsin controlled Russia. Yeltsin took control of most of the Soviet media between 1989 and 1991 and took power in Moscow and Leningrad by March 1990. Anti-Soviet groups such as the [[Social democracy|social-democratic]] [[Democratic Platform]] and the [[Market socialism|market socialist]] [[Marxist Platform]] formed within the CPSU. After the 28th Party Congress in July 1990, Yeltsin and the Democratic Platform left the CPSU, and left-oppositionists such as [[Yegor Ligachyov|Ligachyov]] founded the [[Communist Party of the Russian Federation|CPRF]]. The party collapsed after the Congress and approached bankruptcy.

Gorbachev removed the CPSU's influence in the [[Soviet Army]] and shrank the army from 5.3 million to under 4 million. As late as May 1990, 70% of the Central Committee opposed Gorbachev, and the majority of the workers voted to keep the USSR in March 1991. Black market profits and organized crime funded pro-capitalist politicians. The [[Democratic Russia]] group opposed the vanguard party and promoted parliamentary control of the [[Committee for State Security|KGB]], a market economy, and the sovereignty of the RSFSR.

In July 1990, Gorbachev removed Ryzhkov from power and made a deal with Yeltsin, then the head of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet. Ryzhkov and his economist, [[Leonid Abalkin]], had proposed a six-year plan of gradual privatization, but Gorbachev and Yeltsin chose [[Stanislav Shatalin]] to privatize the economy within 500 days. The plan gave all taxing power to the republics and prioritized the laws of each republic over all-union laws. Gorbachev eventually criticized the plan for being too rapid, but his followers, including Yakovlev, [[Eduard Shevardnadze|Shevardnadze]], [[Georgy Shakhnazarov|Shakhnazarov]], [[Roy Medvedev|Medvedev]], and [[Anatoly Chernyayev|Chernyayev]], supported it.<ref name=":02" /><sup>:170–205</sup>

==== August Coup ====
<blockquote>''See main article: [[August Coup|August Coup]]''</blockquote>The August Coup occurred between August 19 and 22, 1991 and was an attempt by hardliners in the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU) to oust revisionist [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] from office and roll-back his policies. The coup was planned by top military and civilian officials, including Vice President [[Gennady Yanayev]], who together formed the State Committee on the State of Emergency (GKChP).

The GKChP hardliners dispatched [[KGB]] agents, who detained Gorbachev at his dacha in [[Crimea]] but failed to detain the recently elected president of a newly reconstituted [[Russia]], [[Boris Yeltsin]], who had been both an ally and critic of Gorbachev. The coup's failure was instrumental in the [[Overthrow of the Soviet Union|counterrevolution which overthrew the Soviet Union]] four months later in December 1991.{{Citation needed}}

====Dissolution====
<blockquote>''See main article: [[Overthrow of the Soviet Union|Overthrow of the USSR]]''</blockquote>The overthrow of the Soviet Union was the process of [[Bourgeoisie|bourgeois]] counter-revolution which culminated in the disintegration of the USSR into independent states in December of 1991. Among the various causes for dissolution was the organization of a bourgeois class inside the USSR under a 'shadow economy' which effectively guaranteed their interests through corrupt officials of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). It's generally accepted that the political and economic policies of Khrushchev, Brezhnev and ultimately Gorbachev paved the way for counter-revolution in the USSR.

==Government==

===Elections===
[[File:British vs. Soviet electoral system.png|thumb|371x371px|Diagram contrasting the British and Soviet electoral systems]]
Before 1936, [[Clergy|priests]], landlords, [[Bourgeoisie|capitalists]], and former [[White movement|Whites]] were not allowed to vote. The 1936 Soviet constitution removed these restrictions so all citizens aged 18 or older could vote, with the exception of insane people and convicted criminals disenfranchised by a court. Under the 1924 constitution, the people elected the lowest level of representatives and higher soviets were elected indirectly. The 1936 constitution made all soviets from the local to all-union level directly elected.<ref>{{Citation|author=Joseph Stalin|year=1939|title=History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks)|chapter=The Bolshevik Party in the Struggle to Complete the Building of the Socialist Society. Introduction of the New Constitution|mia=https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1939/x01/ch03.htm|chapter-url=https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1939/x01/ch12.htm}}</ref>

===Supreme Soviet===
The [[Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union]] was the legislature of the USSR and was elected every four years. It consisted of two branches: the [[Soviet of the Union]], which was elected based on population, and the [[Soviet of Nationalities]], which was elected according to the republics, [[Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics|ASSRs]], [[autonomous oblasts]], and [[autonomous okrugs]] of the Soviet Union. Either house could initiate legislation and it had to be passed by a majority vote of both houses to become law. Each house elected a chairman and two vice-chairmen to preside over their sessions, which occurred twice every year. The [[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union|Presidium of the Supreme Soviet]] could also convene special sessions.<ref name=":2" /> Before 1936, the Supreme Soviet was known as the [[Congress of Soviets]] and the Soviet of the Union was known as the [[Federal Soviet]].<ref name=":1">{{Citation|author=Second All-Union Congress of Soviets|year=1924|title=Constitution of the Soviet Union|title-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1924)|chapter=}}</ref>

The Federal Soviet was elected with one deputy per 25,000 urban inhabitants or 125,000 rural inhabitants.<ref name=":1" /> After 1936, the Soviet of the Union had one deputy for every 300,000 inhabitants.<ref name=":2">{{Citation|author=[[Joseph Stalin]]|year=1936|title=Constitution of the Soviet Union|title-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1936)|chapter=The Highest Organs of State Authority of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics}}</ref>

From 1924 to 1936, the Soviet of Nationalities had five deputies for every union republic and one for every autonomous republic and autonomous oblast.<ref name=":1" /> In 1936, this was changed to 25 for every union republic, ten for each ASSR, five for each autonomous oblast, and one for each autonomous okrug.<ref name=":2" /> In 1977, it was changed again so that every SSR would have 32 deputies and every ASSR would have 11.<ref>{{Citation|author=Government of the Soviet Union|year=1977|title=Constitution of the Soviet Union|title-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1977,_Unamended)|chapter=Higher Bodies of State Authority and Administration of the USSR}}</ref>

===Presidium===
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union was elected at a combined session of the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities. It consisted of a [[President of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union|President]], Secretary, one vice president from every union republic, and 24 members.<ref name=":1" />

===Council of People's Commissars===
The [[Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union|Council of People's Commissars]] (Sovnarkom) was the executive branch of the USSR and was elected at a joint session of the Soviet of the Union and Soviet of Nationalities.<ref name=":1" />

===Supreme Court===
The [[Supreme Court of the Soviet Union|Supreme Court]] was the highest court in the Soviet Union and was elected by the Supreme Soviet once every five years.<ref name=":1" />

==Administrative divisions==
<blockquote>''See main articles: [[Soviet republic (system of government)]] and [[Republics of the Soviet Union]]''</blockquote>
Constitutionally, the USSR was a federation of constituent Union Republics, which were either unitary states, such as [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukraine]] or [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic|Byelorussia]] (SSRs), or federations, such as [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russia]] or [[Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic|Transcaucasia]] (SFSRs), all four being the founding republics who signed the [[Declaration and Treaty on the Formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]] in December 1922. In 1924, during the [[National delimitation in the Soviet Union|national delimitation]] in [[Central Asia]], [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Uzbekistan]] and [[Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic|Turkmenistan]] were formed from parts of Russia's [[Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Turkestan ASSR]] and two Soviet dependencies, the [[Khorezm People's Soviet Republic|Khorezm]] and [[Bukharan People's Soviet Republic|Bukharan SSRs]]. In 1929, [[Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic|Tajikistan]] was split off from the Uzbekistan SSR. With the constitution of 1936, the Transcaucasian SFSR was dissolved, resulting in its constituent republics of [[Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|Armenia]], [[Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic|Georgia]] and [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|Azerbaijan]] being elevated to Union Republics, while [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Kazakhstan]] and [[Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic|Kirghizia]] were split off from Russian SFSR, resulting in the same status.<ref>{{Citation|last=Adams, Simon |title=Russian Republics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LyqIDCc-cSsC |year=2005 |page=21 |publisher=Black Rabbit Books |isbn=978-1-58340-606-9|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512041101/http://books.google.com/books?id=LyqIDCc-cSsC&dq|archive-date=12 May 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> In August 1940, [[Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic|Moldavia]] was formed from parts of Ukraine and [[Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina|Bessarabia]] and Ukrainian SSR. [[Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic|Estonia]], [[Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic|Latvia]] and [[Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic|Lithuania]] (SSRs) were also [[Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940)|admitted into the union]]. [[Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic|Karelia]] was split off from Russia as a Union Republic in March 1940 and was reabsorbed in 1956. Between July 1956 and September 1991, there were 15 union republics (see map below).<ref>{{Citation|last=Feldbrugge, Ferdinand Joseph Maria |title=Russian Law: The Rnd of the Soviet system and the Role of Law |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JWt7MN3Dch8C |year=1993 |page=94 |publisher=[[Martinus Nijhoff Publishers]] |isbn=978-0-7923-2358-7|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512041218/http://books.google.com/books?id=JWt7MN3Dch8C&dq|archive-date=12 May 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

While nominally a union of equals, in practice the Soviet Union was dominated by [[Russians]]. The domination was so absolute that for most of its existence, the country was commonly (but incorrectly) referred to as "Russia". While the RSFSR was technically only one republic within the larger union, it was by far the largest (both in terms of population and area), most powerful, and most highly developed. The RSFSR was also the industrial center of the Soviet Union.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
|-
! colspan="2" |Republic
!Map of the Union Republics between 1956 and 1991
|-
|1
|[[File:Flag_of_the_Armenian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic_(1952–1990).svg|25x25px|]] [[Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|Armenian SSR]]
| rowspan="15" style="width:350px;" |[[File:Republics_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1956-1991).svg|600px]]
|-
|2
|[[File:Flag_of_the_Azerbaijan_Soviet_Socialist_Republic_(1956–1991).svg|25x25px|]] [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (1936–1991)|Azerbaijan SSR]]
|-
|3
|[[File:Flag_of_the_Byelorussian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic_(1951–1991).svg|25x25px|]] [[Byelorussian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic_(1920–1991)|Byelorussian SSR]]

|-
|4
|[[File:Flag_of_the_Estonian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic_(1953–1990).svg|25x25px|]] [[Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (1940–1991)|Estonian SSR]]
|-
|5
|[[File:Flag_of_the_Georgian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic_(1951–1990).svg|25x25px|]] [[Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (1921–1991)|Georgian SSR]]
|-
|6
|[[File:Flag_of_the_Kazakh_Soviet_Socialist_Republic.svg|25x25px|]] [[Kazakh_Soviet_Socialist_Republic_(1936–1991)|Kazakh SSR]]

|-
|7
|[[File:Flag_of_the_Kyrgyz_Soviet_Socialist_Republic.svg|25x25px|]] [[Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (1936–1991)|Kirghiz SSR]]
|-
|8
|[[File:Flag_of_the_Latvian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic_(1953–1990).svg|25x25px|]] [[Latvian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic|Latvian SSR]]

|-
|9
|[[File:Flag_of_the_Lithuanian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic_(1953–1988).svg|25x25px|]] [[Lithuanian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic|Lithuanian SSR]]

|-
|10
|[[File:Flag_of_the_Moldavian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic_(1952–1990).svg|25x25px|]] [[Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (1940–1991)|Moldavian SSR]]
|-
|11
|[[File:Flag_of_the_Russian_Soviet_Federative_Socialist_Republic_(1954–1991).svg|25x25px|]] [[Russian_Soviet_Federative_Socialist_Republic_(1917–1991)|Russian SFSR]]

|
|-
|12
|[[File:Flag_of_the_Tajik_Soviet_Socialist_Republic.svg|25x25px|]] [[Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (1929–1991)|Tajik SSR]]
|-
|13
|[[File:Flag_of_the_Turkmen_Soviet_Socialist_Republic_(1973–1991).svg|25x25px|]] [[Turkmen_Soviet_Socialist_Republic_(1925–1991)|Turkmen SSR]]

|-
|14
|[[File:Flag_of_the_Ukrainian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic.svg|25x25px|]] [[Ukrainian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic_(1919–1991)|Ukrainian SSR]]

|-
|15
|[[File:Flag_of_the_Uzbek_Soviet_Socialist_Republic_(1952–1991).svg|25x25px|]] [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (1924–1991)|Uzbek SSR]]
|}

==Economy==
In the Soviet Union, the richest people earned about five times as much money as the poorest. The income gap was tiny compared to the United States, where billionaires have many thousands of times more money than the poorest workers.<ref name=":8">{{Web citation|author=Carlos Martinez|newspaper=[[Invent the Future]]|title=Why doesn’t the Soviet Union exist any more? Part 1: Introduction|date=2017-11-19|url=https://invent-the-future.org/2017/11/why-doesnt-the-soviet-union-exist-any-more-part-1-introduction/#fnref:12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211213148/https://invent-the-future.org/2017/11/why-doesnt-the-soviet-union-exist-any-more-part-1-introduction/|archive-date=2022-02-11|retrieved=2022-10-08}}</ref> Peasants made up 83% of the population in 1926 but only 20% in 1975, while the industrial workforce grew from five to 62 million during the same period.<ref name=":02" /><sup>:63</sup>

===Planning===
[[File:Tenth five year plan poster.png|thumb|240x240px|"Shock work for the 10th five-year plan!"]]
The Soviet economy was a [[planned economy]], in which much of the economic planning was aided by teams of mathematicians and economists. These plans were enacted in the form of five year plans.

These five year plans used production quotas to encourage growth of the Soviet economy. Contrary to popular belief, these quotas were based on previous production records, available technology, amid many other factors

===Agriculture===
Farms and farm equipment in the USSR were collectively owned. Grain production increased by 63% from the late 1950s to the late 1970s to reach 199 million tonnes per year. In the late 1950s, the USSR began to increase the proportion of grain used as animal feed in order to increase meat, egg, and dairy production. Total agricultural production increased by 147% between 1950 and 1977 while U.S. production only increased by 64% during the same period.

The USSR's geography made agriculture difficult because only 10% of its land was suitable for grain farming and 30% was too cold for any agriculture.<ref name=":04" /><sup>:128–40</sup>

===Housing and construction===
After the October Revolution, hundreds of thousands of workers moved from slums to nationalized houses. In 1919, a decree was passed setting a minimum of at least 8.25 square meters of living space per person, 30 cubic meters of air space for every adult, and 20 cubic meters for every child. This space only included living and bed rooms, not bathrooms or entrances. Rent in the Soviet Union was kept at under 4% of workers' total incomes,<ref name=":3">{{News citation|newspaper=[[Stalin Society]]|title=Housing in the USSR|date=2017-01-13|url=https://stalinsocietygb.wordpress.com/2017/01/13/housing-in-the-ussr/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330020740/https://stalinsocietygb.wordpress.com/2017/01/13/housing-in-the-ussr/|archive-date=2022-03-30|retrieved=2022-05-20}}</ref> and its proportion of income gradually decreased because rent was not increased at all after 1928.<ref name=":04" /><sup>:128–40</sup>

In 1920, 254 residential buildings were built and 2,347 were repaired. From 1923 to 1927, 12.5 million square meters of living space were built. From 1927 to 1931, another 28.85 million were built. The average living space for each worker greatly increased from the revolution to 1938: there was a 94% increase in Moscow, 100% in Leningrad, 176% in the [[Donbass]], and 195% in the Urals.<ref name=":3" />

===Industry and manufacturing===

===Services===

===Environment===

==Infrastructure==

===Transportation===
The standard fare for the Soviet subway was only five kopeks, or roughly eight U.S. cents, and remained constant from the 1930s to the 1980s.<ref name=":04" /><sup>:128–40</sup>

===Energy===

===Science and technology===

== Demographics ==

=== National groups ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Nationalities by republic<ref name=":04" /><sup>:52–7</sup>
!Republic
!Local nationality (1979)
!Russian population (1979)
!Change in local nationality (1959–1979)
|-
|Armenia
|89.7%
|2.3%
| +1.7%
|-
|Azerbaijan
|78.1%
|7.9%
| +10.6%
|-
|Belarus
|79.4%
|11.9%
| -1.7%
|-
|Estonia
|64.7%
|27.9%
| -9.9%
|-
|Georgia
|68.8%
|7.4%
| +4.5%
|-
|Kazakhstan
|36.0%
|40.8%
| +6.0%
|-
|Kyrgyzstan
|47.9%
|25.9%
| +7.2%
|-
|Latvia
|53.7%
|32.8%
| -8.3%
|-
|Lithuania
|80.0%
|8.9%
| +0.7%
|-
|Moldova
|63.9%
|12.8%
| -1.5%
|-
|Russia
|82.6%
|82.6%
| -0.7%
|-
|Tajikistan
|58.8%
|10.4%
| +5.7%
|-
|[[Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1920–1990)|Tatarstan]]<ref group="note">Data from 1970 instead of 1979</ref>
|49.1%
|
| +1.9%
|-
|Turkmenistan
|68.4%
|12.6%
| +7.5%
|-
|Ukraine
|73.6%
|21.1%
| -3.2%
|-
|Uzbekistan
|68.7%
|10.8%
| +7.6%
|}

=== Languages ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Languages by republic (1970)<ref name=":04" /><sup>:52–3</sup>
!Republic
!Native speakers from local nationality
!Books titles in local language
!Newspapers in local language
|-
|Armenia
|91.4%
|75%
|88%
|-
|Azerbaijan
|98.2%
|64%
|80%
|-
|Belarus
|80.2%
|21%
|75%
|-
|Estonia
|95.5%
|74%
|72%
|-
|Georgia
|98.4%
|73%
|86%
|-
|Kazakhstan
|98.0%
|31%
|37%
|-
|Kyrgyzstan
|98.8%
|47%
|55%
|-
|Latvia
|95.2%
|52%
|64%
|-
|Lithuania
|97.9%
|64%
|81%
|-
|Moldova
|95.0%
|31%
|47%
|-
|Russia
|
|93%
|93%
|-
|Tajikistan
|98.5%
|52%
|84%
|-
|Tatarstan
|89.2%
|
|
|-
|Turkmenistan
|98.9%
|65%
|70%
|-
|Ukraine
|85.7%
|37%
|80%
|-
|Uzbekistan
|98.6%
|44%
|57%
|}
In several republics, the circulation of books and newspapers in the local language was much higher than the percentage of book titles. For example, in Kazakhstan, the majority of individual books were in Kazakh even though only 31% of titles were in Kazakh. In Azerbaijan, 97% of magazine circulation was in Azeri.<ref name=":04" /><sup>:52</sup>

== Living standards ==
In 1917, the Bolsheviks reduced the working day to 8 hours. Workers had 12 to 48 guaranteed vacation days per year. The average person in the Soviet Union ate over 3,000 kilocalories per day and had a better diet than in the United States. By the 1980s, the Soviet Union had the seventh best diet in the world.<ref name=":7" /> Soviet citizens ate an average of 103 grams of protein per day, more than the UK, [[Federal Republic of Germany|West Germany]], [[Kingdom of Sweden|Sweden]], or [[Italian Republic|Italy]], and had a higher caloric intake than the UK, West Germany, or Sweden.<ref name=":04" /><sup>:128–40</sup>

Literacy increased from under 30% before the revolution to 87.4% in 1939 and reached 100% by 1970.<ref name=":7" />

Basic foods like bread, meat, dairy, and potatoes were heavily subsidized. Housing, medicine, transportation, and insurance combined only took up 15% of an average family's income.<ref name=":04" /><sup>:128–40</sup>

=== Working conditions ===
In the late 1960s, the Soviet Union adopted the 40-hour work week. The 1977 Constitution set the maximum at 41 hours with exceptions for national security; averting disasters; socially essential work such as transport, water supply, and electricity; completing work to avoid damage to [[means of production]]; and repair/maintenance to avoid putting other workers out of work.

Workers throughout the USSR had three weeks of paid vacation plus optional unpaid vacation. People who worked at night or in dangerous industries such as coal mining only worked for six or seven hours but received eight hours of pay.<ref name=":04" /><sup>:128–40</sup>

=== Education ===
Education in the Soviet Union was free<ref>{{Citation|author=Joseph Stalin|year=1936|title=Constitution of the Soviet Union|title-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1936)|chapter=Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens|section=Article 121|city=Moscow}}</ref> and was mandatory between the ages of 8 and 15. There were also ten-year schools that went to the age of 18, but the last three years were not mandatory before the Great Patriotic War. The curriculum included nature study, art, music, social science, and foreign languages.<ref name=":0">{{News citation|author=Anglo-Soviet Youth Friendship Alliance|newspaper=Revolutionary Democracy|title=Education in the U.S.S.R.|url=http://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/archive/anglosov.htm|retrieved=2022-04-17|date=1942}}</ref> School days lasted between 4.5 and 6 hours, depending on age.<ref name=":0" /> Education was available in 52 different languages.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Eugene Puryear|newspaper=[[Liberation School]]|title=Nations and Soviets: The National Question in the USSR|date=2022-06-12|url=https://www.liberationschool.org/nations-and-soviets-the-national-question-in-the-ussr/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613003437/https://www.liberationschool.org/nations-and-soviets-the-national-question-in-the-ussr/|archive-date=2022-06-13|retrieved=2022-08-31}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Number of school students
!
!1913
!1929
!1933
!1942
|-
|7-year schools
|6,800,000
|11,700,000
|21,300,000
|23,000,000
|-
|10-year schools
|1,000,000
|2,700,000
|5,500,000
|17,000,000
|-
|Total
|7,800,000
|14,400,000
|33,400,000
|40,000,000
|}
Between 1932 and 1937, 20,000 schools were built in the Soviet Union. Between 1938 and 1941, 20,000 more schools were built and 500,000 new teachers were trained. Between 1913 and 1940, the number of libraries in the USSR increased by 57,400. 12% of the USSR's national budget was spent on education.

Children aged 12 and older formed committees to care for school property and help other students. Corporal punishment was illegal.<ref name=":0" />

====Literacy rates====
[[File:To have more we must produce more.png|thumb|257x257px|"To have more, we must produce more. To produce more, we must know more."]]
Before the October Revolution, most people in Central Asia were illiterate. By the late 1930s, most people throughout the Soviet Union could read and literacy was nearly universal by the late 1950s.<ref name=":8" />

====Preschool====
Optional preschool and kindergarten were available in the Soviet Union from birth to the age of 8. In 1932, there were 600,000 children in daycares; this number increased to three million by 1937.<ref name=":0" /> Child care was either free or very cheap.<ref name=":04" /><sup>:128–40</sup>

====Universities====
In 1940, there were 700 universities in the USSR with 650,000 students enrolled. There were 22 universities in [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic|Belarus]], 13 in [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|Azerbaijan]], and 30 in [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Uzbekistan]].<ref name=":0" /> The Soviet Union had one of the highest levels of university attendance in the world.<ref name=":04" /><sup>:128–40</sup>

=== Health ===
[[File:Soviet doctor poster.png|thumb|323x323px|"Honor and Respect for the Rural Doctor! The Doctor is the Friend of the People!"]]
[[Nikolai Semashko]], the People's Commissar for Public Health from 1918 to 1930, proposed a health system based on the following principles: 

*Unified principles of organization and centralization of the health care system
*Equal accessibility of healthcare for all citizens
*Priority attention to childhood and maternity
*Unity of preventive healthcare and treatment
*Elimination of social bases of diseases
*Involvement of the society in the cause of healthcare

The public health budget of the USSR increased by 75 times from the Russian Empire's budget in 1913. From the Civil War to 1928, the number of physicians increased from 19,785 to 63,219,<ref name=":5">{{News citation|author=Carlos Rule|newspaper=[[Stalin Society]]|title=Health in the USSR|date=2017-01-18|url=https://stalinsocietygb.wordpress.com/2017/01/18/health-in-the-ussr/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216095354/https://stalinsocietygb.wordpress.com/2017/01/18/health-in-the-ussr/|archive-date=2022-02-16|retrieved=2022-06-27}}</ref> and it reached 334,000 doctors (including dentists) by 1955. Production of pharmaceutical chemicals increased by five times from 1940 to 1950 and 3.1 times from 1950 to 1955 and there were 1,290,000 hospital beds in 1955.<ref name=":4">{{News citation|newspaper=[[Politsturm]]|title=Healthcare Under Socialism: The History of the Soviet Healthcare System|date=2021-09-07|url=https://us.politsturm.com/healthcare-under-socialism-the-history-of-the-soviet-healthcare-system/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112182526/https://us.politsturm.com/healthcare-under-socialism-the-history-of-the-soviet-healthcare-system/|archive-date=2021-11-12|retrieved=2022-05-20}}</ref>

Infant mortality decreased from 25% before the revolution to lower than [[Italian Republic|Italy]] or [[Republic of Austria|Austria]] by 1960,<ref name=":4" /> and child mortality decreased by half from 1917 to 1928.<ref name=":5" />

In 1978, the [[World Health Organization]] recognized the Soviet principles of healthcare as some of the best in the world.<ref name=":4" /> The Soviet Union had the most doctors per capita in the world, 34.6 per 10,000 people, which was more than twice the British level and almost twice the U.S. level. Drugs from hospitals or prescribed for chronic illnesses (70% of all medicines) were completely free.<ref name=":04" /><sup>:128–40</sup>

====By republic====
By 1941, [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (1936–1991)|Azerbaijan]] had 2,500 doctors compared to 291 before the revolution. The number of physicians in [[Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (1929–1991)|Tajikistan]] increased from 13 to 372 over the same time period.<ref name=":5" />

====Life expectancy====
In the Russian Empire, the life expectancy was only 30 years.<ref name=":04" /><sup>:128–40</sup> Soviet life expectancy was 59.4 years in 1953. By 1965, it had increased to 68.4 years, more than twice as long as before the revolution and 15 years more than the world average at the time.<ref name=":7" /> It increased to 70.4 years by 1975, which was slightly lower than [[Japan]] or Western Europe but higher than [[Republic of Finland|Finland]] or [[Latin America]]. The Soviet life expectancy was 2.5 years longer than the non-white life expectancy in the United States.<ref name=":04" /><sup>:128–40</sup>

====Infectious diseases====
[[File:Soviet cholera poster.png|thumb|352x352px|"Citizens! Get yourself a cholera vaccine. Only against a vaccine death is powerless."]]
During the [[Russian Civil War]], there were outbreaks of cholera, typhus, and smallpox. The prevalence of typhus decreased by more than twice from 1919 to 1922 and by 80 times by 1927 and the prevalence of malaria decreased by more than three times from 1917 to 1930. Compulsory vaccination for smallpox was introduced in 1919 and it was eradicated by 1937.<ref name=":4" />

==Human rights==
Article 123 of the 1936 [[Constitution of the Soviet Union|Soviet Constitution]] guaranteed national equality and banned [[racism]].<ref name=":10">{{Citation|author=[[Joseph Stalin]]|year=1936|title=Constitution of the Soviet Union (1936)|title-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1936)|chapter=Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens|section=|city=Moscow}}</ref> In 1977, it was moved to article 36.<ref name=":11">{{Citation|author=Government of the Soviet Union|year=1977|title=Constitution of the Soviet Union (1977, Unamended)|title-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Soviet_Union_(1977,_Unamended)|chapter=The State and the Individual|city=Moscow}}</ref>

===Women's rights===
After the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks gave women equal rights in marriage. Women did not have to live with their husbands anymore and could now divorce without their husband's permission as well as own [[personal property]]. Husbands could also divorce without their wife's permission unless she was pregnant or had a child under one year old.<ref name=":04" /><sup>:102–11</sup> Article 122 of the 1936 Constitution and 35 of the 1977 Constitution banned [[sexism]] and guaranteed equal rights for women.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":11" />

Spouses and ex-spouses did not have to support each other economically in most cases. However, an ex-husband had to pay child support to his ex-wife if she was looking after children: 25% of his income for one child, one-third for two children, and 50% for three or more children.<ref name=":04" /><sup>:102–11</sup>

Women's pay could not be lowered because of pregnancy or caring for young children. It was illegal to fire women who were pregnant or had children under one year of age. They could receive pensions starting at the age of 55, five years earlier than men.<ref name=":04" /><sup>:102–11</sup>

In higher education, women earned a majority of the country's economics, law, biology, and chemistry degrees. They also earned engineering, math, and physics degrees at a higher ratio than women in the United States.<ref name=":04" /><sup>:102–11</sup>

===Workers' rights===
{{quote|Stalin, the press, and the Stakhanovite movement all regularly encouraged ordinary people to criticize those in authority. […] Far from basing its rule on the negative means of coercion, the Soviet régime in the late 1930s fostered a limited but positive political role for the populace[.] [A]t lower levels of society, in day-to-day affairs and implementation of policy, [the political structure] was participatory. Only by staying on the surface of the story and limiting the use of evidence to certain kinds of sources can the system be described as one in which coercion overwhelmingly determined the course of workers’ lives. […] Stalin may have been a vicious murderer in the Kremlin, but a few blocks away managers had to grapple with the question of how to make the plan and keep workers on the job at the same time. This and similar issues meant that ultimately relatively little was controlled by government or party decree, which often expressed wishes rather than commands which were then fulfilled.|Robert W. Thurston|<ref name="Thurston">{{Citation|author=Robert W. Thurston|year=1992|title=Reassessing the history of Soviet workers: opportunities to criticize and participate in decision-making, 1935–1941|title-url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wRzUh9CXT7IP1NoPwE3mBIEKPvRoztqz|page=160–88}}</ref>}}

Many arrests in the 1930s were actually late punishments for genuine offenses such as serving in the White Army. Thurston asked ‘If the citizenry was supposed to be terrorized and stop thinking, why encourage criticism and input from below on a large scale?’ and concluded that his ‘evidence suggests that widespread fear did not exist in the case at hand [the Soviet ‘Great Terror’ period]’.<ref>{{Citation|author=Robert W. Thurston|year=1986|title=On Desk-Bound Parochialism, Commonsense Perspectives, and Lousy Evidence: A Reply to Robert Conquest|title-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2499177|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=238–244|doi=10.2307/2499177}}</ref> Soviet trades unions were allowed to criticize and participate in state policies;<ref name="Thurston"/> Soviet workers could openly criticize management, the result of which often ended in favour of the critic.<ref>{{Citation|author=Harry Schwartz|year=1960|title=Soviet Men At the Top; THE RED EXECUTIVE. A Study of the Organization Man in Russian Industry. By David Granick. 334 pp. New York: Doubleday & Co. $4.50|title-url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/05/22/archives/soviet-men-at-the-top-the-red-executive-a-study-of-the-organization.html}}</ref> Thus,

{{quote|One factory director […] implied that production meetings were a real ordeal for him. But at a question as to whether workers dared to criticize openly, he said, “any director who suppressed criticism would be severely punished. he would not only be removed, he would be tried.”|David Granick|<ref name="Granick">{{Citation|author=David Granick|year=1975|title=Restoration of Capitalism in the USSR|title-url=http://www.marx2mao.com/Other/RCSU75.html}}</ref>}}

==Culture==
[[File:Youth-soviet-sports.jpg|thumb|334x334px|"Youth to the stadiums!" B. Reshetnikov, 1962]]

===Sports===
The USSR put a lot of emphasis on sports, as evidenced by the material they produced (such as posters). They were also a participant in the Olympic Games and created their own competing event, the [[Spartakiads]] (named after [[Spartacus]], the rebel slave).

=== Weightlifting ===
The USSR produced many record-setting athletes, mainly in weightlifting, which was a very popular sport in the USSR and remains one to this day in existing socialist countries such as [[People's Republic of China|China]] or the [[Democratic People's Republic of Korea|DPRK]].

The Soviets pioneered their own system, which is today mostly saved and translated by [[Pavel Tsatsouline]]. While most weightlifters today reach their peak around 26 and retire around the age of 35, a few Soviet weightlifters produced world records well past their 30s. This is because their method focused on preserving longevity in their athletes, developed with the scientific method. Athletes were followed by scientists who analysed their data and produced a routine adapted to their level.<ref>{{News citation|journalist=Craig Marker|date=2014-11-14|title=4 secrets of Soviet weightlifting as revealed by Pavel Tsatsouline|url=https://breakingmuscle.com/4-secrets-of-soviet-weightlifting-as-revealed-by-pavel/|newspaper=Breaking Muscle}}</ref>

The most famous Soviet weightlifter is arguably [[Vasily Alekseyev]], who set 80 world records in an eight-year period. He retired at the age of 38 after failing to register a total at the Moscow Olympics, following an injury he sustained in 1978.<ref>{{News citation|title=Vasily Ivanovich Alekseyev Soviet weightlifter|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vasily-Ivanovich-Alekseyev|newspaper=Britannica}}</ref>

===Film===
In January 1922, Lenin issued a series of directions to the [[People’s Commissariat for Education]] on bringing film under socialist administration in the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1917–1991)|RSFSR]]. Lenin called on the Commissariat to supervise all film showings and to register and number every film shown in the republic. Lenin specified that all film screenings maintain a fixed proportion between non-counterrevolutionary entertainment films and a dedicated educational category titled "From the life of peoples of all countries", which would expose Soviet audiences to the realities of imperialism and international capitalism, with examples including Britain's colonial policy in [[British Raj (1858–1947)|India]], the workings of the League of Nations, and the poverty of post-war Berlin.<ref name=":13">{{Citation|last=Lenin|first=Vladimir|author=Vladimir Lenin|year=1922|title=Directives on the Film Business|title-url=https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1922/jan/17.htm}}</ref>

Instead of immediately nationalizing all remaining privately owned cinemas, Lenin instead took a pragmatic approach in allowing private operators to continue under strict state oversight, granted they paid the state in the form of rent. This allowed private operators to have incentive to produce and acquire new pictures. Lenin also said that propaganda and educational films should be reviewed by experienced Marxists and writers before distribution, warning against poor-quality [[Propaganda|agitprop]] that had previously undermined its own message by alienating audiences.<ref name=":13" />

Lenin put a focus on showing films in villages and in the East.<ref name=":13" />

== Further reading ==

* [[:Category:Library works about the Soviet Union|All library works about the Soviet Union]]
* [[:Category:Library documents from the Soviet Union|All library works from the Soviet Union]]

=== Pre-1953 ===

* ''[[Library:Another view of Stalin|Another View of Stalin]]''
* ''[[Library:History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]''
* ''[[Library:Soviet Democracy|Soviet Democracy]]''
* ''[[Library:Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend|Stalin: The History and Critique of a Black Legend]]''

=== Post-1953 ===

* ''[[Library:Human Rights in the Soviet Union|Human Rights in the Soviet Union]]''
* ''[[Library:Socialism Betrayed|Socialism Betrayed]]''

==References==
<references />

===Notes===
<references group="note" />
[[Category:Marxist-Leninist states]]
[[Category:Targets of bourgeois media]]
[[Category:Targets of intelligence operations]]
[[Category:Former socialist states]]
[[Category:Targets of imperialism]]