The --Soviet Union--
| ||||
| Motto : Proletarians of all countries, unite thee! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Map of the Soviet Union | ||||
| Region | European Union | |||
| Capital | Moscow (16 million) | |||
| Five largest cities | Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Toshkent | |||
| Spoken languages - Official - Other |
None; Russian de facto More than 200 languages and dialects | |||
| Area - Total - Land area - % water |
22.402.200 km² 22.272.000 km² NA | |||
| Government - President - Premier - Governing Party |
Federation Gennady Zyuganov (CPSU) Irina Nevskaya (CPSU) Communist Party of the Soviet Union | |||
| Population (2007) - NS population - Roleplay population |
7,191 billion 719,1 million | |||
| GDP (FY2006/07) - Total (USD) - Roleplay (USD) - GDP/capita (USD) |
$260 trillion (NSDossier) $26 trillion (NSDossier) $36.151,55 (NSDossier) | |||
| National animal |
Bear | |||
| Currency | Soviet Rouble (p) | |||
| Abbreviations - sport - government - naval ship |
SUN, SU SUN, SU SFS | |||
| Internet TLD | .su | |||
| NS NSEconomy Pipian Sunset XML | ||||
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, informally known as the Soviet Union, is the European Union's oldest standing and most populous country, also commonly credited with having the biggest economy in the region. The country came into existence after the October Revolution of 1917, with its official foundation taking place in 30 December 1922. For a number of years it remained with little to no international recognition, however the rapid industrialisation under the controversial rule of Joseph Stalin quickly made it rank among the first largest economies and industrial powers of the 20th Century.
Since the early 1980's, notably under the reigns of Yuri Andropov and Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union has seen a lot of domestic reform, which continued under the Presidency of Gennady Zyuganov. Retaining a controversial 'democratic one-party state' and being commonly slurred or accused of troublemaking in the European Parliament, the country has been seen commonly withdrawing its representatives before the parliament and threatening with sanctions. Domestic reform continues, and even today, there are debates in the bicameral legislative body of the country, the Supreme Soviet, concerning the 'admittance of domestic opposition factions in the parliament' as labelled by Soviet leaders - or, in other words, opposition parties.
Population and society
Main article: Population and Society of The --Soviet Union--
The Soviet Union is one of the world's most ethnically diverse countries, with more than 150 distinct ethnic groups within its borders. The total population is estimated at over 719 million in 2007. In the last years of the Soviet Union, the majority of the population were Russians (50.78%), followed by Ukrainians (15.45%) and Uzbeks (5.84%). Other ethnic groups included the Belorussians, Georgians, Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Tajiks, Chechens, Hungarians, and others. Mainly because of differences in birth rates among the Soviet nationalities, the share of the population that is Russian steadily declines in the post-World War II period.
Economy
The Soviet Union has the largest centrally directed economy in the region, with an estimated GDP exceeding USD 26 trillion (under the 10 percent ruling). The government established its economic priorities through central planning, a system under which administrative decisions rather than the market determine resource allocation and prices. During the 1980's and 1990's, however, reforms have brought this system in decline, in favour of self-managed estates (collectives.)
Since the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the country grew from a largely underdeveloped peasant society with minimal industry to become the second largest industrial power in the world. According to Soviet statistics, the country's share in world industrial production grew from 5,5% to 20% between 1913 and 1980. Although some Western analysts considered these claims to be inflated, the Soviet achievement remained remarkable. Recovering from the calamitous events of World War II, the country's economy had maintained a continuous though uneven rate of growth. Living standards, although still modest for most inhabitants by Western standards, had improved.
Although these past achievements were impressive, in the mid-1980s Soviet leaders faced many problems. Production in the consumer and agricultural sectors was often inadequate (see Agriculture of the Soviet Union and shortage economy). Crises in the agricultural sector reaped catastrophic consequences in the 1930s, when collectivization met widespread resistance from the kulaks, resulting in a bitter struggle of many peasants against the authorities, and famine, particularly in Ukraine, but also in the Volga River area and Kazakhstan. In the consumer and service sectors, a lack of investment resulted in black markets in some areas.
In addition, since the 1970s, the growth rate had slowed substantially. Extensive economic development, based on vast inputs of materials and labour, was no longer possible; yet the productivity of Soviet assets remained low compared with other major industrialized countries. Product quality needed improvement. Soviet leaders faced a fundamental dilemma: the strong central controls of the increasingly conservative bureaucracy that had traditionally guided economic development had failed to respond to the complex demands of industry of a highly developed, modern economy.
During the 1980's the leadership, headed by Mikhail Gorbachev, was experimenting with solutions to economic problems with an openness (glasnost) never before seen in the history of the economy. One method for improving productivity appeared to be a strengthening of the role of market forces through the implementation of self-managed economic complexes (see market socialism). Yet reforms in which market forces assumed a greater role would signify a lessening of authority and control by the planning hierarchy.
Assessing developments in the economy is difficult for Western observers. The country contains enormous economic and regional disparities. Yet analysing statistical data broken down by region was a cumbersome process. Furthermore, Soviet statistics themselves might have been of limited use to Western analysts because they are not directly comparable with those used in Western countries. The differing statistical concepts, valuations, and procedures used by Communist and non-Communist economists made even the most basic data, such as the relative productivity of various sectors, difficult to assess.
Defence
Main article: Military of The --Soviet Union--
The Soviet Military is divided under two ministries, one directorate and one committee, organised in twelve branches. The Soviet Armed Forces, consisting of the Ground forces, Navy, Air force, Anti-air defence forces, Airborne assault troops, Strategic rocket forces, Civil defence and Rear services consist of 5.699.080 personnel and are directly under the Ministry of Defence.
The KGB, MVD and GRU also have their own armed components. The KGB Border guards and the Security troops number a total of 278.540 personnel; the GRU Special-purpose troops number 50.000 personnel; and the MVD Interior troops number 340.000 personnel. These armed forces tend to come under the Ministry of Defence with their current head's jurisdiction on wartime to improve cooperation.
In 2006, the Soviet Military operated a total of 63.000 tanks, 86.000 armoured combat vehicles, 33.000 towed howitzers, 9.000 self-propelled howitzers, 8.000 multiple rocket launch systems, 17.670 aircraft (including 2.430 large and medium Aeroflot aircraft under the Strategic Air Transport Reserve), 1.175 major and minor surface combatants and assault ships, and 264 submarines, while the Strategic Rocket Forces were equipped with 1.200 intercontinental ballistic missiles tipped with multiple nuclear warheads. A large number of helicopters numbered in the thousands was also operated.
History
Section under construction.
