The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a Marxist-Leninist state that was created by the Bolsheviks in 1922 as the Russian Civil War came to an end. It had a long history, which included fighting Nazi Germany and becoming one of the lead players in the Cold War, before the collapse in 1991.
Positives and Negatives
Positives
- The USSR increased life expectancy from 43 years to 68 years from 1927 to 1989. This becomes notable after life expectancy dropped 6 years after the collapse of the USSR.
- The USSR massively expanded women's rights.
- Industrialise faster than any other society in history in the midst of the Great Depression without trading with other countries.
- The USSR made several massive advances in science, notably putting the first object, animal and person into space. Some notable achievements include:
- AK-47
- Blood Bank
- Jet Packs
- Modern Helicopters
- Nuclear Power Plant
- Postal Codes
- RPG-7
- Space Exploration
- Space Rover
- Space Stations
- Space Suit
- Stem Cells
- Supersonic Aircraft
- The USSR also made several large cultural advancements, including:
- Film Schools
- Miniature Railways
- Montage in Movies
- Tetris
- Almost eliminating unemployment.
- During World War II, the USSR managed to inflict the most damage on Nazi Germany, it's been estimated that 8/10 German deaths in the war were against the USSR.
- From 1927 to 1941, the USSR expanded their freight rail network to be 20x larger than before, surpassing the US. From 1965 to 1980, the USSR build 639km of track a year (or about 1.5km a day).
Major Social Struggles
Note: All of these took place after the seizure of power by Khrushchev and his revisionist clique and restoration of capitalism in 1956, and thus do not represent the socialist USSR under Stalin and the Bolsheviks.
- 1962: Novocherkassk Strike
- 1963: Moscow Protests by African Students
- 1964: Moroccan Embassy in Moscow Sit-In
- 1968: Red Square Anti-War Protests
- 1972: Kaunas' Spring
- 1987: Phosphorite War