The Republics and The Dissolution of The Soviet Union
In the final decades of its existence, the Soviet Union consisted of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics and they were called Soviet republics. The republics played an important role in the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Under Mikhail Gorbachev, glasnost and perestroika were intended to revive the Soviet Union. However, they had a number of effects which caused the power of the republics to increase. First, political liberalization allowed the governments within the republics to gain legitimacy by invoking democracy, nationalism or a combination of both. In addition, liberalization led to fractures within the party hierarchy which reduced Soviet control over the republics. Perestroika allowed the governments of the republics to control economic assets in their republics and withhold funds from the central government. Finally, by December 15th, all 15 republics declared independence.
Throughout the late 1980s, the Soviet government attempted to find a new structure which would reflect the increasing power of the republics. These efforts proved unsuccessful, and in 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed as the republic governments seceded. The republics then all became independent states, with the post-Soviet governments in most cases consisting largely of the government personnel of the former Soviet republics.
Map of the Union Republics from 1956-1991 |
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---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Soviet socialist republic |
member since |
population (1989) |
pop./ USSR pop. (%) |
area (km²) (1991) |
area/ USSR area (%) |
capital |
independent state |
No. |
|||||||
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic | 1922 | 7008147386000000000147,386,000 | 700151400000000000051.40 | 700717075400000000017,075,400 | 700176620000000000076.62 | Moscow | Russia | 1 | |||||||
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic | 1922 | 700751706746000000051,706,746 | 700118030000000000018.03 | 7005603700000000000603,700 | 70002710000000000002.71 | Kiev (Kharkov before 1934) |
Ukraine | 2 | |||||||
Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic | 1924 | 700719906000000000019,906,000 | 70006940000000000006.94 | 7005447400000000000447,400 | 70002009999999999992.01 | Tashkent (Samarkand before 1930) |
Uzbekistan | 4 | |||||||
Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic | 1936 | 700716711900000000016,711,900 | 70005830000000000005.83 | 70062727300000000002,727,300 | 700112240000000000012.24 | Alma-Ata | Kazakhstan | 5 | |||||||
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic | 1922 | 700710151806000000010,151,806 | 70003540000000000003.54 | 7005207600000000000207,600 | 69999300000000000000.93 | Minsk | Belarus | 3 | |||||||
Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic | 1936 | 70067037900000000007,037,900 | 70002450000000000002.45 | 700486600000000000086,600 | 69993900000000000000.39 | Baku | Azerbaijan | 7 | |||||||
Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic | 1936 | 70065400841000000005,400,841 | 70001880000000000001.88 | 700469700000000000069,700 | 69993100000000000000.31 | Tbilisi | Georgia | 6 | |||||||
Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic | 1929 | 70065112000000000005,112,000 | 70001780000000000001.78 | 7005143100000000000143,100 | 69996400000000000000.64 | Dushanbe | Tajikistan | 12 | |||||||
Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic | 1940 | 70064337600000000004,337,600 | 70001510000000000001.51 | 700433843000000000033,843 | 69991500000000000000.15 | Kishinev | Moldova | 9 | |||||||
Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic | 1936 | 70064257800000000004,257,800 | 70001480000000000001.48 | 7005198500000000000198,500 | 69998900000000000000.89 | Frunze | Kyrgyzstan | 11 | |||||||
Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic | 1940 | 70063689779000000003,689,779 | 70001290000000000001.29 | 700465200000000000065,200 | 69992899900000000000.29 | Vilnius | Lithuania | 8 | |||||||
Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic | 1924 | 70063522700000000003,522,700 | 70001230000000000001.23 | 7005488100000000000488,100 | 70002190000000000002.19 | Ashkhabad | Turkmenistan | 14 | |||||||
Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic | 1936 | 70063287700000000003,287,700 | 70001150000000999991.15 | 700429800000000000029,800 | 69991300000000000000.13 | Yerevan | Armenia | 13 | |||||||
Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic | 1940 | 70062666567000000002,666,567 | 69999300000000000000.93 | 700464589000000000064,589 | 69992899900000000000.29 | Riga | Latvia | 10 | |||||||
Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic | 1940 | 70061565662000000001,565,662 | 69995500000000000000.55 | 700445226000000000045,226 | 69992000000000000000.20 | Tallinn | Estonia | 15 |
Read more about this topic: Republics Of The Soviet Union
Famous quotes containing the words soviet union, republics, dissolution, soviet and/or union:
“In the Soviet Union everything happens slowly. Always remember that.”
—A.N. (Arkady N.)
“Royalty is a government in which the attention of the nation is concentrated on one person doing interesting actions. A Republic is a government in which that attention is divided between many, who are all doing uninteresting actions. Accordingly, so long as the human heart is strong and the human reason weak, Royalty will be strong because it appeals to diffused feeling, and Republics weak because they appeal to the understanding.”
—Walter Bagehot (18261877)
“We are threatened with suffering from three directions: from our own body, which is doomed to decay and dissolution and which cannot even do without pain and anxiety as warning signals; from the external world, which may rage against us with overwhelming and merciless forces of destruction; and finally from our relations to other men. The suffering which comes from this last source is perhaps more painful than any other.”
—Sigmund Freud (18561939)
“If the Soviet Union let another political party come into existence, they would still be a one-party state, because everybody would join the other party.”
—Ronald Reagan (b. 1911)
“She had brought love to the union and he had brought a longing after the flesh.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (18911960)