Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; U.S.S.R.), former northern Eurasian empire (1917/22–1991) stretching from the Baltic and Black seas to the Pacific Ocean and, in its final years, consisting of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics.

The history of the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, the Soviet Union quickly became a one-party state under the Communist Party.

Learn about the 15 republics that comprised the Soviet Union before its collapse in 1991 and how they have fared since then. Explore the political, economic and cultural challenges and transformations of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan and more.

Learn about the origins, rise and fall of the Soviet Union, the world's first Marxist-Communist state that occupied one-sixth of Earth's land surface. Explore its role in World War II, the Cold War, the space race and the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.

Collapse of the Soviet Union, sequence of events that led to the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. on December 31, 1991. The reforms implemented by President Mikhail Gorbachev and the backlash against them hastened the demise of the Soviet state.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (also known as the USSR or the Soviet Union) consisted of Russia and 14 surrounding countries. The USSR's territory stretched from the Baltic states in Eastern Europe to the Pacific Ocean, including the majority of northern Asia and portions of central Asia.

The Soviet Union, formally known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR for short, was a country that was composed of 15 different units, known as republics. Among these republics was Russia, which was the largest, most populous, and most dominant of the union.

Learn about the 15 post-Soviet states that emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Explore their history, geography, culture, and economy with maps and facts.

One hundred years ago, at the end of December 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was born. A little more than five years after the end of the Russian Revolution that brought the Tsarist Empire to an end, a multi-ethnic nation-state that promised a socialist future and the protection of national identity was established out of ...