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==Founding==

==Founding==

The USSR, the primary member of which was [[Russia]], was established by  [[Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov]] (Russian: Владимир Ильич Улянов), also known as Vladimir Lenin's [[Bolshevik]] Party in 1922 following the overthrow of the Czarist [[Russian Empire]] in the [[Russian Revolution]], and the insuing [[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 empire 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 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]].

==Rise of Stalin and Collapse==

==Rise of Stalin and Collapse==

Upon Lenin's death, a power struggle insued between Leon Trotsky and [[Joseph Stalin]], two influential officials during Lenin's tenure.  Stalin eventually gained the upper hand in the fight, and ostracized [[Trotsky]] to [[Mexico]]. Stalin was instrumental in creating the Soviet Empire.  The USSR became infamous for Joseph Stalin's violations of human rights during the Great Purge, in which he disposed of all followers of Lenin and Trotsky.  The Soviet Union eventually imploded after a series of economic and political reforms known as [[Glasnost]] introduced by the last Chairman of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU), [[Mikhail Gorbachyov]] in the 1980s.  The USSR was formally dissolved in 1991 by [[Boris Yeltsin]].

Upon Lenin's death, a power struggle ensued between Leon Trotsky and [[Joseph Stalin]], two influential officials during Lenin's tenure.  Stalin eventually gained the upper hand in the fight, and ostracised [[Trotsky]] to [[Mexico]]. The USSR became infamous for Joseph Stalin's violations of human rights during the Great Purge, in which he disposed of all followers of Lenin and Trotsky.  The Soviet Union eventually imploded after a series of economic and political reforms known as [[Glasnost]] introduced by the last Chairman of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU), [[Mikhail Gorbachyov]], in the 1980s.  The USSR was formally dissolved in 1991 by [[Boris Yeltsin]]. The [[successor state]] to the Soviet Union is the [[Russian Federation]].

[[Category:History]]

[[Category:History]]

[[Category:Countries]]

[[Category:Countries]]