The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic was a republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
The Soviet Union -LRB- -LSB- Советскии Союз , r = Sovetskiy Soyuz -RSB- -LSB- sɐ ` vʲetskʲɪj sɐˈjʉs -RSB- -RRB- , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics -LRB- USSR ; Союз Советских Социалистических Республик , -LSB- sɐˈjus sɐˈvʲɛtskʲɪx sətsɨəlʲɪsˈtʲitɕɪskʲɪx rʲɪˈspublʲɪk -RSB- -RRB- , also known unofficially as Russia -LRB- -LSB- Россия , Rossiya , rɐˈsʲijə -RSB- -RRB- , was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991 .. socialist state. socialist state. Soviet. Soviet people. Eurasia. Eurasia. Nominally a union of multiple equal national Soviet republics , its government and economy were highly centralized in a state that was unitary in most respects .. Soviet. Soviet people. union. Political union. Soviet republics. Republics of the Soviet Union. The country was a one-party federation , governed by the Communist Party with Moscow as its capital .. one-party. One-party state. federation. federation. Communist Party. Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Moscow. Moscow. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 , when the Bolsheviks , led by Vladimir Lenin , overthrew the Russian Provisional Government which had replaced Tsar Nicholas II .. Russian. Russian people#Ethnonym. Soviet. Soviet people. Vladimir Lenin. Vladimir Lenin. October Revolution. October Revolution. Bolsheviks. Bolsheviks. Russian Provisional Government. Russian Provisional Government. Tsar Nicholas II. Nicholas II of Russia. In 1922 , the Soviet Union was formed with the unification of the Russian , Transcaucasian , Ukrainian , and Byelorussian republics .. Russian. Russian people#Ethnonym. Soviet. Soviet people. Transcaucasian. Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. Ukrainian. Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Byelorussian. Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. Following Lenin 's death in 1924 and a brief power struggle , Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s .. Joseph Stalin. Joseph Stalin. Stalin committed the state 's ideology to Marxism -- Leninism -LRB- which he created -RRB- , and initiated a centrally planned economy .. planned economy. planned economy. As a result , the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization .. collectivization. Collectivization in the Soviet Union. Political paranoia was also fomented around Stalin , and the Great Purge was carried out to remove his opponents from the Communist Party through arbitrary arrests and persecutions of many people .. Communist Party. Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Great Purge. Great Purge. Shortly before World War II , Stalin signed the Molotov -- Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany , after which the two countries invaded Poland in September 1939 .. World War II. World War II. Nazi Germany. Nazi Germany. invaded Poland. Invasion of Poland. In June 1941 , Germany invaded the Soviet Union , opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history .. Soviet. Soviet people. Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Operation Barbarossa. the largest and bloodiest theater of war. Eastern Front ( World War II ). Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at intense battles such as Stalingrad .. Soviet. Soviet people. Axis forces. Axis powers. Stalingrad. Battle of Stalingrad. The territories overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the USSR .. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Eastern Bloc which united under the Warsaw Pact in 1955 confronted the Western states which united under NATO in 1949 .. Cold War. Cold War. Eastern Bloc. Eastern Bloc. Warsaw Pact. Warsaw Pact. Western states. Western Bloc. NATO. NATO. Following Stalin 's death in 1953 , a period of political and economic liberalization , known as `` de-Stalinization '' and `` Khrushchev 's Thaw '' , occurred under the leadership of Nikita Khrushchev .. de-Stalinization. de-Stalinization. Nikita Khrushchev. Nikita Khrushchev. The Soviet Union took an early lead in the Space Race , with the first artificial satellite and the first human spaceflight .. Soviet. Soviet people. Space Race. Space Race. first artificial satellite. Sputnik 1. first human spaceflight. Vostok 1. In the 1970s , there was a brief detente of relations with the United States , but tensions resumed with the Soviet -- Afghan War in 1979 .. Soviet. Soviet people. detente. detente. In the mid-1980s , the last Soviet leader , Mikhail Gorbachev , sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost and perestroika .. Soviet. Soviet people. Mikhail Gorbachev. Mikhail Gorbachev. glasnost. glasnost. perestroika. perestroika. The Cold War ended during his tenure , and in 1989 , Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist governments .. Soviet. Soviet people. Cold War. Cold War. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well .. nationalist and separatist movements. Post-Soviet conflicts. The government initiated a referendum , boycotted by some Soviet republics , which resulted in the majority of participating citizens voting in favor of preserving the union as a renewed federation .. Soviet. Soviet people. union. Political union. Soviet republics. Republics of the Soviet Union. federation. federation. referendum. Soviet Union referendum, 1991. renewed federation. Union of Sovereign States. In August 1991 , an abortive coup d'etat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners .. Communist Party. Communist Party of the Soviet Union. abortive coup d'etat. 1991 Soviet coup d'etat attempt. The Russian President Boris Yeltsin played a high-profile role in facing down the coup .. Russian. Russian people#Ethnonym. Boris Yeltsin. Boris Yeltsin. On 25 December 1991 , Gorbachev resigned and the remaining twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states .. Soviet. Soviet people. dissolution of the Soviet Union. dissolution of the Soviet Union. post-Soviet states. post-Soviet states. The Russian Federation -- formerly the Russian SFSR -- assumed the Soviet Union 's rights and obligations and is recognized as the primary legal successor of the Soviet Union .. Russian. Russian people#Ethnonym. Soviet. Soviet people. Russian Federation. Russia