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(As it says on Wikipedia page, the USSR didn't actually come into existence until 1922.)
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Revision as of 00:21, 4 February 2010

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a nation-state that existed in Earth's 20th century, stretching across Europe and Asia. Known by the abbreviation USSR, as well as the shortened name "Soviet Union", the country was dissolved in the 1990s but had reformed by the later half of the 24th century.

Government and Regions

The USSR was a communist nation and, between the 1950s and 1980s, a major rival of the United States of America. The USSR itself spanned across two continents and was comprised of several "socialist republics" such as Russia and Kazakhstan. Major cities included Moscow, Minsk, and Kiev. (TOS: "The Cage", "Wolf in the Fold"; VOY: "Future's End"; DS9: "What You Leave Behind")

The USSR also maintained a formidable intelligence agency, considered one of the best on Earth, known as the KGB. (DS9: "Our Man Bashir")

History

The Soviet Union was formed in 1917, after the Bolsheviks and their leader Vladimir Lenin gained power over the nation of Russia. (ENT: "Storm Front, Part II")

Josef Stalin was the ruler of the USSR during World War II. Although he was allied with Adolf Hitler at the onset, the USSR was later invaded by Germany. Hitler was then forced to fight a two-front war in order to stave off the two superpowers, which he finally lost early in 1945. (TNG: "Manhunt"; ENT: "Storm Front, Part II")

File:George H. W. Bush.jpg

Mikhail Gorbachev, as seen in the time stream together with George H.W. Bush, at a summit meeting toward the end of the Cold War

After the war, tensions between the United States of America and the USSR led to the Cold War. During the Cold War, they built villages similar to American villages to train operatives to infiltrate the United States. (VOY: "In the Flesh") The Cold War would eventually be seen as a prelude to World War III, in particular after the Soviet Union tested its first H-bomb, which made headlines in US newspapers in the year 1953. (DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars")

In 1957, the USSR launched the first artificial satellite, the Sputnik probe. This turned the attention of the Vulcans on Humanity's development. (ENT: "Carbon Creek") Soviet space expansion would continue over the next several decades. In 1968, as part of the nuclear arms race, nuclear warhead platforms were launched into orbit by all the major powers on Earth. The sabotage and subsequent detonation of the US suborbital warhead eventually led to a stronger international agreement to ban such weapons. (TOS: "Assignment: Earth")

The USSR dissolved in 1991. (VOY: "Future's End") Among the last leaders were Leonid Brezhnev and Mikhail Gorbachev. (ENT: "Storm Front, Part II")

Reborn USSR

By the 2360s, the USSR re-formed in some capacity. On stardate 40291.7, the SS Tsiolkovsky was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the USSR. (TNG: "The Naked Now")

Legacy

Maps of the Earth including the USSR were present on the library computer of the USS Enterprise in 2254. (TOS: "The Cage")

In the Julian Bashir, Secret Agent holoprogram, the Soviets were suspected by MI5 of being involved in the disappearance of three agents working for Great Britain in West Berlin. (DS9: "Change of Heart")

In 1947, Quark threatened to sell technology to the Russians. (DS9: "Little Green Men")

Alternate USSR

In an alternate timeline created during the Temporal Cold War, the USSR was never formed because of the mysterious assassination of Vladimir Lenin in 1916. Russia still suffered an invasion from Germany in the 1940s, although Germany was able to easily capture Moscow since the alternate Russia "wasn't a threat" as compared to its USSR counterpart. (ENT: "Storm Front, Part II")

Template:Countries

Background

  • Whether the USSR was reconstituted as a nation-state prior to the formation of United Earth or afterwards as some type of administrative region within United Earth is unknown. The real-world reason behind this is that no one foresaw the collapse of the Soviet Union only a few years after "The Naked Now" was produced. The apparent existence of Leningrad (named after Lenin but renamed Saint Petersburg in 1991) in the 23rd century may also be related to a "resurrection".
  • The USSR, and its antagonistic relationship with the US, were the original inspiration for the Klingon Empire and its relationship with the Federation. The fall of the USSR also served as inspiration for the events of the film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

External link