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[[Image:600px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png||thumb|right|200px|]]

[[Image:600px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png||thumb|right|200px|]]

The '''Soviet Union''' (Russian: Советский Союз, ''Sovyetskiy Soyuz'')  formally the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, ''Soyuz Sovietskykh Sotsialisticheskykh Respublik'', abbreviated ''СССР'') was one of the most powerful and established [[socialist]] states in history.

The '''Soviet Union''' (Russian: Советский Союз, ''Sovyetskiy Soyuz'')  formally the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, ''Soyuz Sovietskykh Sotsialisticheskykh Respublik'', abbreviated ''СССР'') was one of the most powerful and established [[communist]] states in history.

==Founding==

==Founding==

The USSR, the primary member of which was [[Russia]], was established by  [[Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov]] (Russian: Владимир Ильич Улянов) in 1922 following the overthrow of the tsarist [[Russian Empire]] in the [[Russian Revolution]], and the ensuing [[Russian Civil War]].  It allowed one central government under Lenin to control many socialized republics, including the original members of [[Ukraine]], [[Belarus]], [[Russia]] and the republics of the Trans-Caucasian region.  The '''Soviet Union''' became a multi-national entity that eventually included 14 republics: [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Estonia]], [[Ukraine]], [[Belarus]], [[Georgia]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Armenia]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Turkmenistan]], [[Kazakhstan]], and [[Moldova]].

The USSR, the primary member of which was [[Russia]], was established by  [[Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov]] (Russian: Владимир Ильич Улянов) in 1922 following the overthrow of the tsarist [[Russian Empire]] in the [[Russian Revolution]], and the ensuing [[Russian Civil War]].  It allowed one central government under Lenin to control many republics, including the original members of [[Ukraine]], [[Belarus]], [[Russia]] and the republics of the Trans-Caucasian region.  The '''Soviet Union''' became a multi-national entity that eventually included 14 republics: [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Estonia]], [[Ukraine]], [[Belarus]], [[Georgia]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Armenia]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Turkmenistan]], [[Kazakhstan]], and [[Moldova]].