USSR or Union of Soviet Socialist Republics which is commonly known as Soviet Union
from the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean
covering an area of 22.4 million square kilometers
It was an alliance of 15 socialist republics
When and how this alliance was formed, when and which countries joined it?
And when and how did it collapse?
And which countries came into being after the collapse?
Does these countries are still in alliance with Russia or Separate from it?
That's all you will know in today's video.
Background
The Russian Empire was a vast empire until the beginning of the twentieth century
The empire included 15 states that later became part of the Soviet Union,
as well as Finland and some parts of Poland, and Turkey
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Vladimir Lenin overthrew the government of "Tsar of Russia" Nicholas II
Then there were supporters of Vladimir Lenin, known as the Reds, and opponents of the revolution, also known as the Whites
Civil war broke out between Reds and Whites
The War was won by Revolutionists(Reds)
and four Socialist Republics States Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Transcaucasian Republics came into being in old Russian Empire
An agreement was reached between the four republics in December 1922 to end the civil war
Under this agreement, the Soviet Union came into being
The first country in this alliance was RSFSR today's Russia
Along with Russia, Ukraine and Belarus also became part of this alliance
In addition to these three republics, the fourth republic was the Transcaucasian Republics, a three-state coalition
which joined Soviet Union.
This three-state alliance included Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia
That is to say, the Soviet Union was initially joined by six republics
In 1924 the Soviet Union was joined by the two Central Asian republics of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
This alliance gradually grew, and in 1929 Tajikistan joined the alliance.
In 1936, the Soviet Union was joined by Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
And the number of republics in the alliance rose to 11
In 1940 during World War II, four more republics were annexed to the Soviet Union
And the total number of republics was now 15
The republics that joined in 1940 included the three Baltic States Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia as well as Moldova
Friends, these were the 15 republics
that together formed this great Soviet Socialist Alliance of human history.
Soviet Union and World War II
The Non-Aggression Treaty was signed between the Soviet Union and Germany shortly before the outbreak of World War II
In which the two had promised not to take any military action against each other for the next ten years.
But friends, the opposite happened.
When during the war, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in violation of the treaty
In this situation, the Soviet Union had to join the Allies
They say that the enemy of your enemy is your friend
That's what happened
Because the common enemy of the Soviet Union, Britain, and the United States was Germany
So, under these circumstances, the Soviet Union joined the Allies
The war however, ended in a victory for Allies
USA and USSR appeared as two superpowers
After the war, Ideological difference between the USA and USSR brought them face to face
USA suppoerted Liberal Democracy
while USSR was a Communist Alliance
USA never wanted Communist to flourish in the world under any circumstances
So, this ideological difference became another controversy
and the Cold War started between two powerful countries of the world
After the War, as Britain and France feared that the Soviet Union might take action against them
and there were fears that Germany would regain power.
Therefore, in view of these circumstances, the United States, Canada and other Western European nations formed the NATO alliance in 1949
The main purpose of creating it was to adopt a common strategy against the ideological expansionist ambitions of the Soviet Union.
and strengthen their defenses
In response to this agreement, the Soviet Union and other Eastern and Central European nations
which included Albania, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and East Germany
signed WARSAW pact in 1955
So that a balance of power can be maintained against NATO
Athough USA and USSR were not fighting against each other directly
but the influence of their cold war was clear on the Wars in the other world
these wars were fought in Korea and Vietnam
In these wars, the two power blocs fully supported their respective ideological supporters
Friends, the Cold War between the USA and USSR was not only limited to proxy Wars
but the two super powers wanted to dominate each other in every way
The war involved conquering space
In this race, the Soviet Union took over
and they sent their first Artificial Satellite in Space in October 1957.
and now Soviet Union dominated USA after sending it into space
but you know USA landed first on the Moon in 1969.
At the same time, the two world powers were experimenting more and more in the nuclear arms race
Why USSR Collapsed?
Friends, it was an un-natural alliance which named Soviet Union
so it was difficult for it to be maintained
Apart from this, there are some reasons for its collapse which we will mention to you
The Soviet Union's economy has been in deep decline since the beginning of the Cold War, which began after World War II.
Shortage of daily necessities, increase in storage had become a norm
Industrial production was also falling, living standards had begun to fall
The poor economy made it difficult for the Soviet Union to compete with the United States in the arms race.
As Soviet Union's was a large military power, so its defense budget was increasing every year
In addition to that , The Soviet Union also jumped into the unnecessary war in Afghanistan in 1979
Due to which the situation got worse
It was under these circumstances that Mikhail Gorbachev, a Communist Party politician, emerged as the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985
They inherited the bad economy of the Soviet Union.
but also found a corrupt political system
All these issues had to be reformed
Under these circumstances, he adopted the policy of "Glasnost"
So the citizens could be given freedom
Under his regime, political prisoners were released
now, newspapers could print criticism
Apart from the Communist Party, other parties could now participate in the elections
The second policy which he adopted was about economic restructuring
So the economy could be brought on the path of improvement
it was named "Perestroika"
under this policy, individuals were now allowed to own businesses
he also opened Soviet Union for foreign investments
he also believed that
for the better economy of Soviet Union
Soviet Union should expand its relations with other countries
In addition to that adopting a policy of non-intervention, in 1989
he announced withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan
where they were fighting since 1979
All these measures were all good, but it was too late now.
Freedom movements began to emerge from within the Soviet Union in the late 1980s
One by one, the countries in the alliance began to declare their sovereignty
How USSR collapsed?
Friends, the collapse of the Soviet Union had begun in 1988
When the Baltic state of Estonia first declared to be a separate sovereign republic
after that in 1989 other along with two Baltic states
Lithuania, Latvia Azerbaijan also declared to be a separate sovereign republic
The rest of the Soviet republics declared their sovereignty in 1990
on 25 December 1991, For the last time the Soviet flag waved.
And the Soviet anthem was played for the last time
Finally, on December 26, 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist forever
and 15 new independent states emerge on the world map
It is interesting to note that Soviet States Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have now joined NATO.
the same alliance which was made against Soviet Union
Countries included in Soviet Union have now joined that
But Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union, now wants to be part of the NATO alliance
In addition, the WARSAW Pact, an alliance formed in response to NATO,
its all member have now Joined NATO except Russia
Friends, we tried to explain to you in simple terms, the formation and breakdown of the Soviet Union
Be sure to let us know in the comments section how you like our this effort.
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