How did the Soviet Union come about, who was involved and what did the state structures look like at the beginning? You will find out all this in this article about the formation of the USSR.
Before the founding of the Soviet Union
Before the Soviet Union was formed, Russia was a monarchy headed by a tsar. While industrialization was in full swing in other European countries, the Tsar Nicholas II any kind of progress and wanted that feudal order maintained in the country. The country was supported by the nobility, church and military, but the peasants and workers were doing very badly.
Of the feudalism was a form of society in the European Middle Ages in which the monarch, the church and the nobility were at the top of society. Peasants and the common people were subordinate to them.
Driven by famine and harsh winters, it became clear over time Resistance in the ranks of the workers and peasants against the tsar. Due to the suffering of first world war people got worse. More and more people were opposed to going to war for a tsar who treated his people so badly.
The February Revolution overthrew the monarchy
In the year 1917 dissatisfaction peaked and people demonstrated for better living conditions. The tsar had the demonstrations bloodily crushed, which in turn increased the anger of the population. The monarchy ended with the February Revolution of 1917. Nicholas II had to abdicate and also announced the abdication his son.
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and the Bolsheviks
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin became 1870 born and was a Russian revolutionary and Communist. Because of his underground work for the plan for a communist revolution, he had to early 20th century several times in exile walk. 1917 he made it back to Russia and founded the radical communist «Bolsheviks» faction.
One speaks of exilewhen a person / an ethnic group has to leave his / her homeland due to political or religious persecution, expatriation or exile.
the Goals of the Bolsheviks were those Abdication of the Tsar and a improvement of living conditions for the worker. After the Russian monarchy in Spring 1917 ended, the Bolsheviks now wanted one communist revolution push through. The aim of the revolution should be one dictatorship of the proletariat to function on the basis of workers’ councils.
Figure 1: Vladimir Ilyich LeninSource: flickr.com
in the October 1917 then succeeded violent seizure of power the Bolsheviks. After the October Revolution, the Bolshevik Party changed its name to the Russian Communist Party. This later resulted in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU).
communism (from the Latin communis – together) is an ideology based on the fundamental values of equality, justice and solidarity. The aim of communism is to build a ruleless and classless society in which no social class is exploited.
Would you like to learn more about it? Check out our article on Communism.
The Russian Civil War
After the October Revolution, civil war broke out in Russia. The Red Armythat is, the followers of the Bolsheviks and the so-called White Army opposite to. The white army consisted of those people who wanted the old Russian monarchy back. It consisted mostly of soldiers from the tsarist military and was also partly supported from abroad. Ultimately, the Red Army was victorious between 1921/22.
During the war years of the Russian Civil War, up to 10 million people lost their lives in the war and as a result of the war. After the war, the country was devastated and devastated. Industry sank to the level of 1912. Many people continued to suffer from famine in the years that followed.
Foundation of the USSR
After the victory of the Red Army, Lenin and his followers were able to continue their plan to build a communist state. Communist forces had also come to power in surrounding countries. The founding fell on the December 30, 1922. On this day, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Transcaucasia (now Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) joined Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or also called the Soviet Union, together. The capital of the USSR became Moscow.
First Constitution of the Soviet Union
The first constitution of the Soviet Union was 1924 adopted. It established the territorial structures and the goals of political construction. It also wrote down to what extent the individual member states were allowed to act independently and which responsibilities should be left to whom.
According to the constitution, the Soviet Union was one federation, which means that individual member states have a certain degree of autonomy but are combined in an overarching system. In the decades that followed, however, things looked different in practice:
The political structures of the USSR centralized further and further, Russia had a superior status in reality and took on the role as decision maker. All other institutions and states followed the instructions from the Politburo in Moscow. The 1924 constitution was only replaced by the «Stalin Constitution» in 1936.
That politburo was that supreme political body of a communist party.
members of the Soviet Union
In the decades after its founding, more and more states joined the USSR. In the following you get an overview:
Figure 2: The 15 member states of the Soviet Union
Symbols of the Soviet Union
The appearance of the flag and national emblem are specified in the 1924 Constitution of the Soviet Union. The symbols and colors reflect the values and ideology of the Soviet Union.
Figure 3: Coat of arms of the Soviet Union, source: pixabay.deFigure 4: Flag of the Soviet Union Source: commons.wikimedia.org
The national coat of arms forms one hammer and a sickle on a globe. Below is a sun and above is a five-pointed one Red Star. The whole thing is framed by grain ears and a red banderole. This is written in the different republican languages of the USSR «Workers of all countries, unite!».
The flag is red with a gold hammer and sickle in the upper right corner. Above is an outline of a five-pointed star.
- Red color: The prominent red color in the state coat of arms and flag generally represents the labor movement and communism. They are often found in symbols of the state of socialist countries.
- hammer and sickle: Stand for workers (hammer) and farmers (sickle) and their common revolutionary movement. In general, it is also the most widespread symbol for the Marxist-Leninist ideology.
- red star: He stands for a communist/socialist worldview. It should symbolically illuminate the way to a classless society for the people.
- «Workers of all countries, unite!»: This is a quote from the last paragraph of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
The use of some symbols such as the hammer and sickle or the red star were banned in some countries after the end of the Soviet Union. Some of these countries were original Soviet states such as Ukraine, Lithuania and Latvia.
Subsequent years after the founding – Stalinism
1922 became Joseph Stalin to the general secretary appointed by the CPSU. At the same time, Lenin’s health condition became more serious until his death in 1924. After Lenin’s death, the post of head of government was open and a power struggle broke out between the Stalinists and supporters around Leon Trotsky out. As General Secretary, Stalin built up a community of followers within the party and eliminated political opponents through targeted terror. In the years between 1924 and 1928 he was able to consolidate his power and was then considered a sole ruler of the Soviet Union.
Early in his rule, Stalin sentenced to death many people who had dissenting political opinions or whom he considered dangerous. This time in the USSR is also called «Stalin purges». The purge took place not only in the military and within the party, but also in the popular ranks, numerous people were arrested and murdered. Many people also ended up in labor and penal camps.
Before his death, Lenin warned in his will about Stalin and his thirst for power. Although both shared communist ideology, Lenin called Stalin too crude and capricious. However, Lenin’s statements about Stalin only slightly influenced Stalin’s power struggle.
Founding of the Soviet Union – the most important things at a glance
- Before the USSR was formed, Russia was a monarchy with a tsar.
- The February Revolution overthrew the Tsarist regime and ended the monarchy in Russia.
- Lenin founded the communist party «Bsolcheviks». This took power within the October Revolution.
- The USSR was formed in 1922 by the union of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Transcaucasia.
- In the first constitution of 1924, the Soviet Union was called a federation. In reality, however, a centralization of power to Russia was established.