</image> <image source="map"></image> <label>Type</label> <label>Level</label> <label>Location</label> <label>Inhabitants</label> </infobox>The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or Soviet Union was an authoritarian socialist state that was created by the Bolsheviks in 1922 as the Russian Civil War came to an end. Seen by many as the first communist society in history (although this is heavily disputed), it remains one of the most controversial subjects on the left today.