On This Day: The USSR Is Born
December 30, 2008
Dulcinea

On Dec. 30, 1922, Russia and three other republics formed the constitution
of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

The USSR began with Russia and three other republics: Belorussia, Ukraine
and the Transcaucasian Republic (composed of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia). `
The new communist state was the successor to the Russian Empire,’ writes
History, `and the _first country in the world to be based on Marxist socialism_
( tory.do?action=3DVideoArticle&id=3D5644) .’

The government had an executive branch, called the Central Executive
Committee, along with a legislative organization called the Council of People’s
Commissars. _Government members were elected by local councils_
( /n.htm#ussr) , known as `Soviets,’ that went on to
the Congress of Soviets.

The USSR, also known as the Soviet Union, grew in the wake of the 1917
Bolshevik Revolution led by Vladimir Lenin. The Bolshevik Party, later renamed the
Communist Party, had full control over the Soviet government.

Lenin was in ill health when the USSR was formed and was not present at the
Congress. He did, however, release a letter called _`The Question of
Nationalities or “Autonomisation”_ () that
addressed his beliefs about the new union.

Though Russia’s subsequent actions would indicate otherwise, the Communist
Party wanted the various nations that made up the USSR to join or secede
willingly. `_We want a voluntary union of nations,_
( n.htm) ‘ Lenin said in a quote that appears on the wall of the
Central V.I. Lenin Museum, `a union which precludes any coercion of one nation by
another-a union founded on complete confidence, on a clear recognition of
brotherly unity, on absolutely voluntary consent.’

Josef Stalin followed Lenin as head of the Communist Party, and therefore
head of the USSR, ruling the country for its first three decades. Stalin
instituted `five-year plans’ designed to advance industrialization and build the
USSR into a world power. `Among the long-time plans of the USSR leaders was to
prove that the Communist ideology offered the only right way of development
and that the _Soviet Union dominated other major Superpowers of the World_
( ry/152/) ,’ writes Russia-InfoCentre.

During his rule, Stalin shaped the international reputation of the Soviet
Union, which grew to 15 republics by 1940. Stalin’s reign was marked by
government and army purges, the creation of a draconian secret police, and
government-engineered famines that killed millions.

The USSR existed until 1991, when Russia, Belarus and Ukraine-the three
remaining states that founded the Soviet Union-_declared that it was dissolved_
( -this-day/On-This-Day–3-Soviet-Republics
-Form-a- Commonwealth.html) . It was officially dissolved on Dec. 21 and
replaced with the Commonwealth of Independent States.
()

Leni n drew inspiration from the works of Karl Marx, who advocated socialism
and the collective ownership of land and resources. During the rule of Czar
Nicholas II, Lenin and many other Bolsheviks were exiled from Russia for their
revolutionary beliefs.

After the monarchy was overthrown in March 1917, _Lenin and the Bolsheviks
returned to Russia_ ( html)
to lead a second revolution. In October, the Bolsheviks were able to seizethe
White Palace and take over the Russian government. The Bolsheviks instituted
socialist rule, placing the country’s banks, factories and farms under
government control.

The BBC provides a timeline of the USSR, from creation to dissolution.
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