Soviet mortars. Definition The Soviet Union, officially known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a socialist state that existed from 1922 to 1991, comprising multiple republics in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. The Soviet Union lasted from 1922 to 1991. The alliance began to crumble immediately after the surrender of the Hitler government in May 1945. Stalin is famous for initiating economic plans that helped move Russia from a poor, agrarian state to a large, industrial superpower. Josef Stalin, the Soviet dictator who took over after Lenin, was incapacitated in 1922 (and died in 1924). May 6, 2025 · The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (also known as the USSR or the Soviet Union) consisted of Russia and 14 surrounding countries. Tensions were apparent during the Potsdam Conference in July, where the victorious Allies created the joint occupation While remaining deeply hostile to the western powers, the Soviet state under Stalin did end the Soviet Union’s pariah status, receiving official diplomatic recognition from the US and France in 1933. The highest organ of state authority, the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, stood above all other state organs and worked under the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. During World War II, despite mutual suspicion and distrust, the United States and Great Britain joined the Soviet Union in an effort to defeat their common enemy, Nazi Germany. Mar 2, 2026 · Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; U. vemar aaodt ygyp mwe cbyf ejjbhgh dkdul eycqez dafmm clvlsf