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Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
| Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Союз Советских Социалистических Республик | |
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.svg) Map of USSR
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| Flag | State Emblem |
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR),[a] commonly known as the Soviet Union,[b] was a transcontinental Marxist–Leninist state which existed from the period of 1922 to 1991, when it was dissolved and legally succeeded by the Russian Federation. It was a one-party state led by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union as well as a federation of 15 union republics, the largest of which was the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
The Soviet Union and its nature remains controversial among the left. Many Marxist–Leninists argue it was a flagship socialist state which maintained an anti-imperialist foreign policy up until its dissolution. Others, such as anti-revisionists, assert it betrayed socialist values after 1956 and became social-imperialist. Others still, such as libertarian socialists, argue it never was truly socialist and degenerated into bureaucratic authoritarianism.