128-945: When the Soviet Union existed, different governments had ruled the northern Caucasus regions of Chechnya and Ingushetia . Within the Mountain Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic , later annexed into the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic , they were known as the Chechen Autonomous Oblast and the Ingush Autonomous Oblast , which were unified on January 15, 1934, to form the Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Oblast . It
256-655: A famine between 1930 and 1933 that killed millions. The Soviet forced labour camp system of the Gulag was expanded. During the late 1930s, Stalin's government conducted the Great Purge to remove opponents, resulting in mass death, imprisonment, and deportation. In 1939, the USSR and Nazi Germany signed a nonaggression pact , but in 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in the largest land invasion in history, opening
384-500: A missile silo close to the historic Chechen capital of Vedeno . He continued to insist that his forces would prevail after the conventional warfare had finished, and the Chechen guerrilla fighters continued to operate across the entire republic. The full-scale Russian attack led many of Dudayev's opponents to side with his forces and thousands of volunteers to swell the ranks of mobile militant units. On 21 April 1996, while using
512-619: A satellite phone , Dudayev was assassinated by two laser-guided missiles , after his location was detected by a Russian reconnaissance aircraft , which intercepted his phone call. At the time, Dudayev was talking to Konstantin Borovoy , a deputy of the State Duma in Moscow . Additional aircraft were dispatched (a Su-24MR and a Su-25 ) to locate Dudayev and fire a guided missile. Exact details of this operation have not been released by
640-657: A Russian poet and the daughter of a Soviet officer, with whom he had three children (a daughter and two sons). In 1962, Dudayev began serving in the Soviet Air Force where he rose to the rank of Major-General, becoming its first Chechen general. Dudayev served in a strategic bombing unit of the Soviet Air Force in Siberia and Ukraine . He allegedly participated in the Soviet–Afghan War against
768-541: A closer relationship with France and Britain. In 1939, half a year after the Munich Agreement , the USSR attempted to form an anti-Nazi alliance with France and Britain. Adolf Hitler proposed a better deal, which would give the USSR control over much of Eastern Europe through the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact . In September, Germany invaded Poland, and the USSR also invaded later that month, resulting in
896-727: A decision to resume activity in full force (32 deputies). Lawyer Badruddin Bakhmadov was elected as the new chairman. On October 8, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR declared the Provisional Supreme Soviet to be the only legitimate body of state power on the territory of Checheno-Ingushetia until the election of a new composition of the Supreme Soviet of the republic. On October 27, 1991, under
1024-481: A decree declaring a state of emergency on the territory of Checheno-Ingushetia. However, practical measures to implement it have failed. Two planes with special forces that landed at the airfield in Khankala were blocked by Chechen separatists. Leaders of anti-Dudayev parties and movements went over to the side of Chechen separatists. The Provisional Supreme Council of Checheno-Ingushetia and its militia disintegrated in
1152-498: A few days before the forced deportation of his family together with the entire Chechen population on the orders of Lavrentiy Beria . He was the thirteenth youngest child of veterinarian Musa and Rabiat Dudayev. He spent the first 13 years of his life in internal exile in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic . His family was only able to return to Chechnya in 1957. Following the 1957 repatriation of
1280-557: A fleet of strategic bombers and during war situation was to eradicate enemy infrastructure and nuclear capacity. The air force also had a number of fighters and tactical bombers to support the army in the war. Strategic missile forces had more than 1,400 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), deployed between 28 bases and 300 command centers. Dzhokhar Dudayev Dzhokhar Musayevich Dudayev (born Dudin Musa-Khant Dzhokhar ; 15 February 1944 – 21 April 1996)
1408-519: A greater union which he initially named as the Union of Soviet Republics of Europe and Asia (Russian: Союз Советских Республик Европы и Азии , romanized : Soyuz Sovyetskikh Respublik Evropy i Azii ). Joseph Stalin initially resisted Lenin's proposal but ultimately accepted it, and with Lenin's agreement he changed the name to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), although all republics began as socialist soviet and did not change to
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#17327657952801536-597: A new profitable market. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Stalin ordered Marxist-Leninist parties across the world to strongly oppose non-Marxist political parties, labour unions or other organizations on the left, which they labelled social fascists . In the usage of the Soviet Union, and of the Comintern and its affiliated parties in this period, the epithet fascist was used to describe capitalist society in general and virtually any anti-Soviet or anti-Stalinist activity or opinion. Stalin reversed himself in 1934 with
1664-733: A referendum was held on the creation of the Ingush Republic within the RSFSR. 75% of the Ingush population took part in the referendum, 90% were in favor. As a result of the Chechen Revolution the Checheno-Ingushetia was de facto divided into the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and Ingushetia, which remained outside the territorial-administrative division. On May 16, 1992, according to the amendment to
1792-631: A status that is retained by the Russian Federation . Covering a sixth of Earth's land surface, its size was comparable to that of North America . Two other successor states, Kazakhstan and Ukraine , rank among the top 10 countries by land area, and the largest country entirely in Europe, respectively. The European portion accounted for a quarter of the country's area and was the cultural and economic center. The eastern part in Asia extended to
1920-475: A union of equals, in practice the Soviet Union was dominated by Russians . The domination was so absolute that for most of its existence, the country was commonly (but incorrectly) referred to as 'Russia'. While the Russian SFSR was technically only one republic within the larger union, it was by far the largest (both in terms of population and area), most powerful, and most highly developed. The Russian SFSR
2048-573: Is derived from the Russian word sovet (Russian: совет ), meaning 'council', 'assembly', 'advice', ultimately deriving from the proto-Slavic verbal stem of * vět-iti ('to inform'), related to Slavic věst ('news'), English wise . The word sovietnik means 'councillor'. Some organizations in Russian history were called council (Russian: совет ). In the Russian Empire ,
2176-655: Is his background, his education , his profession . These are the questions that will determine the fate of the accused. That is the meaning and essence of the Red Terror ." During his rule, Stalin always made the final policy decisions. Otherwise, Soviet foreign policy was set by the commission on the Foreign Policy of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , or by
2304-520: The Council of People's Commissars ), headed by the Chairman (Premier) and managing an enormous bureaucracy responsible for the administration of the economy and society. State and party structures of the constituent republics largely emulated the structure of the central institutions, although the Russian SFSR, unlike the other constituent republics, for most of its history had no republican branch of
2432-606: The Eastern Front of World War II . The Soviets played a decisive role in defeating the Axis powers , suffering an estimated 27 million casualties , which accounted for most Allied losses. In the aftermath of the war , the Soviet Union consolidated the territory occupied by the Red Army , forming satellite states , and undertook rapid economic development which cemented its status as a superpower . Geopolitical tensions with
2560-755: The Land Forces , the Air Force , the Navy , Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) and the Internal Troops . The OGPU later became independent and in 1934 joined the NKVD secret police, and so its internal troops were under the joint leadership of the defense and internal commissariats. After World War II, Strategic Missile Forces (1959), Air Defense Forces (1948) and National Civil Defense Forces (1970) were formed, which ranked first, third, and sixth in
2688-528: The Moscow State Institute of International Relations . The Marxist-Leninist leadership of the Soviet Union intensely debated foreign policy issues and changed directions several times. Even after Stalin assumed dictatorial control in the late 1920s, there were debates, and he frequently changed positions. During the country's early period, it was assumed that Communist revolutions would break out soon in every major industrial country, and it
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#17327657952802816-665: The Mujahideen , for which he was awarded the Order of the Red Star and the Order of the Red Banner . Reportedly from 1986 to 1987, Dudayev had participated in bombing raids in western Afghanistan. Dudayev had stated he was personally a "dedicated Muslim." He politically stressed Chechen nationalism as president. Many of his military and political opponents who questioned his Muslim faith often made reference to his actions against
2944-657: The Pacific Ocean to the east and Afghanistan to the south, and, except some areas in Central Asia , was much less populous. It spanned over 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) east to west across 11 time zones , and over 7,200 kilometres (4,500 mi) north to south. It had five climate zones: tundra , taiga , steppes , desert and mountains . The USSR, like Russia , had the world's longest border , measuring over 60,000 kilometres (37,000 mi), or 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 circumferences of Earth. Two-thirds of it
3072-790: The Popular Front program that called on all Marxist parties to join with all anti-Fascist political, labour, and organizational forces that were opposed to fascism , especially of the Nazi variety. The rapid growth of power in Nazi Germany encouraged both Paris and Moscow to form a military alliance, and the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance was signed in May 1935. A firm believer in collective security, Stalin's foreign minister Maxim Litvinov worked very hard to form
3200-646: The Red Army . On March 7, 1944, on the orders of Stalin , the republic was disbanded and its population forcibly deported upon the accusations of collaboration with the Axis powers and separatism . The territory of the ASSR was divided between Stavropol Krai (where Grozny Oblast was formed), the Dagestan ASSR , the North Ossetian ASSR , and the Georgian SSR where the extra territory
3328-404: The Soviet Union , was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by area , extending across eleven time zones and sharing borders with twelve countries , and the third-most populous country . An overall successor to the Russian Empire , it was nominally organized as a federal union of national republics ,
3456-581: The Soviet republics , and the control of the Communist Party weakened. The failed coup attempt in August 1991 against Gorbachev by hardline communists hastened the end of the Soviet Union , which formally dissolved on December 26, 1991, ending nearly seven decades of Soviet rule. With an area of 22,402,200 square kilometres (8,649,500 sq mi), the Soviet Union was the world's largest country,
3584-772: The State Council , which functioned from 1810 to 1917, was referred to as a Council of Ministers. The Soviets as workers' councils first appeared during the 1905 Russian Revolution . Although they were quickly suppressed by the Imperial army, after the February Revolution of 1917 , workers' and soldiers' Soviets emerged throughout the country and shared power with the Russian Provisional Government . The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin , demanded that all power be transferred to
3712-635: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), saying that it was "overly juridical" and potentially infringed on national sovereignty. The Soviet Union later signed legally-binding human rights documents, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1973 (and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ), but they were neither widely known or accessible to people living under Communist rule, nor were they taken seriously by
3840-769: The largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world . As an Allied nation, it was a founding member of the United Nations as well as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council . Before its dissolution, the USSR was one of the world's two superpowers through its hegemony in Eastern Europe, global diplomatic and ideological influence (particularly in the Global South ), military and economic strengths, and scientific accomplishments. The word soviet
3968-699: The revolution had occurred and that the revolutionary committee would assume all power before the snap presidential elections. After a referendum in October 1991 confirmed Dudayev in his new position as president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria , he declared the republic's sovereignty and its independence from the Russia Federation. In November 1991, the then Russian President Boris Yeltsin dispatched troops to Grozny, but they were withdrawn when Dudayev's forces prevented them from leaving
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4096-538: The right to food , the right to work , and the right to education . The Soviet conception of human rights was very different from international law . According to Soviet legal theory , "it is the government who is the beneficiary of human rights which are to be asserted against the individual". The Soviet state was considered as the source of human rights. Therefore, the Soviet legal system considered law an arm of politics and it also considered courts agencies of
4224-703: The 1920s, it refused to rubber stamp proposals from the party and Council of Ministers. In 1990, Gorbachev introduced and assumed the position of the President of the Soviet Union , concentrated power in his executive office, independent of the party, and subordinated the government, now renamed the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR , to himself. Tensions grew between the Union-wide authorities under Gorbachev, reformists led in Russia by Boris Yeltsin and controlling
4352-482: The 1950s, the Soviet Union expanded its efforts in space exploration and took a lead in the Space Race with the first artificial satellite , the first human spaceflight , the first space station , and the first probe to land on another planet . In 1985, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev , sought to reform the country through his policies of glasnost and perestroika . In 1989, various countries of
4480-601: The 1990s, people in the West were also interested in the radioactive hazards of nuclear facilities, decommissioned nuclear submarines , and the processing of nuclear waste or spent nuclear fuel . It was also known in the early 1990s that the USSR had transported radioactive material to the Barents Sea and Kara Sea , which was later confirmed by the Russian parliament. The crash of the K-141 Kursk submarine in 2000 in
4608-692: The Autonomous Republic "deposed" and transferred all power in the Chechen part of the republic to the executive committee of the OKChN. September 6, 1991 Dudayev announced the dissolution of the republican power structures. Armed supporters of OKChN occupied the building of the TV center and the House of Radio, took by storm the House of Political Education, where the meeting of the Supreme Council
4736-427: The CPSU, being ruled directly by the union-wide party until 1990. Local authorities were organized likewise into party committees , local Soviets and executive committees . While the state system was nominally federal, the party was unitary. The state security police (the KGB and its predecessor agencies ) played an important role in Soviet politics. It was instrumental in the Red Terror and Great Purge , but
4864-435: The Chechen capital, to devote himself to local politics. He was elected head of the Executive Committee of the unofficial opposition All-National Congress of the Chechen People (NCChP), which advocated sovereignty for Chechnya as a separate republic of the Soviet Union (the Chechen-Ingush ASSR had the status of an autonomous republic of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ). In August 1991, Doku Zavgayev ,
4992-477: The Chechen guerrilla commander. Dudayev was succeeded by his Vice-President Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev (as acting President ) and then, after the 1997 popular elections, by his wartime Chief of Staff , Aslan Maskhadov . Dudayev was survived by his wife, Alla, and their sons, Degi and Avlur. There is a memorial plaque made of granite attached to the house on 8 Ülikooli street , Tartu , Estonia, in which Dudayev used to work. The house now hosts Hotel Barclay, and
5120-426: The Chechens, he studied at evening school in Checheno-Ingushetia and qualified as an electrician. In 1962, after two years studying electronics in Vladikavkaz , he entered the Tambov Higher Military Aviation School for Pilots from which he graduated in 1966. Dudayev joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1968 and from 1971 to 1974 studied at the prestigious Gagarin Air Force Academy. He married Alla ,
5248-411: The Communist authorities. Under Joseph Stalin , the death penalty was extended to adolescents as young as 12 years old in 1935. Sergei Kovalev recalled "the famous article 125 of the Constitution which enumerated all basic civil and political rights" in the Soviet Union. But when he and other prisoners attempted to use this as a legal basis for their abuse complaints, their prosecutor's argument
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5376-417: The Communist leader of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR, did not publicly condemn the August 1991 attempted coup d'état against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev . Following the failure of the putsch , the Soviet Union began to disintegrate rapidly as the constituent republics took moves to leave the beleaguered Soviet Union. Taking advantage of the Soviet Union's implosion, Dudayev and his supporters acted against
5504-447: The Constitution of the RSFSR, the de facto disintegrated Checheno-Ingush SSR received the name Checheno-Ingush Republic . On June 4, 1992, the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation adopted the Law on the Education of the Ingush Republic. The creation of the republic was submitted for approval by the supreme authority of Russia – the Congress of People's Deputies. On December 10, 1992, the Congress of People's Deputies of Russia approved
5632-438: The First Chechen National Congress gathered in Grozny, which proclaimed itself the All-National Congress of the Chechen People (OKChN). Following this, was proclaimed the Chechen Republic (Nokhchi-cho) , and the leaders of the Supreme Soviet of the republic were declared "usurpers". The events of August 19–22, 1991 in Moscow became the catalyst for a socio-political explosion in Checheno-Ingushetia. The organizer and leader of
5760-530: The Mujahideen forces. For example, Sergei Stepashin asserted Dudayev participated in carpet bombing (a statement probably motivated by spite). These allegations were denied by Dudayev himself. Dudayev rose steadily in the Air Force, assuming command of the 326th Heavy Bomber Aviation Division of the Soviet Long Range Aviation at Tartu , Estonia , in 1987 gaining the rank of Major-General . From 1987 through March 1990, he commanded nuclear-armed long-range strategic bombers during his post there. He
5888-402: The OKChN as the supreme authority, on October 1, announced the division of the Checheno-Ingush Republic into an independent Chechen Republic (Nokhchi-cho) and the Ingush Autonomous Republic within the RSFSR. On October 5, 7 out of 9 members of the Provisional Supreme Council made a decision on the resignation of Akhmedov and on the abolition of illegal acts. On the same day, the National Guard of
6016-481: The Politburo after the deaths of Lenin and Stalin, as well as after Khrushchev's dismissal, itself due to a decision by both the Politburo and the Central Committee. All leaders of the Communist Party before Gorbachev died in office, except Georgy Malenkov and Khrushchev, both dismissed from the party leadership amid internal struggle within the party. Between 1988 and 1990, facing considerable opposition, Mikhail Gorbachev enacted reforms shifting power away from
6144-499: The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), the world's first constitutionally socialist state . The revolution was not accepted by all within the Russian Republic , resulting in the Russian Civil War . The RSFSR and its subordinate republics were merged into the Soviet Union in 1922. Following Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin came to power, inaugurating rapid industrialization and forced collectivization that led to significant economic growth but contributed to
6272-420: The Russian government. Russian reconnaissance planes in the area had been monitoring satellite communications for some time trying to match Dudayev's voice signature to the existing samples of his speech. It was claimed Dudayev was killed by a combination of an airstrike and a booby trap . He was 52 years old. The death of Dudayev was announced on the interrupted television broadcast by Shamil Basayev ,
6400-420: The Russian name of the Soviet Union as СС has been taboo, the reason being that СС as a Russian Cyrillic abbreviation is associated with the infamous Schutzstaffel of Nazi Germany , as SS is in English. In English-language media, the state was referred to as the Soviet Union or the USSR. The Russian SFSR dominated the Soviet Union to such an extent that, for most of the Soviet Union's existence, it
6528-428: The Russians to protect their villages; at the same time, they hoped to gain political support in opposing the expansion of the Kabardian and Aksai princes. Finally, these agreements contributed to Ingushetia's economic development in the spread context of capitalist relations . The agreement of 23 August 1810 gave the Ingush the right to use the lands on the right side of the Terek River . In 1859 historical Chechnya
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#17327657952806656-450: The Soviet Union and turned into SSRs, which was not recognized by most of the international community and was considered an illegal occupation . After the Soviet invasion of Finland , the Karelo-Finnish SSR was formed on annexed territory as a Union Republic in March 1940 and then incorporated into Russia as the Karelian ASSR in 1956. Between July 1956 and September 1991, there were 15 union republics (see map below). While nominally
6784-477: The Soviet Union . Boris Yeltsin , the leader of the RSFSR, oversaw its reconstitution into the Russian Federation , which became the Soviet Union's successor state; all other republics emerged as fully independent post-Soviet states . During its existence, the Soviet Union produced many significant social and technological achievements and innovations . It had the world's second-largest economy and largest standing military. An NPT-designated state , it wielded
6912-417: The Soviet Union's priorities changed. Despite previous conflict with the United Kingdom , Vyacheslav Molotov dropped his post war border demands. The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc , which began following World War II in 1945. The term cold war is used because there
7040-480: The Soviet Union's superpower status, the economy struggled due to its centralized nature, technological backwardness, and inefficiencies. The vast military expenditures and burdens of maintaining the Eastern Bloc, further strained the Soviet economy. In the 1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev 's policies of Glasnost (openness) and Perestroika (restructuring) aimed to revitalize the Soviet system but instead accelerated its unraveling. Nationalist movements gained momentum across
7168-424: The Soviet authorities admitted. The Soviet Union was the world's second largest producer of harmful emissions. In 1988, total emissions in the Soviet Union were about 79% of those in the United States. But since the Soviet GNP was only 54% of that of the United States, this means that the Soviet Union generated 1.5 times more pollution than the United States per unit of GNP. The Soviet Chernobyl disaster in 1986
7296-470: The Soviet regime in the Chechen genocide as part of an ethnic cleansing program which affected several million members of ethnic minorities in the Soviet Union between the 1930s and 1950s. His family was allowed to return to his native Chechnya in 1956, after Joseph Stalin’s death . From 1962, Dudayev served in the Soviet Air Forces, reaching the rank of major general. He commanded strategic nuclear bomber aircraft divisions based in Poltava and Tartu , and
7424-406: The Soviets, and gained support from the workers and soldiers. After the October Revolution , in which the Bolsheviks seized power from the Provisional Government in the name of the Soviets, Lenin proclaimed the formation of the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic (RSFSR). During the Georgian Affair of 1922, Lenin called for the Russian SFSR and other national Soviet republics to form
7552-415: The Supreme Soviet were members of the CPSU. Of the party heads themselves, Stalin (1941–1953) and Khrushchev (1958–1964) were Premiers. Upon the forced retirement of Khrushchev, the party leader was prohibited from this kind of double membership, but the later General Secretaries for at least some part of their tenure occupied the mostly ceremonial position of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet ,
7680-551: The US led to the Cold War . The American-led Western Bloc coalesced into NATO in 1949, prompting the Soviet Union to form its own military alliance, the Warsaw Pact , in 1955. Neither side engaged in direct military confrontation, and instead fought on an ideological basis and through proxy wars . In 1953, following Stalin's death , the Soviet Union undertook a campaign of de-Stalinization under Nikita Khrushchev , which saw reversals and rejections of Stalinist policies. This campaign caused tensions with Communist China . During
7808-430: The USSR. Moscow eventually stopped threatening other states, and instead worked to open peaceful relationships in terms of trade, and diplomatic recognition. The United Kingdom dismissed the warnings of Winston Churchill and a few others about a continuing Marxist-Leninist threat, and opened trade relations and de facto diplomatic recognition in 1922. There was hope for a settlement of the pre-war Tsarist debts, but it
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#17327657952807936-409: The Warsaw Pact overthrew their Soviet-backed regimes , and nationalist and separatist movements erupted across the Soviet Union. In 1991, amid efforts to preserve the country as a renewed federation , an attempted coup against Gorbachev by hardline communists prompted the largest republics—Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus—to secede. On December 26, Gorbachev officially recognized the dissolution of
8064-410: The Zavgayev administration. On 6 September 1991, the militants of the NCChP violently (the Grozny Communist party leader was killed and several other members were wounded) invaded a session of the local Supreme Soviet , effectively dissolving the government of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR. Grozny television station and other key government buildings were also taken over. Dudayev and his supporters stated that
8192-449: The accident, but this led to a relatively low number of deaths (WHO data, 2005). Another major radioactive accident was the Kyshtym disaster . The Kola Peninsula was one of the places with major problems. Around the industrial cities of Monchegorsk and Norilsk , where nickel , for example, is mined, all forests have been destroyed by contamination, while the northern and other parts of Russia have been affected by emissions. During
8320-406: The airport. Russia refused to recognize the republic's independence, but hesitated to use further force against the separatists. From this point, the Checheno-Ingush Republic had become a de facto independent state. Initially, Dudayev's government had diplomatic relations with Georgia where he received much moral support from the first Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia . When Gamsakhurdia
8448-401: The amendments to Art. 71 of the Constitution of the RSFSR, the autonomous republic began to be called the Checheno-Ingush SSR . This decision before the dissolution of the USSR (December 1991) was not consistent with Art. 85 of the Constitution of the USSR, which retained the name of the Checheno-Ingush ASSR . On June 8, 1991, at the initiative of Dzhokhar Dudayev , a part of the delegates of
8576-412: The autonomous republic. On November 2, 1991, by the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR, these elections were declared illegal. The structures of previous power remained for several months after the September coup of Dudayev. Thus, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB of Checheno-Ingushetia were abolished only by the end of 1991. On November 7, the President of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin issued
8704-411: The control of supporters of the OKChN in the Chechen part of the republic, presidential and parliamentary elections were held for the Chechen Republic (Nokhchi-cho). Dzhokhar Dudayev was elected President of the self-proclaimed republic. The results of the elections were not recognized by the Council of Ministers of Checheno-Ingushetia, heads of enterprises and departments, heads of a number of regions of
8832-429: The country was limited. The state restricted rights of citizens to private property . According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , human rights are the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." including the right to life and liberty , freedom of expression , and equality before the law ; and social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in culture ,
8960-442: The creation of new state commissions and committees. It gained additional powers relating to the approval of the Five-Year Plans and the government budget . The Supreme Soviet elected a Presidium (successor of the Central Executive Committee ) to wield its power between plenary sessions, ordinarily held twice a year, and appointed the Supreme Court , the Procurator General and the Council of Ministers (known before 1946 as
9088-409: The degree of power consolidation, it was either the Politburo as a collective body or the General Secretary, who always was one of the Politburo members, that effectively led the party and the country (except for the period of the highly personalized authority of Stalin, exercised directly through his position in the Council of Ministers rather than the Politburo after 1941). They were not controlled by
9216-536: The deputy chairman of the council. By the beginning of October 1991, a conflict arose in the Provisional High Council between supporters of the OKChN (4 members, headed by Khusein Akhmadov) and his opponents (5 members, headed by Yuri Cherny). Akhmadov, on behalf of the entire Council, issued a number of laws and decrees that created the legal basis for the activities of the executive committee of
9344-553: The duty of the Russian Bolsheviks to protect what they had in Russia, and avoid military confrontations that might destroy their bridgehead. Russia was now a pariah state, along with Germany. The two came to terms in 1922 with the Treaty of Rapallo that settled long-standing grievances. At the same time, the two countries secretly set up training programs for the illegal German army and air force operations at hidden camps in
9472-668: The executive committee of the OKChN seized the building of the House of Trade Unions, in which the Council sat, and also seized the building of the KGB of the Checheno-Ingush ASSR. On October 6, the executive committee of the OKChN announced the dissolution of the Provisional Supreme Council "for subversive and provocative activities". The Council did not comply with this decision and the very next day made
9600-500: The first days of the crisis. On November 8, Chechen guards blocked the buildings of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB, as well as military camps. On November 11, the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR refused to approve the decree of President Yeltsin on the introduction of a state of emergency in Checheno-Ingushetia. November 30 – December 1, 1991 in three Ingush regions of Checheno-Ingushetia – Malgobek, Nazran and Sunzhensky –
9728-2030: The formation of the Ingush Republic by its resolution and made a corresponding amendment to the Constitution of the RSFSR 1978 , which officially divided the Checheno-Ingush Republic into the Ingush Republic and the Chechen Republic . This amendment was published on December 29, 1992, in the " Rossiyskaya Gazeta " and entered into force on January 9, 1993, after 10 days from the date of official publication. 1918–24 Turkestan 1918–41 Volga German 1919–90 Bashkir 1920–25 Kirghiz 1920–90 Tatar 1921–91 Adjarian 1921–45 Crimean 1921–91 Dagestan 1921–24 Mountain 1921–90 Nakhichevan 1922–91 Yakut 1923–90 Buryat 1923–40 Karelian 1924–40 Moldavian 1924–29 Tajik 1925–92 Chuvash 1925–36 Kazakh 1926–36 Kirghiz 1931–92 Abkhaz 1932–92 Karakalpak 1934–90 Mordovian 1934–90 Udmurt 1935–43 Kalmyk 1936–44 Checheno-Ingush 1936–44 Kabardino-Balkarian 1936–90 Komi 1936–90 Mari 1936–90 North Ossetian 1944–57 Kabardin 1956–91 Karelian 1957–92 Checheno-Ingush 1957–91 Kabardino-Balkarian 1958–90 Kalmyk 1961–92 Tuvan 1990–91 Gorno-Altai 1991–92 Crimean 43°19′00″N 45°41′00″E / 43.3167°N 45.6833°E / 43.3167; 45.6833 Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( USSR ), commonly known as
9856-779: The founding republics who signed the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR in December 1922. In 1924, during the national delimitation in Central Asia, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were formed from parts of Russia's Turkestan ASSR and two Soviet dependencies, the Khorezm and Bukharan PSPs . In 1929, Tajikistan was split off from the Uzbekistan SSR. With the constitution of 1936, the Transcaucasian SFSR
9984-410: The general party membership, as the key principle of the party organization was democratic centralism , demanding strict subordination to higher bodies, and elections went uncontested, endorsing the candidates proposed from above. The Communist Party maintained its dominance over the state mainly through its control over the system of appointments . All senior government officials and most deputies of
10112-525: The globe. The post-Stalin leadership, particularly under Nikita Khrushchev , initiated a de-Stalinization process, leading to a period of liberalization and relative openness known as the Khrushchev Thaw . However, the subsequent era under Leonid Brezhnev , referred to as the Era of Stagnation , was marked by economic decline, political corruption, and a rigid gerontocracy . Despite efforts to maintain
10240-497: The government. Extensive extrajudicial powers were given to the Soviet secret police agencies . In practice, the Soviet government significantly curbed the rule of law , civil liberties , protection of law and guarantees of property , which were considered as examples of "bourgeois morality" by Soviet law theorists such as Andrey Vyshinsky . The USSR and other countries in the Soviet Bloc had abstained from affirming
10368-502: The grounds that he had failed to consolidate Chechnya's independence. He retaliated by dissolving parliament and other organs of power. Beginning in early summer of 1994, armed Chechen opposition groups with Russian military and financial backing tried repeatedly but without success to depose Dudayev by force. On 1 December 1994, the Russians began bombing Grozny airport and destroyed some former Soviet training aircraft taken away by
10496-454: The highest bodies of the party and making the Supreme Soviet less dependent on them. The Congress of People's Deputies was established, the majority of whose members were directly elected in competitive elections held in March 1989, the first in Soviet history. The Congress now elected the Supreme Soviet, which became a full-time parliament, and much stronger than before. For the first time since
10624-590: The hospital. Doku Zavgayev resigned from the post of chairman of the Supreme Council of Checheno-Ingushetia under pressure from protesters. On September 15, the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR Ruslan Khasbulatov arrived in Grozny. Under his leadership in the absence of a quorum the last session of the Supreme Soviet of the republic was held, at which the deputies decided to dissolve
10752-472: The implementation of socialist policies and the New Economic Policy (NEP), which allowed for market-oriented reforms. The rise of Joseph Stalin in the late 1920s ushered in an era of intense centralization and totalitarianism. Stalin's rule was characterized by the forced collectivization of agriculture , rapid industrialization , and the Great Purge , which eliminated perceived enemies of
10880-474: The increasing Ossetian-Ingush conflict . After Chechnya had announced its initial declaration of sovereignty in 1991, its former entity Ingushetia opted to join the Russian Federation as a federal subject (Republic of Ingushetia). The remaining rump state of Ichkeria (Chechnya) declared full independence in 1993. That same year the Russian language stopped being taught in Chechen schools and it
11008-545: The largest and most populous of which was the Russian SFSR . In practice, its government and economy were highly centralized . As a one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , it was a flagship communist state . Its capital and largest city was Moscow . The Soviet Union's roots lay in the October Revolution of 1917. The new government, led by Vladimir Lenin , established
11136-462: The mass movement was the executive committee of the OKChN headed by Dzhokhar Dudaev. After the failure of the GKChP, the executive committee of the OKChN and organizations of the national-radical wing came forward with a demand for the resignation of the Supreme Soviet of the Checheno-Ingush ASSR and the holding of new elections. On September 1–2, the 3rd session of the OKChN declared the Supreme Soviet of
11264-541: The most common Russian initialization is Союз ССР (transliteration: Soyuz SSR ) which essentially translates to Union of SSRs in English. In addition, the Russian short form name Советский Союз (transliteration: Sovyetsky Soyuz , which literally means Soviet Union ) is also commonly used, but only in its unabbreviated form. Since the start of the Great Patriotic War at the latest, abbreviating
11392-417: The newly elected Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR , and communist hardliners. On 19–21 August 1991, a group of hardliners staged a coup attempt . The coup failed, and the State Council of the Soviet Union became the highest organ of state power 'in the period of transition'. Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary, only remaining President for the final months of the existence of the USSR. The judiciary
11520-400: The nominal head of state . The institutions at lower levels were overseen and at times supplanted by primary party organizations . However, in practice the degree of control the party was able to exercise over the state bureaucracy, particularly after the death of Stalin, was far from total, with the bureaucracy pursuing different interests that were at times in conflict with the party, nor
11648-608: The official Soviet system of importance (ground forces were second, Air Force fourth, and Navy fifth). The army had the greatest political influence. In 1989, there served two million soldiers divided between 150 motorized and 52 armored divisions. Until the early 1960s, the Soviet navy was a rather small military branch, but after the Caribbean crisis , under the leadership of Sergei Gorshkov , it expanded significantly. It became known for battlecruisers and submarines. In 1989, there served 500 000 men. The Soviet Air Force focused on
11776-487: The only legal party and the final policymaker in the country. At the top of the Communist Party was the Central Committee , elected at Party Congresses and Conferences. In turn, the Central Committee voted for a Politburo (called the Presidium between 1952 and 1966), Secretariat and the general secretary (First Secretary from 1953 to 1966), the de facto highest office in the Soviet Union. Depending on
11904-694: The other order until 1936 . In addition, in the regional languages of several republics, the word council or conciliar in the respective language was only quite late changed to an adaptation of the Russian soviet and never in others, e.g. Ukrainian SSR . СССР (in the Latin alphabet: SSSR ) is the abbreviation of the Russian-language cognate of USSR, as written in Cyrillic letters . The Soviets used this abbreviation so frequently that audiences worldwide became familiar with its meaning. After this,
12032-552: The parliament. As a result of negotiations between Khasbulatov and the leaders of the executive committee of the OKChN as a temporary authority for the period before the elections (scheduled for November 17) the Provisional Supreme Council of the Checheno-Ingush ASSR was formed of 32 deputies, reduced shortly to 13 deputies, then up to 9. Dudaev's ally Khusein Akhmadov was elected chairman of the Provisional Supreme Council of Checheno-Ingushetia. Assistant to Khasbulatov Yuri Cherny became
12160-570: The partition of Poland. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II . Up until his death in 1953, Joseph Stalin controlled all foreign relations of the Soviet Union during the interwar period . Despite the increasing build-up of Germany 's war machine and the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War , the Soviet Union did not cooperate with any other nation, choosing to follow its own path. However, after Operation Barbarossa ,
12288-538: The party's highest body the Politburo . Operations were handled by the separate Ministry of Foreign Affairs . It was known as the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (or Narkomindel), until 1946. The most influential spokesmen were Georgy Chicherin (1872–1936), Maxim Litvinov (1876–1951), Vyacheslav Molotov (1890–1986), Andrey Vyshinsky (1883–1954) and Andrei Gromyko (1909–1989). Intellectuals were based in
12416-505: The remains of the Mountain ASSR were split into North Ossetian Autonomous Oblast and Ingush Autonomous Oblast . On January 15, 1934, Chechen and Ingush Autonomous Oblasts were joined into Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Oblast , which was elevated in status to that of an ASSR ( Checheno-Ingush ASSR ) on December 5, 1936. During World War II , in 1942–43, the republic was partly occupied by Nazi Germany while 40,000 Chechens fought in
12544-413: The republic in 1991. In response, Ichkeria mobilised its armed forces . On 11 December 1994, five days after Dudayev and Minister of Defense Pavel Grachev of Russia had agreed to avoid the further use of force, Russian troops invaded Chechnya. Before the fall of Grozny, Dudayev abandoned the presidential palace , moved south with his forces and continued leading the war throughout 1995, reportedly from
12672-790: The republic's independence from the Soviet Union. In the First Chechen War (1994–1996), Dudayev organized a successful resistance against Russian forces before he was assassinated by a Russian airstrike. Grozny , the capital of Chechnya, was renamed Dzhokhar-Ghala in Dudayev's honor between 1996 and 2005. Dudayev was born in Yalkhoroy from the Tsechoy teip in the Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), just
12800-714: The state. The Soviet Union played a crucial role in the Allied victory in World War II , but at a tremendous human cost, with millions of Soviet citizens perishing in the conflict. The Soviet Union emerged as one of the world's two superpowers, leading the Eastern Bloc in opposition to the Western Bloc during the Cold War . This period saw the USSR engage in an arms race, the Space Race , and proxy wars around
12928-469: The struggle for dominance was expressed via indirect means such as psychological warfare , propaganda campaigns, espionage , far-reaching embargoes , rivalry at sports events and technological competitions such as the Space Race . Constitutionally, the USSR was a federation of constituent Union Republics, which were either unitary states, such as Ukraine or Byelorussia (SSRs), or federations, such as Russia or Transcaucasia (SFSRs), all four being
13056-492: The truth". Human rights in the Soviet Union were severely limited. The Soviet Union was a totalitarian state from 1927 until 1953 and a one-party state until 1990. Freedom of speech was suppressed and dissent was punished. Independent political activities were not tolerated, whether these involved participation in free labour unions , private corporations , independent churches or opposition political parties . The freedom of movement within and especially outside
13184-527: The west further raised concerns. In the past, there were accidents involving submarines K-19 , K-8 , a K-129 , K-27 , K-219 and K-278 Komsomolets . There were three power hierarchies in the Soviet Union: the legislature represented by the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union , the government represented by the Council of Ministers , and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),
13312-465: The world's largest lakes; the Caspian Sea (shared with Iran ), and Lake Baikal , the world's largest (by volume) and deepest freshwater lake that is also an internal body of water in Russia. Neighbouring countries were aware of the high levels of pollution in the Soviet Union but after the dissolution of the Soviet Union it was discovered that its environmental problems were greater than what
13440-624: Was a coastline . The country bordered Afghanistan , the People's Republic of China , Czechoslovakia , Finland , Hungary , Iran , Mongolia , North Korea , Norway , Poland , Romania , and Turkey from 1945 to 1991. The Bering Strait separated the USSR from the United States . The country's highest mountain was Communism Peak (now Ismoil Somoni Peak ) in Tajikistan , at 7,495 metres (24,590 ft). The USSR also included most of
13568-554: Was a Chechen politician, statesman and military leader of the 1990s Chechen independence movement from Russia. He served as the first president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria from 1991 until his assassination in 1996. Dudayev had previously served as a senior officer in the Soviet Air Forces . Dudayev was born in Chechnya in 1944, days before his family and the entire Chechen nation were deported to Central Asia by
13696-534: Was also announced that the Chechen language would start to be written using the Latin alphabet (with some additional special Chechen characters) rather than Cyrillic in use since the 1930s. The state also began to print its own money and stamps. One of Dudayev's first decrees gave every man the right to bear arms . In 1993, the Chechen parliament attempted to organize a referendum on public confidence in Dudayev on
13824-478: Was also commander of the garrison of Tartu. He learned Estonian and showed great tolerance for restoration of Estonian independence when in autumn 1990 he ignored the orders (as commander of the garrison of Tartu) to shut down the Estonian television and parliament. In 1990, his air division was withdrawn from Estonia and Dudayev resigned from the Soviet military . In May 1990, Dudayev returned to Grozny ,
13952-539: Was also the industrial center of the Soviet Union. Historian Matthew White wrote that it was an open secret that the country's federal structure was 'window dressing' for Russian dominance. For that reason, the people of the USSR were usually called 'Russians', not 'Soviets', since 'everyone knew who really ran the show'. Under the Military Law of September 1925, the Soviet Armed Forces consisted of
14080-580: Was annexed to Russia as well, in the context of the long Caucasian War of 1817–64. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, on January 20, 1921, Chechnya and Ingushetia joined the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic . Partition of the Mountain ASSR began shortly after it was formed, and its Chechen District was separated on November 30, 1922, as Chechen Autonomous Oblast . On July 7, 1924,
14208-429: Was awarded several state orders of the Soviet Union, most notably the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of the Red Star . In 1991, Dudayev refused orders from Moscow to suppress Estonia's independence movement , and subsequently resigned from the Soviet Armed Forces before returning to Chechnya. He became president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria after a referendum in October 1991, and unilaterally declared
14336-434: Was brought under strict party control after Stalin's death. Under Yuri Andropov , the KGB engaged in the suppression of political dissent and maintained an extensive network of informers, reasserting itself as a political actor to some extent independent of the party-state structure, culminating in the anti-corruption campaign targeting high-ranking party officials in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The constitution , which
14464-595: Was carried out within the terms of the Soviet Civil Code. Some Soviet legal scholars even said that "criminal repression" may be applied in the absence of guilt. Martin Latsis , chief of Soviet Ukraine 's secret police explained: "Do not look in the file of incriminating evidence to see whether or not the accused rose up against the Soviets with arms or words. Ask him instead to which class he belongs, what
14592-542: Was colloquially, but incorrectly, referred to as Russia . The history of the Soviet Union began with the ideals of the Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War , the Soviet Union quickly became a one-party state under the Communist Party . Its early years under Lenin were marked by
14720-404: Was dissolved, resulting in its constituent republics of Armenia , Georgia and Azerbaijan being elevated to Union Republics, while Kazakhstan and Kirghizia were split off from the Russian SFSR, resulting in the same status. In August 1940, Moldavia was formed from parts of Ukraine and Soviet-occupied Bessarabia , and Ukrainian SSR. Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania were also annexed by
14848-507: Was elevated to an autonomous republic as the Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic from 1936 to 1944 and again from 1957 to 1993. Its capital was Grozny . However, because of alleged collaboration with Nazi Germany and the Axis powers during World War II , the autonomous republic was abolished on 7 March 1944 resulting the ethnic cleansing of the Chechens and Ingush from its territory. The autonomous republic's status
14976-569: Was held. On this day, the Supreme Soviet met in full force, heads of local councils, clergy, and heads of enterprises were invited for consultations. Dudayev and other leaders of the OKChN decided to take the building by storm. More than 40 deputies of the Checheno-Ingush parliament were beaten, and the chairman of the Grozny City Council, Vitaly Kutsenko, was thrown out of the window by the separatists, and then finished off in
15104-593: Was known as the Akhalkhevi District until 1957. On January 9, 1957, Khruschev implemented a policy which allowed deportees and their families to return, and the republic was restored . On November 27, 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic adopted a declaration on the state sovereignty of the Checheno-Ingush Republic, and on May 24, 1991, according to
15232-424: Was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers , but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars . The conflict was based around the ideological and geopolitical struggle for global influence by these two superpowers, following their temporary alliance and victory against Nazi Germany in 1945. Aside from the nuclear arsenal development and conventional military deployment,
15360-450: Was not independent of the other branches of government. The Supreme Court supervised the lower courts ( People's Court ) and applied the law as established by the constitution or as interpreted by the Supreme Soviet. The Constitutional Oversight Committee reviewed the constitutionality of laws and acts. The Soviet Union used the inquisitorial system of Roman law , where the judge, procurator , and defence attorney collaborate to "establish
15488-504: Was overthrown in late 1991, he was given asylum in Chechnya and attended Dudayev's inauguration as President. While he resided in Grozny he also helped to organise the first "All-Caucasian Conference" which was attended by independentist groups from across the region. Ichkeria never received diplomatic recognition from any internationally recognised state other than Georgia in 1991. The Chechen-Ingush Republic split in two in June 1992, amidst
15616-485: Was promulgated in 1924 , 1936 and 1977 , did not limit state power. No formal separation of powers existed between the Party, Supreme Soviet and Council of Ministers that represented executive and legislative branches of the government. The system was governed less by statute than by informal conventions, and no settled mechanism of leadership succession existed. Bitter and at times deadly power struggles took place in
15744-540: Was repeatedly postponed. Formal recognition came when the new Labour Party came to power in 1924. All the other countries followed suit in opening trade relations. Henry Ford opened large-scale business relations with the Soviets in the late 1920s, hoping that it would lead to long-term peace. Finally, in 1933, the United States officially recognized the USSR, a decision backed by the public opinion and especially by US business interests that expected an opening of
15872-501: Was restored in January 1957. The 1979 census reported the territory had an area of 19,300 square kilometres (7,500 sq mi) and a population of 1,155,805 ( 1979 Census ): 611,405 Chechens , 134,744 Ingush , and the rest were Russians and other ethnic groups. The region was incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1770. In 1810 a treaty facilitated Ingushetia's further integration into Russia. The Ingush needed an alliance with
16000-543: Was that "the Constitution was written not for you, but for American Negroes, so that they know how happy the lives of Soviet citizens are". Crime was determined not as the infraction of law, instead, it was determined as any action which could threaten the Soviet state and society. For example, a desire to make a profit could be interpreted as a counter-revolutionary activity punishable by death. The liquidation and deportation of millions of peasants in 1928–31
16128-587: Was the Russian responsibility to assist them. The Comintern was the weapon of choice. A few revolutions did break out, but they were quickly suppressed (the longest lasting one was in Hungary)—the Hungarian Soviet Republic —lasted only from 21 March 1919 to 1 August 1919. The Russian Bolsheviks were in no position to give any help. By 1921, Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin realized that capitalism had stabilized itself in Europe and there would not be any widespread revolutions anytime soon. It became
16256-404: Was the first major accident at a civilian nuclear power plant . Unparalleled in the world, it resulted in a large number of radioactive isotopes being released into the atmosphere. Radioactive doses were scattered relatively far. Although long-term effects of the accident were unknown, 4,000 new cases of thyroid cancer which resulted from the accident's contamination were reported at the time of
16384-486: Was the party itself monolithic from top to bottom, although factions were officially banned . The Supreme Soviet (successor of the Congress of Soviets ) was nominally the highest state body for most of the Soviet history, at first acting as a rubber stamp institution, approving and implementing all decisions made by the party. However, its powers and functions were extended in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, including
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