Countries outside the USSR. The composition of the USSR - what it was and how it was formed
SOVIET UNION (USSR)
USSR - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
The state that existed in 1922–1991 in the territory of modern countries: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova and Turkmenistan. Created in December 1922 as a voluntary association of sovereign republics - the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic, the Belarusian Socialist Soviet Republic and the Transcaucasian Socialist Soviet Federative Republic (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan). In the following decades, the rest of the republics became part of the USSR (in the past - territories Russian Empire). It was the capital of the USSR. The territory of the USSR stretched from west to east for almost 10 thousand km and from north to south for almost 5 thousand km and made up 1/6 of the land inhabited on Earth.
In the USSR to 1991. about 280 million people lived. According to the ethnic composition, the majority of them were Ukrainians. In total, more than 100 nations and nationalities lived in the USSR.
supreme body state power in the USSR there was the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, consisting of two equal chambers: the Council of the Union and the Council of Nationalities. The highest executive and administrative body is the Council of Ministers of the USSR, formed by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
The state holidays of the USSR were: November 7(anniversary October Revolution of 1917), 1st of January (), February 23(Day of the Soviet Army and Navy), March 8 (), 1st of May(International Workers' Day) and 9th May ().
The highest awards of the country were the titles Hero of the Soviet Union And Hero of Socialist Labor.
Despite the fact that, according to the Constitution of the USSR, all power in the country belonged to the people, who exercised it through the Soviets of People's Deputies ( cm.), the existence of a one-party system in the USSR led to the fact that it had a monopoly on power. This had a detrimental effect on the social and economic life of the country, on relations between the union republics, which were forced to obey the central party bodies in everything, and on the life of an individual who was deprived in practice of many rights and freedoms declared by the Constitution of the USSR, which subsequently led to the collapse of the country. A political decision on this was made by the leaders of the three largest republics of the USSR - Russia, Ukraine and Belarus - at a meeting held on the territory of the Belarusian reserve "Belovezhskaya Pushcha", and received the name Belavezha agreement . The constitutionality of such a decision is still questioned by many, however, the collapse of the USSR and the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States on most of its territory ( CIS) in practice were supported by the leadership of all Union republics, army and a large part of the country's population. In December 1991, the first President of the USSR M.S. Gorbachev who tried for several years perestroika to reform the social system and preserve the USSR as a single state, announced the withdrawal of his presidential powers. On the same day in Moscow over the Kremlin ( cm.) was lowered state flag USSR and raised the flag of Russia.
The collapse of the USSR, dramatic and sometimes tragic conflicts that arose on the territory post-Soviet space, affected the interests and destinies of millions of people who lost their jobs (due to the breakdown of production ties between the newly independent CIS countries), found themselves in hot spots(in the zone of interethnic and armed conflicts) or abroad and were forced to decide on a new citizenship. This gave grounds for the appearance among a part of society of sentiments of regret about the collapse of the Soviet Union and expressions nostalgia for the USSR.
In colloquial speech, the Soviet Union was often called Union(similar to what the United States of America calls States).
Adjective Soviet, which was part of the short version of the name of the state, means both ‘referring to the councils’ and ‘referring to the Soviet Union’, for example: soviet flag, soviet anthem, Soviet people, Soviet art, Soviet literature and etc.
In the last decades of the existence of the Soviet Union, a noun appeared in Russian vernacular scoop and adjective soviet. So they began to call the country, Soviet people and everything Soviet, expressing a negative attitude towards the shortcomings of the social system and the behavior characteristic of many Soviet citizens: the lack of personal initiative, obedience and the expectation that the state will decide everything for you ( soviet behavior, soviet habits and etc.)
State Emblem of the USSR:
State flag of the USSR:
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Russia. Large linguo-cultural dictionary. - M .: State Institute of the Russian Language. A.S. Pushkin. AST-Press. T.N. Chernyavskaya, K.S. Miloslavskaya, E.G. Rostova, O.E. Frolova, V.I. Borisenko, Yu.A. Vyunov, V.P. Chudnov. 2007 .
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Books
- The Soviet Union at international conferences during the Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945. (set of 6 books), . The published documents testify to the contribution made by Soviet diplomacy to the common cause of the defeat of fascism, contributing in every possible way to the implementation of the main tasks anti-Hitler coalition -…
The USSR was formed on the fragments of the former Russian Empire. It was one of the two centers of power and influence throughout the 20th century. It was the Union that inflicted a decisive defeat on fascist Germany, and its collapse became the most significant event of the second half of the last century. Which republics were part of the USSR, we will understand in the following article.
Problems of the national-state structure on the eve of the emergence of the USSR
How many there were Different answers can be given to this question, because at the initial stage of the formation of the state, their number did not remain unchanged. To understand this in more detail, let's turn to history. By the end of the Civil War, the territory of our state was a rather motley complex of various national and state formations. Their legal status often depended on the military-political situation, the strength of local government institutions and other factors. However, as the influence and power of the Bolsheviks increased, this issue became one of the main ones for the state and authorities. The leadership of the CPSU (b) did not have a consolidated opinion about the future structure of the country. Most of the party members believed that the state should be built on the basis of unitary principles, without taking into account the national component, its other members cautiously spoke out for the self-determination of nations within the country. But the decisive word was for V.I. Lenin.
Difficult dilemma in the depths of the CPSU(b)
The republics that were part of the USSR, according to Lenin, should have had a certain independence, but recognizing this issue as rather complicated, he saw the need for a special analysis of it. This question was entrusted to a well-known specialist in the Central Committee on the national question, I.V. Stalin. He was a consistent supporter of the autonomy of all the republics included in the new state formation. During the Civil War on the territory of the RSFSR, however, the relations between the independent republics were regulated on the basis of special agreements. Another serious problem was the rather strong nationalist sentiment among the communists on the ground. All this complex of disagreements had to be taken into account when forming a new state.
The beginning of work on the creation of a unified state
By the beginning of 1922, about 185 peoples lived on the territory subject to the Soviets. To unite them, it was necessary to take into account everything, even the smallest nuances, but the process was not only a decision from above, it was also supported by the vast majority of the masses. The formation of the USSR also had a foreign policy reason - the need to unite in the face of clearly hostile states. To develop the principles for organizing the future country, a special commission of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee was created. In the depths of this structure, it was decided that the example of the existence of the RSFSR is the most acceptable option for the formation of a new state. However, this idea ran into strong opposition from members of the Commission of National Regions. Stalin was little inclined to criticize his position. It was decided to test the method in Transcaucasia. This area required special attention. A lot of national contradictions were concentrated here. In particular, Georgia has been able to effectively build its economy and foreign policy ties in the short period of its independence. Armenia and Azerbaijan treated each other with mutual suspicion.
Disagreements between Stalin and Lenin on the formation of the USSR
The experiment ended with the creation of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. This is how they were to enter the new state. At the end of August 1922, a commission was formed in Moscow to implement the unification. According to the plan of "autonomization" I.V. Stalin, all constituent parts of the Union will have limited independence. At this point, Lenin intervened, he rejected Stalin's plan. According to his idea, the republics that were part of the USSR should be united on the basis of union treaties. In this edition, the draft was supported by the majority of the members of the plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. However, Georgia did not want to be part of a new state formation as part of the Transcaucasian Federation. She insisted on concluding a separate agreement with the Union, outside the TSFSR. But under pressure from the center, the Georgian communists were forced to agree to the original plan.
In December 1922, at the Congress of Soviets, the creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was announced as part of the RSFSR, Ukraine, Belarus and the Transcaucasian Federation. That's how many republics there were in the USSR at the time of its appearance. On the basis of the Treaty, the creation of a new state association was declared as a federation of full-fledged and independent countries with the right to exit and freely enter its composition. However, in fact, the exit procedure was not legally prescribed in any way, which, accordingly, made it very difficult. This time bomb, laid at the foundation of the state, showed itself with all its might at the moment, because in the 90s the countries that were part of the Union could not, on legal and civilized grounds, withdraw from its composition, which led to bloody events. Foreign policy, trade, finance, defense, means of communication and communications were delegated in favor of the central bodies of the USSR.
The next stage in the formation of the state was the national-administrative division in Central Asia. On its territory there was a huge Turkestan Republic, as well as two tiny territories - the Bukhara and Khorezm Republics. As a result of long discussions in the Central Committee, the Uzbek and Turkmen union republics were formed. The USSR subsequently separated the Tajik Republic from the former, part of the territory was transferred under the jurisdiction of Kazakhstan, which also became a union republic. The Kirghiz founded an autonomous republic within the RSFSR, but at the end of the twenties of the last century it was transformed into a union republic. And on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR, it was allocated to the Union Republic of Moldova. Thus, at the end of the second decade of the last century, the data on how many republics there were in the USSR changed significantly.
The thirties also saw a structural change in the composition of the Union. Since the Transcaucasian Federation was originally an unviable entity, this was taken into account in the new Constitution of the USSR. In 1936, it was disbanded, and Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, having concluded agreements with the center, received the status of union republics of the USSR.
Baltics within the USSR
The next stage in the formation of the Union dates back to the end of the thirties of the last century. Then, due to the difficult foreign policy situation, our country had to agree with Germany, which pursued an aggressive policy in Europe. Western Ukraine and Belarus were then part of Poland, in order to reunite historically one people and secure their western borders, the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was concluded between the USSR and Germany with a secret protocol. According to him, the territory of Eastern Europe departed into the sphere of influence of our country. In view of the extremely hostile position of the Baltic states, by decision of the leadership, units of the Red Army were introduced there, and legitimate governments were liquidated in the territories of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Instead, construction began political system following the example of the USSR. These republics were given the status of Union. And it was possible to recalculate how many republics there were in the USSR immediately before the start of the war with Germany.
An important role in the successful socialist construction was played by the state association of the Soviet socialist republics. The voluntary unification of the sovereign Soviet republics into a single union multinational socialist state was dictated by the course of their political, economic and cultural development and was prepared practically as a result of the implementation of the Leninist national policy. The joint struggle of the peoples of the Soviet republics against external and internal enemies showed that the contractual relations between them, established in the early years of Soviet power, were not enough to restore the economy and further socialist construction, in order to defend their state independence and independence. It was possible to successfully develop the national economy only if all the Soviet republics were united into a single economic entity. Great importance It also had the fact that an economic division of labor and interdependence had historically developed between the various regions of the country. This led to mutual assistance and close economic ties. The threat of military intervention from the imperialist states demanded unity in foreign policy and the strengthening of the country's defense capability.
Union cooperation of the republics was especially important for those non-Russian peoples who had to go the way from pre-capitalist forms of economy to socialism. The formation of the USSR followed from the presence of a socialist way of life in the national economy and from the very nature of Soviet power, international in its essence.
In 1922, a mass movement of working people for unification into a single union state developed in all the republics. In March 1922 it was proclaimed Transcaucasian Federation, which took shape in December 1922 in Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (TSFSR). The question of the forms of unification of the republics was developed and discussed in the Central Committee of the Party. The idea of autonomization, i.e., the entry of independent Soviet republics into the RSFSR on the basis of autonomy, put forward by I. V. Stalin (since April 1922 General Secretary of the Party Central Committee) and supported by some other party workers, was rejected by Lenin, then by the October Plenum (1922) of the Central Committee RCP (b).
Lenin developed a fundamentally different form of unification of the independent republics. He proposed the creation of a new public entity - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, into which all the Soviet republics would enter together with RSFSR on equal terms. The congresses of Soviets of the Ukrainian SSR, BSSR, TSFSR, held in December 1922, as well as the 10th All-Russian Congress of Soviets, recognized the timely unification of the Soviet republics into a single union state. On December 30, 1922, the First Congress of Soviets of the USSR opened in Moscow, which approved the Declaration on the Formation of the USSR. It formulated the basic principles for the unification of the republics: equality and voluntariness of their entry into the USSR, the right to freely secede from the Union and access to the Union for new Soviet socialist republics. The congress considered and approved the Treaty on the Formation of the USSR. Initially, the USSR included: RSFSR, Ukrainian SSR, BSSR, ZSFSR. The formation of the USSR was a triumph of Lenin's national policy and was of world-historical significance. It became possible thanks to the victory of the October Revolution, the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the creation of a socialist order in the economy. The 1st Congress of Soviets elected the supreme body of power of the USSR - the Central Executive Committee of the USSR (chairmen: M. I. Kalinin, G. I. Petrovsky, N. N. Narimanov and A. G. Chervyakov). At the 2nd session of the Central Executive Committee, the government of the USSR was formed - the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, headed by Lenin.
Combining material and labor resources in a single state was of great importance for the successful construction of socialism. Lenin, speaking in November 1922 at the plenum of the Moscow City Council and summing up the results of the five years of Soviet power, expressed confidence that "... out of NEP Russia there will be socialist Russia" (ibid., p. 309).
In the autumn of that year, Lenin fell seriously ill. While ill, he wrote a number of important letters and articles: “Letter to the Congress”, “On giving legislative functions to the State Planning Committee”, “On the question of nationalities or on “autonomization”, “Pages from a diary”, “On cooperation”, “On our revolution”, “How do we reorganize the Rabkrin”, “Less is better”. In these works, Lenin summed up the results of the development of Soviet society and indicated specific ways of building socialism: the industrialization of the country, the co-operation of peasant farms (collectivization), the conduct of a cultural revolution, and the strengthening of the socialist state and its armed forces. Lenin's instructions, made by him in his last articles and letters, formed the basis for the decisions of the 12th Party Congress (April 1923) and all subsequent policy of the Party and government. Summing up the results of the NEP for 2 years, the congress outlined ways to implement the New Economic Policy. The decisions of the congress on the national question contained a comprehensive program of struggle for the elimination of the economic and cultural inequality inherited from the past between peoples.
Despite significant successes in restoring the national economy, in 1923 the country was still going through serious difficulties. There were about 1 million unemployed. In the hands of private capital there were up to 4 thousand small and medium-sized enterprises of light and Food Industry, 3/4 retail and about half wholesale and retail trade. The Nepmen in the city, the kulaks in the countryside, the remnants of the defeated SR-Menshevik parties and other hostile forces waged a struggle against Soviet power. Economic difficulties were exacerbated by a crisis in the sale of manufactured goods caused by differences in the rates of recovery of industry and agriculture, shortcomings in planning, and violations of price policy by industrial and commercial authorities. Prices for manufactured goods were high, while prices for agricultural products were extremely low. The discrepancy in prices (the so-called scissors) could lead to a narrowing of the base of industrial production, undermining industry, and weakening the alliance between the working class and the peasantry. Measures were taken to eliminate the difficulties that had arisen, to eliminate the sales crisis: the prices of manufactured goods were reduced, and the monetary reform (1922-24) was successfully carried out, which led to the establishment of a hard currency.
Taking advantage of the acute internal, as well as the prevailing international situation and Lenin's illness, the Trotskyists launched new attacks on the party. They blackened the work of the Central Committee of the party, demanded the freedom of factions and groupings, opposed the reduction in prices for goods, proposed raising taxes on peasants, closing unprofitable enterprises (which were of great national economic importance), and increasing the import of industrial products from abroad. The 13th Party Conference (January 1924), condemning the Trotskyists, declared that “... in the face of the present opposition we have before us not only an attempt to revise Bolshevism, not only a direct departure from Leninism, but also a clearly expressed petty-bourgeois deviation” (“CPSU in resolutions…”, 8th ed., vol. 2, 1970, p. 511).
On January 31, 1924, the 2nd Congress of Soviets of the USSR approved the first Constitution of the USSR. It was based on the Declaration and Treaty on the Formation of the USSR, adopted by the First All-Union Congress of Soviets in 1922. The Central Executive Committee included two equal chambers: the Union Council and the Council of Nationalities. A single union citizenship was established: a citizen of each republic is a citizen of the USSR. The Constitution provided the working people of the USSR with broad democratic rights and freedoms and active participation in government. But at that time, in an atmosphere of acute class struggle, Soviet authority was forced to deprive voting rights of class alien elements: kulaks, merchants, ministers of religious cults, former employees of the police and gendarmerie, etc. The Constitution of the USSR was of great international and internal significance. In accordance with its text, the constitutions of the union republics were developed and approved.
Nation-state construction continued. The process of the state structure of the Russian Federation was being completed (by 1925 it included, in addition to provinces, 9 autonomous republics and 15 autonomous regions). In 1924, a number of counties of the Smolensk, Vitebsk and Gomel provinces, populated mainly by Belarusians, were transferred from the RSFSR to the BSSR, as a result of which the territory of the BSSR more than doubled and the population almost tripled. The Moldavian ASSR was formed as part of the Ukrainian SSR. In 1924-25, the national-state delimitation of the Soviet republics of Central Asia was carried out, as a result of which the peoples of Central Asia received the opportunity to create sovereign national states. From the regions of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, the Bukhara and Khorezm Republics, inhabited by Uzbeks and Turkmens, the Uzbek SSR and the Turkmen SSR were formed. From the regions of the Turkestan ASSR and the Bukhara Republic inhabited by Tajiks, the Tajik ASSR was formed, which became part of the Uzbek SSR. The areas inhabited by Kazakhs, which were previously part of the Turkestan ASSR, were reunited with the Kazakh ASSR. From the areas inhabited by the Kirghiz, the Kirghiz Autonomous Okrug was formed as part of the RSFSR.
The 3rd Congress of Soviets of the USSR (May 1925) accepted the newly formed union republics, the Uzbek SSR and the Turkmen SSR, into the USSR.
The initial composition of the USSR was determined based on the fact that by the end of the Civil War, the power of the Bolsheviks had been established in a number of regions of the former Russian Empire. This created certain prerequisites for the unification of several regions into a single state. took place on December 30, 1922, when the All-Union Congress approved the treaty on the formation of this state, signed on December 29, 1922.
The first part of the USSR included the RSFSR, Belarus, Ukraine and the republics of Transcaucasia (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia). All of them were considered independent and could theoretically leave the union at any time. In 1924, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan joined the above republics, in 1929 - Tajikistan.
From the 18th century, the territories of present-day Kazakhstan were part of the Russian Empire on an unofficial basis. However, there was no state as such. social order was represented by separate tribes (hordes). In 1936, the territories of Kazakhstan became part of the USSR in the format of the Kazakh ASSR. At the same time, the lands of Kyrgyzstan joined the union.
The path of the other republics to the USSR was longer and less simple. In 1940, Moldova (Bessarabia), which was part of Romania, was transferred to the USSR after the Molotov-Ribentrop Pact was signed. In the same year, the Lithuanian Seimas decided to join the USSR, and the Estonian parliament adopted a declaration of accession. Latvia was joined to the union at the same time.
Thus, we can say which republics were part of the USSR at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War- Ukrainian, Uzbek, Turkmen, Tajik, Russian, Moldavian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Estonian, Belarusian, Armenian and Azerbaijani.
All of them made up the most powerful state that won the Second World War, occupying one sixth of the land, on the territory of which almost all natural resources and a wide variety of cultures were represented. The USSR actively promoted communist ideas in all parts the globe and many nations remember the cooperation of that period as a time without internecine wars, but with active construction, the flourishing of education, construction and culture.
The countries that were part of the USSR exercised the right to withdraw from the association in 1990-1991 with the formation of 15 states. As time has shown, this decision, partly due to the economic decline caused by the artificial fall in oil prices, was most likely the wrong one. As a state, the USSR was a well-functioning economic system that collapsed in the first place, causing even greater poverty in the territory of disparate states and whole line wars in which many people died.
Today, attempts are being made to close cooperation between the former republics of the collapsed empire - such a structure has been created as a commonwealth independent states and the customs union, which includes Belarus and the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics |
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Motto: "Workers of all countries, unite!" |
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Largest cities: |
Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Tashkent, Baku, Kharkov, Minsk, Gorky, Novosibirsk, Sverdlovsk, Kuibyshev, Tbilisi, Dnepropetrovsk, Yerevan, Odessa |
Russian (de facto) |
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Currency unit: |
Ruble of the USSR |
Time Zones: |
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22,402,200 km² |
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Population: |
293 047 571 people |
Form of government: |
Soviet republic |
Internet domain: |
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Telephone code: |
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Founding states |
States after the collapse of the USSR |
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics- a state that existed from 1922 to 1991 in Europe and Asia. The USSR occupied 1/6 of the inhabited land and was the largest country in the world in terms of area on the territory previously occupied by the Russian Empire without Finland, part of the Polish Kingdom and some other territories, but with Galicia, Transcarpathia, part of Prussia, Northern Bukovina, Southern Sakhalin and the Kuriles.
According to the Constitution of 1977, the USSR was proclaimed a single union multinational and socialist state.
After World War II, the USSR had land borders with Afghanistan, Hungary, Iran, China, North Korea (since September 9, 1948), Mongolia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Finland, Czechoslovakia, and only sea borders with the USA, Sweden and Japan.
Consisted of union republics (in different years from 4 to 16), according to the Constitution, they were sovereign states; each Union republic retained the right to freely secede from the Union. The Union Republic had the right to enter into relations with foreign states, conclude agreements with them and exchange diplomatic and consular representatives, and participate in the activities of international organizations. Among the 50 founding countries of the UN, along with the USSR, were its two union republics: the BSSR and the Ukrainian SSR.
Part of the republics included autonomous Soviet socialist republics (ASSR), territories, regions, autonomous regions(JSC) and autonomous (before 1977 - national) districts.
After World War II, the USSR, along with the United States, was a superpower. The Soviet Union dominated the world socialist system and was also a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
The collapse of the USSR was characterized by a sharp confrontation between representatives of the central allied power and the newly elected local authorities (Supreme Soviets, presidents of the union republics). In 1989-1990, all republican councils adopted declarations of state sovereignty, some of them - declarations of independence. On March 17, 1991, in 9 of the 15 republics of the USSR, an All-Union referendum on the preservation of the USSR was held, in which two-thirds of the citizens voted for the preservation of the renewed union. But the central authorities failed to stabilize the situation. The failed coup d'etat of the GKChP was followed by the official recognition of the independence of the Baltic republics. After the All-Ukrainian independence referendum, where the majority of the population voted for the independence of Ukraine, the preservation of the USSR as public education became virtually impossible, as stated in Agreement establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States, signed on December 8, 1991 heads of three union republics - Yeltsin from the RSFSR (Russian Federation), Kravchuk from Ukraine (Ukrainian SSR) and Shushkevich from the Republic of Belarus (BSSR). The USSR officially ceased to exist on December 26, 1991. At the end of 1991 Russian Federation was recognized as the successor state of the USSR in international legal relations and took its place in the UN Security Council.
Geography of the USSR
With an area of 22,400,000 square kilometers, the Soviet Union was the largest state in the world. It occupied a sixth of the land, and its size was comparable to the size of North America. The European part made up a quarter of the country's territory, and was its cultural and economic center. The Asian part (to the Pacific Ocean in the east and to the border with Afghanistan in the south) was much less populated. The length of the Soviet Union was more than 10,000 kilometers from east to west (across 11 time zones), and almost 7,200 kilometers from north to south. There are five climatic zones in the country.
The Soviet Union had the longest border in the world (over 60,000 km). The Soviet Union also bordered the United States, Afghanistan, China, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Hungary, Iran, Mongolia, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Romania and Turkey (from 1945 to 1991).
The longest river in the Soviet Union was the Irtysh. Highest mountain: Communism Peak (7495 m, now Ismail Samani Peak) in Tajikistan. Also within the USSR was the world's largest lake - the Caspian and the world's largest and deepest freshwater lake - Baikal.
History of the USSR
Formation of the USSR (1922-1923)
On December 29, 1922, at a conference of delegations from the congresses of Soviets of the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the BSSR and the ZSFSR, the Treaty on the Formation of the USSR was signed. This document was approved on December 30, 1922 by the First All-Union Congress of Soviets and signed by the heads of delegations. This date is considered the date of the formation of the USSR, although the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR (Government) and People's Commissariats (Ministries) were created only on July 6, 1923.
Pre-war period (1923-1941)
Since the autumn of 1923, and especially after the death of V. I. Lenin, a sharp political struggle for power unfolded in the country's leadership. The authoritarian methods of leadership used by I. V. Stalin to establish the regime of one-man power were established.
From the mid-1920s, the New Economic Policy (NEP) began to be curtailed, and then the forced industrialization and collectivization began; in 1932-1933 there was also a massive famine.
After a fierce factional struggle, by the end of the 1930s, Stalin's supporters completely subjugated the structures of the ruling party. A totalitarian, strictly centralized social system was created in the country.
In 1939, the Soviet-German treaties of 1939 (including the so-called Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) were concluded, dividing the spheres of influence in Europe, according to which a number of territories in Eastern Europe were defined as the sphere of the USSR. The territories designated in the agreements (with the exception of Finland) were changed in the autumn of that year and the following year. At the beginning of the Second World War in 1939, the USSR joined the Western Republic of Poland at that time.
Ukraine and Western Belarus; this territorial change is regarded in different ways: both as a “return” and as an “annexation”. Already in October 1939, the city of Vilna of the Byelorussian SSR was transferred to Lithuania, and part of Polissya to Ukraine.
In 1940, the USSR included Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bessarabia (annexed by Romania in 1918 . Bessarabia within Romania) and Northern Bukovina, the Moldavian, Latvian, Lithuanian (including 3 regions of the BSSR, which became part of the Lithuanian SSR in 1940) and the Estonian SSR were created. The accession of the Baltic States to the USSR is regarded by various sources as "voluntary accession" and as "annexation".
In 1939, the USSR offered Finland a non-aggression pact, but Finland refused. Launched by the USSR after the presentation of an ultimatum Soviet-Finnish war(November 30, 1939 - March 12, 1940) dealt a blow to the international authority of the country (the USSR was expelled from the League of Nations). Due to the relatively large losses and the unpreparedness of the Red Army, the protracted war was over before the defeat of Finland; following its results, the Karelian Isthmus, Ladoga, Salla with Kuolajärvi and the western part of the Rybachy Peninsula departed from Finland to the USSR. On March 31, 1940, the Karelian-Finnish SSR (with its capital in Petrozavodsk) was formed from the Karelian ASSR and territories transferred from Finland (except for the Rybachy Peninsula, which became part of Murmansk region).
USSR in World War II (1941-1945)
On June 22, 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union, violating the Non-Aggression Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union. The Soviet troops managed to stop his invasion by the end of the autumn of 1941 and go on a counteroffensive from December 1941, the Battle of Moscow became the decisive event. However, during the summer-autumn of 1942, the enemy managed to advance to the Volga, capturing a huge part of the country's territory. From December 1942 to 1943 there was a radical turning point in the war, the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk became decisive. In the period from 1944 to May 1945, Soviet troops liberated the entire territory of the USSR occupied by Germany, as well as the countries of Eastern Europe, victoriously ending the war by signing the Act of Germany's unconditional surrender.
The war brought great damage to the entire population of the Soviet Union, led to the death of 26.6 million people, the liquidation of a huge number of the population in the territories occupied by Germany, the destruction of part of the industry - on the one hand; the creation of a significant military-industrial potential in the eastern regions of the country, the revival of church and religious life in the country, the acquisition of significant territories, the victory over fascism - on the other hand.
In 1941-1945 a number of peoples were deported from their places of traditional residence. In 1944-1947. The USSR included:
- the Tuva People's Republic, which received the status of an autonomous region within the RSFSR;
- The northern part of East Prussia, which became part of the RSFSR as the Kaliningrad region;
- Transcarpathia (Transcarpathian region of the Ukrainian SSR);
- Pechenga, which became part of the Murmansk region;
- South Sakhalin and Kurile Islands, which formed the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk region as part of the Khabarovsk Territory of the RSFSR.
At the same time, the Belostok region, parts of the Grodno and Brest regions of the BSSR, as well as parts of the Lvov and Drogobych regions of the Ukrainian SSR became part of Poland.
Post-war period (1945-1953)
After the victory in the war, the demilitarization of the USSR economy was carried out, its restoration in the areas affected by the occupation. By 1950, industrial production had increased by 73% compared to pre-war levels. Agriculture recovered at a slower pace, with enormous difficulties, mistakes and miscalculations. Nevertheless, already in 1947 the food situation stabilized, cards for food and industrial goods were abolished, and a monetary reform was carried out, which made it possible to stabilize the financial situation.
In accordance with the decisions of the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, the USSR established control over the respective occupation zones in Germany and Austria in 1945-1949. In a number of Eastern European countries, the establishment of communist regimes began, as a result of which a military-political bloc of states allied to the USSR (the socialist camp, the Warsaw Pact) was created. Immediately after the end of the World War, a period of global political and ideological confrontation began between the USSR and other socialist countries, on the one hand, and Western countries, on the other, which in 1947 was called cold war accompanied by an arms race.
"Khrushchev thaw" (1953-1964)
At the 20th Congress of the CPSU (1956), N. S. Khrushchev criticized the personality cult of I. V. Stalin. The rehabilitation of victims of repression began, more attention was paid to raising the standard of living of the people, developing agriculture, housing construction, light industry.
The political situation inside the country has become softer. Many members of the intelligentsia took Khrushchev's report as a call for publicity; samizdat appeared, which was only allowed to expose the "cult of personality", criticism of the CPSU and the existing system was still prohibited.
The concentration of scientific and production forces, material resources in certain areas of science and technology made it possible to achieve significant achievements: the world's first nuclear power plant was created (1954), the first artificial Earth satellite was launched (1957), the first manned spaceship with a pilot-cosmonaut (1961), etc.
In the foreign policy of this period, the USSR supported favorable interests of the country political regimes V different countries. In 1956, Soviet troops participated in the suppression of the uprising in Hungary. In 1962, disagreements between the USSR and the USA almost led to a nuclear war.
In 1960, a diplomatic conflict with China began, which split the world communist movement.
"Stagnation" (1964-1985)
In 1964 Khrushchev was removed from power. Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev became the new first secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, in fact the head of state. The period of the 1970s-1980s was called in the sources of that time era of developed socialism.
During Brezhnev's rule, new cities and towns, plants and factories, palaces of culture and stadiums were built in the country; universities were created, new schools and hospitals were opened. The USSR came to the forefront in space exploration, the development of aviation, nuclear energy, fundamental and applied sciences. Certain achievements were observed in education, medicine, social security system. World-wide fame and recognition was given to the work of famous cultural figures. Soviet athletes achieved high results in the international arena. In 1980, the XXII Summer Olympiad was held in Moscow.
At the same time, there was a decisive turn towards curtailing the remnants of the thaw. With the advent of Brezhnev to power, the state security agencies intensified the fight against dissent - the first sign of this was the process of Sinyavsky - Daniel. In 1968, the USSR army entered Czechoslovakia in order to suppress the trend of political reforms. As a sign of the final liquidation of the “thaw”, the resignation of A. T. Tvardovsky from the post of editor of the journal “ New world» at the beginning of 1970.
In 1975, an uprising took place on the Watchtower - an armed manifestation of disobedience by a group of Soviet military sailors on a large anti-submarine ship (BPK) of the USSR Navy Watchtower. The leader of the uprising was the political officer of the ship, captain of the 3rd rank Valery Sablin.
Since the beginning of the 1970s, Jewish emigration has been coming from the USSR. Many emigrated famous writers, actors, musicians, athletes, scientists.
In area foreign policy Brezhnev did a lot to achieve political detente in the 1970s. American-Soviet treaties on the limitation of strategic offensive weapons were concluded (although, since 1967, the accelerated installation of intercontinental missiles in underground mines began), which, however, were not supported by adequate measures of confidence and control.
Thanks to some liberalization, a dissident movement appeared, such names as Andrei Sakharov and Alexander Solzhenitsyn became famous. The ideas of the dissidents did not find the support of the majority of the population of the USSR. Since 1965, the USSR has provided military aid North Vietnam in the fight against the United States and South Vietnam, which lasted until 1973 and ended with the withdrawal of American troops and the unification of Vietnam. In 1968, the USSR army entered Czechoslovakia in order to suppress the trend of political reforms. In 1979, the USSR introduced a limited military contingent into the DRA at the request of the Afghan government (see Afghan War (1979-1989)), which led to the end of détente and the resumption of the Cold War. From 1989 to 1994, Soviet troops were withdrawn from all controlled territories.
Perestroika (1985-1991)
In 1985, after the death of K. U. Chernenko, M. S. Gorbachev came to power in the country. In 1985-1986, Gorbachev carried out the so-called policy of accelerating the social economic development, which consisted in recognizing certain shortcomings of the existing system and trying to correct them with several large administrative campaigns (the so-called "Acceleration") - an anti-alcohol campaign, "the fight against unearned income", the introduction of state acceptance. After the January 1987 plenum, the country's leadership launched cardinal reforms. Actually new state ideology"Perestroika" was announced - a set of economic and political reforms. In the course of perestroika (since the second half of 1989, after the first Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR), the political confrontation between the forces advocating the socialist path of development and parties and movements that link the future of the country with the organization of life on the principles of capitalism sharply escalated, as well as confrontation over issues of the future the image of the Soviet Union, the relationship between union and republican bodies of state power and administration. By the early 1990s, perestroika reached a dead end. The authorities could no longer stop the approaching collapse of the USSR.
The USSR officially ceased to exist on December 26, 1991. In its place, a number of independent states have formed (currently 19, 15 of which are UN members, 2 are partially recognized by UN member countries, and 2 are not recognized by any of the UN member countries). As a result of the collapse of the USSR, the territory of Russia (the successor country of the USSR in terms of external assets and liabilities, and in the UN) decreased compared to the territory of the USSR by 24% (from 22.4 to 17 million km²), and the population decreased by 49% (from 290 to 148 million people) (at the same time, the territory of Russia has practically not changed compared to the territory of the RSFSR). The unified armed forces and the ruble zone disintegrated. A number of interethnic conflicts flare up on the territory of the USSR, the most acute of which is the Karabakh conflict, since 1988 there have been mass pogroms of both Armenians and Azerbaijanis. In 1989, the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR announces the annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijan SSR begins a blockade. In April 1991, a war actually begins between the two Soviet republics.
Political system and ideology
Article 2 of the USSR Constitution of 1977 proclaimed: “ All power in the USSR belongs to the people. The people exercise state power through the Soviets of People's Deputies, which constitute the political foundation of the USSR. All others government bodies controlled and accountable to the Councils of People's Deputies.» Candidates from labor collectives, trade unions, youth organizations (VLKSM), amateur creative organizations and from the party (CPSU) were nominated in the elections.
Before the proclamation of socialism in the USSR by the Constitution of 1936, the dictatorship of the proletariat and peasantry was officially proclaimed in the USSR. Article 3 of the Constitution of 1936 stated: "All power in the USSR belongs to the working people of town and countryside represented by the Soviets of Working People's Deputies."
The Soviet political system rejected the principle of separation and independence of powers, putting the legislative power above the executive and judicial. Formally, only the decrees of the legislator were the source of law, that is Supreme Council USSR (V.S. USSR), although the actual practice differed significantly from the constitutional provisions. Day-to-day lawmaking in practice was carried out by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which consisted of the Chairman, 15 Vice-Chairmen, Secretary and 20 other members. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR, elected for 4 years, elected the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, formed the Council of Ministers of the USSR, and elected judges Supreme Court USSR and appointed the Prosecutor General of the USSR.
Collective head of state in 1922-1937. there was the All-Union Congress of Soviets, in the intervals between congresses - its Presidium. In 1937-1989. the collective head of state was the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, in the intervals between sessions - the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In 1989-1990 the sole head of state was the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, in 1990-1991. - President of the USSR.
The actual power in the USSR belonged to the leadership of the CPSU [VKP (b)], which functioned in accordance with its internal charter. Unlike earlier constitutions, the 1977 Constitution for the first time reflected the actual role of the CPSU in government: “The leading and guiding force of Soviet society, the core of its political system, state and public organizations is the Communist Party of the Soviet Union". (Article 6th)
In the USSR, no ideology was legally proclaimed state or dominant; but, in view of the political monopoly Communist Party, such was the de facto ideology of the CPSU - Marxism-Leninism, which in the late USSR was called "socialist Marxist-Leninist ideology." The political system of the USSR was considered as a "socialist state", that is, as "the political part of the superstructure over the economic basis of socialism, new type state that will replace the bourgeois state as a result of the socialist revolution. However, as Western researchers of Soviet society noted, in the late USSR Marxism in reality transformed into a nationalist and etatic ideology, while classical Marxism proclaimed the withering away of the state under socialism.
The only institutions that legally remained (but were often persecuted) as organized carriers of a fundamentally different, hostile to Marxism-Leninism, ideology were religious associations(religious societies and groups) ( see the Religion in the USSR section below for more details.).
Legal and judicial systems
The Marxist-Leninist ideology in the USSR considered the state and law in general as a political part of the superstructure over the economic basis of society and emphasized the class nature of law, which was defined as "the will of the ruling class elevated to law." A later modification of this interpretation of law read: “Law is the state will erected into law.”
The “socialist law” (“the highest historical type of law”) that existed in the late (nationwide) USSR was considered the will of the people elevated to law: it “for the first time in history establishes and really guarantees truly democratic freedoms”
Soviet socialist law was considered by some researchers in the West as a kind of Roman law, but Soviet jurists insisted on its independent status, which was recognized by the world community in practice after the Second World War by the election of judges representing it to the International Court of Justice - in accordance with Article 9 of the Charter of the Court , providing for the representation of the main forms of civilization and legal systems.
The foundations of the judicial system of the USSR were laid before its establishment - in the RSFSR - by a number of decrees, the first of which was the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars "On the Court" of November 22, 1917 ( see article Decrees on Judgment). The main element of the judicial system was proclaimed the "people's court" of the city or district (court of general jurisdiction), which was elected directly by citizens. The Constitution of 1977 set out the basic principles of the organization of the judicial system of the USSR in Chapter 20. The higher courts were elected by the respective Councils. The people's courts included a judge and people's assessors who took part in the consideration of civil and criminal cases (Article 154 of the 1977 Constitution).
The function of supreme supervision "over the exact and uniform execution of laws by all ministries, state committees and departments, enterprises, institutions and organizations, executive and administrative bodies of local Soviets of People's Deputies, collective farms, cooperative and other public organizations, officials, as well as citizens" was assigned to General Prosecutor's Office (Chapter 21st). The Constitution (Article 168) declared the independence of the prosecutor's office from any local authorities, although there is evidence that the prosecutors were under the direct operational control of the NKVD.
Leaders of the USSR and their contribution to the development of the USSR
Legally, the head of state was considered: since 1922 - Chairman of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, since 1938 - Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, since 1989 - Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, since 1990 - President of the USSR. The head of government was the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, since 1946 - the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, who was usually a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU.
head of state |
Head of the government |
Chairmen of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee:
Chairmen of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (Presidium of the Central Executive Committee) of the USSR:
USSR President:
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Prime Minister of the USSR:
Chairman of the KOUNKH of the USSR, IEC of the USSR:
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There were eight actual leaders of the USSR in the entire history of its existence (including Georgy Malenkov): 4 chairmen of the Council of People's Commissars / Council of Ministers (Lenin, Stalin, Malenkov, Khrushchev) and 4 chairmen of the Presidium of the Supreme Council (Brezhnev, Andropov, Chernenko, Gorbachev). Gorbachev was also the only president of the USSR.
Beginning with N. S. Khrushchev, the General (First) Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (VKP (b)) was the actual head of state, usually also the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
Under Lenin, the treaty on the formation of the USSR laid the foundations for the state structure, enshrined in the first Constitution of the USSR. The founder of the USSR ruled the Soviet Union for a little over a year - from December 1922 to January 1924, during a period of sharp deterioration in health.
During the reign of I.V. Stalin, collectivization and industrialization were carried out, the Stakhanov movement began, and the result of intra-factional struggle in the CPSU (b) in the 1930s was Stalinist repressions(their peak came in 1937-1938). In 1936, a new Constitution of the USSR was adopted, which increased the number of union republics. The Great Patriotic War was won, new territories were annexed, and the world socialist system was formed. After the joint defeat of Japan by the allies, a sharp aggravation of relations between the USSR and its allies in the anti-Hitler coalition began - the Cold War, the formal beginning of which is often associated with the Fulton speech of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on March 5, 1946. At the same time, a treaty of eternal friendship was signed with Finland. In 1949, the USSR became a nuclear power. He was the first in the world to test the hydrogen bomb.
Under G. M. Malenkov, who after Stalin's death took over his post as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, an amnesty was held for prisoners for minor violations, the Doctors' Case was closed, and the first rehabilitations of victims of political repressions were carried out. In the field of agriculture: increasing purchase prices, reducing the tax burden. Under the personal supervision of Malenkov, the first industrial nuclear power plant in the world was launched in the USSR. In the field of economics, he proposed to remove the emphasis on heavy industry and move on to the production of consumer goods, but after his resignation, this idea was rejected.
N. S. Khrushchev condemned the personality cult of Stalin and carried out some democratization, which was called the Khrushchev thaw. The slogan "catch up and overtake" was put forward, calling for as soon as possible ahead of the capitalist countries (in particular the United States) in terms of economic development. The development of virgin lands was continued. The USSR launched the first artificial satellite and launched a man into space, was the first to launch spacecraft towards the Moon, Venus and Mars, built nuclear power plant and a peaceful ship with a nuclear reactor - the Lenin icebreaker. During the reign of Khrushchev, the peak of the Cold War came - the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1961, the building of communism until 1980 was announced. In agriculture, Khrushchev's policy (sowing corn, dividing regional committees, fighting subsidiary plots) gave negative results. In 1964, Khrushchev was removed from office and retired.
The time of L. I. Brezhnev's leadership in the USSR was generally peaceful and, according to the conclusion of Soviet theorists, culminated in the construction of developed socialism, the formation of a nationwide state and the formation of a new historical community - the Soviet people. These provisions were enshrined in the Constitution of the USSR in 1977. In 1979, Soviet troops entered Afghanistan. In 1980, the Moscow Olympics took place. The second half of the reign of L. I. Brezhnev is called a period of stagnation.
Yu. V. Andropov during his short leadership of the party and the state was remembered, first of all, as a fighter for labor discipline; K. U. Chernenko, who replaced him, was seriously ill, and the leadership of the country under him was actually concentrated in the hands of his entourage, who sought to return to the "Brezhnev" order. A significant drop in world oil prices in 1986 caused a deterioration in the economic situation of the USSR. The leadership of the CPSU (Gorbachev, Yakovlev and others) decided to start reforming the Soviet system, which went down in history as "Perestroika". In 1989, Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan. The reforms of MS Gorbachev were an attempt to change the political system of the USSR within the framework of the economic theory of Marxism. Gorbachev somewhat eased the oppression of censorship (the policy of glasnost), allowed alternative elections, introduced a permanent Supreme Soviet, and took the first steps towards a market economy. In 1990 he became the first president of the Soviet Union. In 1991 he retired.
Economy of the USSR
By the early 1930s, most of the economy, the entire industry and 99.9% of agriculture was state-owned or cooperative, which made it possible to use resources more rationally, distribute them fairly and significantly improve working conditions compared to pre-Soviet ones. The development of the economy required a transition to a five-year form of economic planning. The industrialization of the USSR was carried out over several years. Turksib, the Novokuznetsk Iron and Steel Works, and new machine-building enterprises in the Urals were built.
By the beginning of the war, a significant part of the production was in Siberia, Central Asia, this made it possible to effectively switch to the wartime mobilization regime. After the Great Patriotic War, the restoration of the USSR began, new sectors of the economy appeared: the rocket industry, electrical engineering, and new power plants appeared. A significant volume of the economy of the USSR was military production.
The industry was dominated by heavy industry. In 1986, in the total volume of industrial output, group "A" (production of means of production) accounted for 75.3%, for group "B" (production of consumer goods) - 24.7%. Industries that ensure scientific and technological progress developed at an accelerated pace. During the years 1940-1986, the output of the electric power industry increased 41 times, mechanical engineering and metalworking - 105 times, chemical and petrochemical industry - 79 times.
About 64% of the foreign trade turnover was accounted for by the socialist countries, including 60% by the CMEA member countries; over 22% - to the developed capitalist countries (Germany, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, etc.); over 14% - to developing countries.
The composition of the economic regions of the USSR changed in accordance with the tasks of improving the management and planning of the national economy in order to accelerate the pace and increase the efficiency of social production. Plans for the 1st five-year plan (1929-1932) were drawn up for 24 districts, the 2nd five-year plan (1933-1937) for 32 districts and the zone of the North, the 3rd (1938-1942) for 9 districts and 10 union republics, at the same time, the regions and territories were grouped into 13 main economic regions, according to which the planning of the development of the national economy in the territorial context was carried out. In 1963, a taxonomic grid was approved, refined in 1966, including 19 large economic regions and the Moldavian SSR.
Armed Forces of the USSR
Until February 1946, the USSR Armed Forces consisted of the Red Army (RKKA) and the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Fleet. By May 1945, the number was 11,300,000 people. From February 25, 1946 until the beginning of 1992, the USSR Armed Forces were called the Soviet Army. The Soviet army included the Strategic Missile Forces, SV, Air Defense Forces, Air Force and other formations, except for the Navy, the Border Troops of the KGB of the USSR, and the Internal Troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. Throughout the history of the USSR Armed Forces, the post of Supreme Commander-in-Chief was introduced twice. The first time Joseph Stalin was appointed to it, the second time - Mikhail Gorbachev. The USSR Armed Forces consisted of five types: Strategic Missile Forces (1960), Ground Waxes (1946), Air Defense Forces (1948), Navy and Air Force (1946), and also included the rear of the USSR Armed Forces, headquarters and troops Civil Defense(GO) of the USSR, internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) of the USSR, border troops of the Committee state security(KGB) USSR.
The highest state leadership in the field of defense of the country, on the basis of laws, carried out higher authorities of state power and administration of the USSR, guided by the policy of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), directing the work of the entire state apparatus in such a way that, when solving any issues of governing the country, the interests of strengthening its defense capability are necessarily taken into account: - Defense Council of the USSR (Council of Workers' and Peasants' Defense of the RSFSR) , the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (Article 73 and 108 of the Constitution of the USSR), the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (Article 121 of the Constitution of the USSR), the Council of Ministers of the USSR (Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR) (Article 131 of the Constitution of the USSR).
The USSR Defense Council coordinated the activities of the bodies of the Soviet state in the field of strengthening defense, approving the main directions for the development of the USSR Armed Forces. The USSR Defense Council was headed by the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
The penitentiary system and special services
1917—1954
In 1917, in connection with the threat of an anti-Bolshevik strike, the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (VChK) was formed, headed by F. E. Dzerzhinsky. On February 6, 1922, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR adopted a resolution on the abolition of the Cheka and the formation of the State political management(GPU) under the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) of the RSFSR. The troops of the Cheka were transformed into GPU troops. Thus, the management of the police and state security was in front of one department. After the formation of the USSR, the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR on November 15, 1923 adopted a resolution on the creation of the United State Political Administration (OGPU) under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and approves the "Regulations on the OGPU of the USSR and its bodies." Prior to this, the GPUs of the union republics (where they were created) existed as independent structures, with a single union executive power. People's Commissariats of Internal Affairs of the Union republics were exempted from the functions of ensuring state security.
On May 9, 1924, the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR adopts a resolution on the expansion of the rights of the OGPU in order to combat banditry, which provided for the operational subordination of the OGPU of the USSR and its local subdivisions of the police and criminal investigation departments. On July 10, 1934, the Central Executive Committee of the USSR adopted a resolution "On the Formation of the All-Union People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR", which included the OGPU of the USSR, renamed the Main Directorate of State Security (GUGB). The organs of the NKVD of the USSR carried out the Great Terror, the victims of which were hundreds of thousands of people. From 1934 to 1936 The NKVD was led by G. G. Yagoda. From 1936 to 1938, the NKVD was headed by N.I. Yezhov, from November 1938 to December 1945, L.P. Beria was the head of the NKVD.
On February 3, 1941, the NKVD of the USSR was divided into two independent bodies: the NKVD of the USSR and the People's Commissariat for State Security (NKGB) of the USSR. In July 1941, the NKGB of the USSR and the NKVD of the USSR were again merged into a single people's commissariat - the NKVD of the USSR. The People's Commissar for State Security was V. N. Merkulov. In April 1943, the NKGB of the USSR was again separated from the NKVD. Most likely, the SMERSH GUKR was created on April 19, 1943. On March 15, 1946, the NKGB of the USSR was renamed the Ministry of State Security (MGB) of the USSR. In 1947, the Committee of Information (CI) was established under the Council of Ministers of the USSR, in February 1949 it was transformed into the CI under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. Then intelligence was again returned to the system of state security organs - in January 1952, the First Main Directorate (PGU) of the USSR Ministry of State Security was organized. On March 7, 1953, a decision was made to merge the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) of the USSR and the Ministry of State Security of the USSR into a single Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR.
Heads of the Cheka-GPU-OGPU-NKVD-NKGB-MGB
- F. E. Dzerzhinsky
- V. R. Menzhinsky
- G. G. Yagoda
- N. I. Ezhov
- L. P. Beria
- V. N. Merkulov
- V. S. Abakumov
- S. D. Ignatiev
- S. N. Kruglov
1954—1992
On March 13, 1954, the State Security Committee (KGB) was established under the Council of Ministers of the USSR (since July 5, 1978 - the KGB of the USSR). The KGB system included state security agencies, border troops and government communications troops, military counterintelligence agencies, educational institutions and research institutions. In 1978, Yu. V. Andropov, as Chairman, achieved an increase in the status of the State Security bodies and the withdrawal from the direct subordination of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. March 20, 1991 received the status of the central body government controlled USSR, headed by the Minister of the USSR. Abolished December 3, 1991.
Territorial division of the USSR
The total area of the territory of the Soviet Union as of August 1991 was 22.4 million km².
Initially, according to the Treaty on the Formation of the USSR (December 30, 1922), the USSR included:
- Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic ,
- Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic,
- Belarusian Socialist Soviet Republic(until 1922 - the Socialist Soviet Republic of Belarus, SSRB),
- Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic.
On May 13, 1925, the Uzbek SSR, separated on October 27, 1924 from the RSFSR, the Bukhara SSR, and the Khorezm NSR, entered the USSR.
On December 5, 1929, the Tajik SSR, separated on October 16, 1929 from the Uzbek SSR, entered the USSR.
On December 5, 1936, the Azerbaijan, Armenian and Georgian SSR, which left the Transcaucasian SFSR, entered the USSR. At the same time, the Kazakh and Kirghiz SSR, which left the RSFSR, entered the USSR.
In 1940, the Karelian-Finnish, Moldavian, Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian SSRs entered the USSR.
In 1956, the Karelian-Finnish Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was transformed into the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the RSFSR.
On September 6, 1991, the State Council of the USSR recognized the withdrawal from the USSR of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
On December 25, 1991, the President of the USSR M. S. Gorbachev resigned. State structures of the USSR self-liquidated.
Administrative-territorial division of the USSR |
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Territory, thousand km? |
Population, thousand people (1966) |
Population, thousand people (1989) |
Number of cities |
Number of towns |
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Uzbek SSR |
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Kazakh SSR |
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Georgian SSR |
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Azerbaijan SSR |
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Lithuanian SSR |
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Moldavian SSR |
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Latvian SSR |
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Kirghiz SSR |
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Tajik SSR |
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Armenian SSR |
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Turkmen SSR |
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Estonian SSR |
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Large republics, in turn, were divided into regions, ASSR and AO. Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian SSR (before 1952 and after 1953); Turkmen SSR (from 1963 to 1970) The Moldavian and Armenian SSRs were divided only into regions.
The RSFSR also included krais, and the krais included autonomous regions (there were exceptions, for example, the Tuva Autonomous Okrug until 1961). The oblasts and krais of the RSFSR also included national okrugs (later called autonomous okrugs). There were also cities of republican subordination, the status of which was not specified in the constitutions (until 1977): in fact, they were separate entities, since their Councils had the appropriate powers.
Some union republics (RSFSR, Ukrainian SSR, Georgian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Uzbek SSR, Tajik SSR) included Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics (ASSR) and autonomous regions.
All the above administrative-territorial units were divided into districts and cities of regional, regional and republican subordination.
