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'{{short description|Aspect of history}} {{History of the Soviet Union}} {{History of Russia}} {{Culture of the Soviet Union}} The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "[[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic#Early years (1917–20)|Soviet Russia]]" and "[[Soviet Union]]" often are synonymous in everyday speech, when referring to the foundations of the Soviet Union, "Soviet Russia" properly refers to the few years between the [[October Revolution]] of 1917 and the [[Treaty on the Creation of the USSR|creation of the Soviet Union in 1922]]. ==1917–1927== {{main|History of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (1917–27)}} The original ideology of the state was primarily based on the works of [[Karl Marx]] and [[Friedrich Engels]]. In its essence, Marx's theory stated that economic and political systems went through an inevitable evolution in form, by which the current [[Capitalism|capitalist system]] would be replaced by a [[Socialist state]] before achieving international cooperation and peace in a "Workers' Paradise," creating a system directed by, what Marx called, [[Pure communism|"Pure Communism."]] Displeased by the relatively few changes made by the Tsar after the [[Russian Revolution of 1905]], Russia became a hotbed of [[anarchism]], [[socialism]] and other radical political systems. The dominant socialist party, the [[Russian Social Democratic Labour Party]] (RSDLP), subscribed to Marxist ideology. Starting in 1903 a series of splits in the party between two main leaders was escalating: the [[Bolsheviks]] (meaning "majority") led by [[Vladimir Lenin]], and the [[Mensheviks]] (meaning minority) led by [[Julius Martov]]. Up until 1912, both groups continued to stay united under the name "RSDLP," but significant differences between Lenin and Martov thought split the party for its final time. Not only did these groups fight with each other, but also had common enemies, notably, those trying to bring the Tsar back to power. Following the [[February Revolution]], the Mensheviks gained control of Russia and established a provisional government, but this lasted only a few months until the Bolsheviks took power in the [[October Revolution]], also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. Under the control of the party, all politics and attitudes that were not strictly RCP ([[Communist Party of Soviet Union|Russian Communist Party]]) were suppressed, under the premise that the RCP represented the [[proletariat]] and all activities contrary to the party's beliefs were "counterrevolutionary" or "anti-socialist." During the years of 1917 to 1923, the Soviet Union achieved peace with the [[Central Powers]], their enemies in [[World War I]], but also fought the [[Russian Civil War]] against the [[White Army]] and foreign armies from [[United States]], [[United Kingdom]], and [[France]], among others. This resulted in large territorial changes, albeit temporarily for some of these. Eventually crushing all opponents, the RCP spread Soviet style rule quickly and established itself through all of Russia. Following Lenin's death in 1924, [[Joseph Stalin]], General Secretary of the RCP, became Lenin's successor and continued as leader of the Soviet Union into the 1950s. ==1927–1953== {{main|History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953)}} The history of the [[Soviet Union]] between 1927 and 1953 covers the period of the [[Second World War]] and of victory against Nazi Germany while the USSR remained under the firm control of [[Joseph Stalin]]. Stalin sought to destroy his political rivals while transforming Soviet society with aggressive [[central planning]], in particular a sweeping [[Collectivization in the Soviet Union|collectivization of agriculture]] and a rapid [[History of the Soviet Union (1927–53)|development of heavy industry]]. Stalin's power within the party and the state was established and eventually evolved into [[Stalin's cult of personality]], [[Soviet secret police|Soviet secret-police]] and the [[mass mobilization|mass-mobilization]]. The Communist Party were Stalin's major tools in molding the [[Soviet society]]. Stalin's brutal methods in achieving his goals, which included [[Great Purge|party purges]], [[Political repression in the Soviet Union|political repression of the general population]], and forced collectivization, led to millions of deaths: in [[Gulag]] [[labor camp]]s, during the [[Holodomor|man-made famine]], and during [[Population transfer in the Soviet Union|forced resettlements of population]]. World War II, known as "the [[Great Patriotic War]]" in the Soviet Union, devastated much of the USSR with about [[World War II casualties|one out of every three World War II deaths representing a citizen of the Soviet Union]]. After World War II the Soviet Union's armies occupied [[Central and Eastern Europe]], where socialist governments took power. By 1949 the [[Cold War]] had started between the [[Western Bloc]] and the [[Eastern Bloc|Eastern (Soviet) Bloc]], with the [[Warsaw Pact]] pitched against [[NATO]] in Europe. After 1945 Stalin did not directly engage in any wars. Stalin continued his [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] rule until his death in 1953. ==1953–1964== {{main|History of the Soviet Union (1953–64)}} In the USSR, the eleven-year period from the death of [[Joseph Stalin]] (1953) to the political ouster of [[Nikita Khrushchev]] (1964), the national politics were dominated by the [[Cold War]]; the ideological [[United States|U.S.]]–[[Soviet Union|USSR]] struggle for the [[Power (philosophy)|planetary domination]] of their respective socio–economic systems, and the defense of [[Hegemony|hegemonic]] [[sphere of influence|spheres of influence]]. Nonetheless, since the mid-1950s, despite the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU) [[De-Stalinization|having disowned Stalinism]], the political culture of Stalinism—an omnipotent [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|General Secretary]], anti-[[Trotskyism]], a [[Five-Year Plans for the National Economy of the Soviet Union|five-year]] [[planned economy]] (post-[[New Economic Policy]]), and repudiation of the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] secret protocols—remained the character of Soviet society until the accession of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] as leader of the CPSU in 1985. ==1964–1982== {{main|History of the Soviet Union (1964–82)}} The history of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982, referred to as the Brezhnev Era, covers the period of [[Leonid Brezhnev]]'s rule of the [[Soviet Union|Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]] (USSR). This period began with high economic growth and soaring prosperity, but ended with a much weaker Soviet Union facing social, political, and economic stagnation. The average annual income stagnated, because needed economic reforms were never fully carried out. [[Nikita Khrushchev]] was ousted as [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|First Secretary]] of the [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Central Committee]] of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU), as well as [[Premier of the Soviet Union|Chairman]] of the [[Council of Ministers (Soviet Union)|Council of Ministers]], on 14 October 1964 due to his failed reforms and disregard for Party and Government institutions. Brezhnev replaced Khrushchev as First Secretary and [[Alexei Kosygin]] replaced him as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. [[Anastas Mikoyan]], and later [[Nikolai Podgorny]], became [[List of heads of state of the Soviet Union|Chairmen]] of the [[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet|Presidium]] of the [[Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union|Supreme Soviet]]. Together with [[Andrei Kirilenko (politician)|Andrei Kirilenko]] as organisational secretary, and [[Mikhail Suslov]] as chief ideologue, they made up a reinvigorated [[collective leadership]], which contrasted in form with the [[autocracy]] that characterized Khrushchev's rule. The collective leadership first set out to stabilize the Soviet Union and calm [[Soviet society]], a task which they were able to accomplish. In addition, they attempted to speed up economic growth, which had slowed considerably during Khrushchev's last years in power. In 1965 Kosygin initiated several reforms to decentralize the [[Soviet economy]]. After initial success in creating economic growth, hard-liners within the Party halted the reforms, fearing that they would weaken the Party's prestige and power. No other radical economic reforms were carried out during the Brezhnev era, and economic growth began to stagnate in the early-to-mid-1970s. By Brezhnev's death in 1982, Soviet economic growth had, according to several historians, nearly come to a standstill. The stabilization policy brought about after Khrushchev's removal established a ruling [[gerontocracy]], and [[political corruption]] became a normal phenomenon. Brezhnev, however, never initiated any large-scale anti-corruption campaigns. Due to the large military buildup of the 1960s the Soviet Union was able to consolidate itself as a [[superpower]] during Brezhnev's rule. The era ended with [[Death and funeral of Leonid Brezhnev|Brezhnev's death]] on 10 November 1982. While all modernized economies were rapidly moving to computerization after 1965, the USSR fell further and further behind. Moscow's decision to copy the [[IBM/360]] of 1965 proved a decisive mistake for it locked scientists into a system they were unable to improve so that it gradually became antiquated. They had enormous difficulties in manufacturing the necessary chips reliably and in quantity, in programming workable and efficient programs, in coordinating entirely separate operations, and in providing support to computer users.<ref>James W. Cortada, "Public Policies and the Development of National Computer Industries in Britain, France, and the Soviet Union, 1940—80." ''Journal of Contemporary History'' (2009) 44#3 pp: 493-512, especially page 509-10.</ref><ref>Frank Cain, "Computers and the Cold War: United States restrictions on the export of computers to the Soviet Union and Communist China." ''Journal of Contemporary History'' (2005) 40#1 pp: 131-147. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/30036313 in JSTOR]</ref> One of the greatest strengths of Soviet economy was its vast supplies of oil and gas; world oil prices quadrupled during the [[1973 oil crisis|1973-74 oil crisis]], and rose again in [[1979 oil crisis|1979-1981]], making the energy sector the chief driver of the Soviet economy, and was used to cover multiple weaknesses. At one point, Soviet Premier [[Alexei Kosygin]] told the head of oil and gas production, "things are bad with bread. Give me 3 million tons [of oil] over the plan."<ref>Yergin, ''The Quest'' (2011) p 23</ref> Former prime minister [[Yegor Gaidar]], an economist looking back three decades, in 2007 wrote: :The hard currency from oil exports stopped the growing food supply crisis, increased the import of equipment and consumer goods, ensured a financial base for the arms race and the achievement of nuclear parity with the United States, and permitted the realization of such risky foreign-policy actions as the war in Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite book|author=Yegor Gaidar|title=Collapse of an Empire: Lessons for Modern Russia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bDSfnxYjVwAC&pg=PA102|date= 2007|publisher=Brookings Institution Press|page=102}}</ref> ==1982–1991== {{main|History of the Soviet Union (1982–91)}} The history of the Soviet Union from 1982 through 1991, spans the period from [[Leonid Brezhnev]]'s [[Death and funeral of Leonid Brezhnev|death and funeral]] until the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]]. Due to the years of [[Soviet Armed Forces|Soviet military]] buildup at the expense of domestic development, economic growth stagnated.{{Citation needed|reason=please give a reliable source for this assertion.|date=August 2012}} Failed attempts at reform, a standstill economy, and the success of the United States against the Soviet Union's forces in the [[Soviet–Afghan War|war in Afghanistan]] led to a general feeling of discontent, especially in the [[Baltic states|Baltic republics]] and Eastern Europe.<ref>WorldBook online</ref> Greater political and social freedoms, instituted by the last Soviet leader, [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], created an atmosphere of open criticism of the Soviet government. The dramatic drop of the [[1980s oil glut|price of oil in 1985 and 1986]] profoundly influenced actions of the Soviet leadership.<ref name='AEI-Gaidar-Grain and Oil'>{{cite web|last=Gaidar |first=Yegor |authorlink=Yegor Gaidar |title=The Soviet Collapse: Grain and Oil |work=On the Issues: AEI online |publisher=American Enterprise Institute |url=http://www.aei.org/issue/25991 |accessdate=2009-07-09 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090722091512/http://www.aei.org/issue/25991 |archivedate=2009-07-22 }} (Edited version of a speech given November **, **** at the American Enterprise Institute.)</ref> [[Nikolai Tikhonov]], the [[List of Premiers of the Soviet Union|Chairman]] of the [[Council of Ministers (Soviet Union)|Council of Ministers]], was succeeded by [[Nikolai Ryzhkov]], and [[Vasili Kuznetsov (politician)|Vasili Kuznetsov]], the acting [[List of heads of state of the Soviet Union|Chairman]] of the [[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet|Presidium]] of the [[Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union|Supreme Soviet]], was succeeded by [[Andrei Gromyko]], the former [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Soviet Union)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]. Several [[Republics of the Soviet Union|Soviet Socialist Republics]] began resisting central control, and increasing democratization led to a weakening of the central government. The USSR's trade gap progressively emptied the coffers of the union, leading to eventual bankruptcy. The Soviet Union finally [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|collapsed]] in 1991 when [[Boris Yeltsin]] seized power in the aftermath of a [[1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt|failed coup]] that had attempted to topple [[Perestroika|reform-minded]] Gorbachev. ==See also== * [[Historiography in the Soviet Union]] * [[Foreign relations of the Soviet Union]] * [[Islam in the Soviet Union]] * [[Ukrainian nationalism]] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Further reading== * Conquest, Robert. ''The Great Terror: Stalin's Purge of the Thirties'' (1973). * Daly, Jonathan and Leonid Trofimov, eds. "[http://www.hackettpublishing.com/russia-in-war-and-revolution-1914-1922 Russia in War and Revolution, 1914–1922: A Documentary History]." (Indianapolis and Cambridge, MA: Hackett Publishing Company, 2009). {{ISBN|978-0-87220-987-9}}. * Feis, Herbert. ''Churchill-Roosevelt-Stalin: The War they waged and the Peace they sought'' (1953). * {{Cite book|last=Figes|first=Orlando|title=A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891-1924|publisher=Pimlico|url=https://books.google.com/?id=p6LzAgAAQBAJ |year=1996|isbn=9780805091311}} [https://archive.org/details/peoplestragedyhi00fige online free to borrow] * Fenby, Jonathan. ''Alliance: the inside story of how Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill won one war and began another'' (2015). * Firestone, Thomas. "Four Sovietologists: A Primer." ''National Interest'' No. 14 (Winter 1988/9), pp. 102-107 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/24027135 on the ideas of [[Zbigniew Brzezinski]], [[Stephen F. Cohen]] [[Jerry F. Hough]], and [[Richard Pipes]].] * Fitzpatrick, Sheila. ''The Russian Revolution''. 199 pages. Oxford University Press; (2nd ed. 2001). {{ISBN|0-19-280204-6}}. * Fleron, F.J. ed. ''Soviet Foreign Policy 1917-1991: Classic and Contemporary Issues'' (1991) * Gorodetsky, Gabriel, ed. ''Soviet foreign policy, 1917-1991: a retrospective'' (Routledge, 2014). * Haslam, Jonathan. ''Russia's Cold War: From the October Revolution to the Fall of the Wall'' (Yale UP, 2011) 512 pages * Hosking, Geoffrey. ''History of the Soviet Union'' (2017). * Keep, John L.H. ''Last of the empires: a history of the Soviet Union, 1945-1991'' (Oxford UP, 1995). * Kotkin, Stephen. ''Stalin: Vol. 1: Paradoxes of Power, 1878–1928'' (2014), 976pp ** Kotkin, Stephen. ''Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929-1941'' (2017) vol 2 * Lincoln, W. Bruce. ''Passage Through Armageddon: The Russians in War and Revolution, 1914–1918''. (New York, 1986). [https://archive.org/details/passagethroughar00linc online free to borrow] * McCauley, Martin. ''The Soviet Union 1917-1991'' (2nd ed. 1993) [https://archive.org/details/sovietunion1917100mcca online free to borrow] * McCauley, Martin. ''Origins of the Cold War 1941-1949.'' (Routledge, 2015). * McCauley, Martin. ''Russia, America, and the Cold War, 1949-1991'' (1998) [ online free to borrow] * McCauley, Martin. ''The Khrushchev Era 1953-1964'' (2014). * Millar, James R. ed. ''Encyclopedia of Russian History'' (4 vol, 2004), 1700pp; 1500 articles by experts. * [[Alec Nove|Nove, Alec]]. ''An Economic History of the USSR, 1917–1991''. (3rd ed. 1993) [https://archive.org/details/economichistoryo00nove online free to borrow] * Paxton, John. ''Encyclopedia of Russian History: From the Christianization of Kiev to the Break-up of the USSR'' (Abc-Clio Inc, 1993). * Pipes, Richard. ''Russia under the Bolshevik regime'' (1981). [https://archive.org/details/russiaunderbolsh00rich online free to borrow] * Reynolds, David, and Vladimir Pechatnov, eds. '' The Kremlin Letters: Stalin's Wartime Correspondence with Churchill and Roosevelt'' (2019) * Service, Robert. ''Stalin: a Biography'' (2004). * Shaw, Warren, and David Pryce-Jones. ''Encyclopedia of the USSR: From 1905 to the Present: Lenin to Gorbachev'' (Cassell, 1990). * Shlapentokh, Vladimir. ''Public and private life of the Soviet people: changing values in post-Stalin Russia'' (Oxford UP, 1989). * Taubman, William. ''Khrushchev: the man and his era'' (2003). * Taubman, William. ''Gorbachev'' (2017) * Tucker, Robert C., ed. ''Stalinism: essays in historical interpretation'' (Routledge, 2017). * Westad, Odd Arne. ''The Cold War: A World History'' (2017) * Wieczynski, Joseph L., and Bruce F. Adams. ''The modern encyclopedia of Russian, Soviet and Eurasian history'' (Academic International Press, 2000). ==External links== * [http://soviethistory.msu.edu/ An on-line archive of primary source materials on Soviet history] {{wikiquote}} {{Commons category|Soviet Union}} {{Communist Eastern and Central Europe}} {{Russia topics}} [[Category:History of the Soviet Union| ]] [[Category:Modern history by country|Soviet Union]]'