●════════════|☭|USSR|☭|════════════●

●════════════|The History of the USSR|════════════●
n 1917, the Russian Revolution ended the Romanov Dynasty. In October, Lenin and the Bolshevik Party seized the Winter Palace and began to establish the Bolshevik regime. Bread, peace and land became party policy as the Bolsheviks ended the war with Germany. A Civil War between the Reds and Whites followed, and the Red Army emerged victorious. As such, in 1922 the Bolsheviks established the USSR; and Lenin was the first Premier of the Soviet Union.

The failure of War Communism convinced the party that it needed a new policy. The New Economic Policy (otherwise NEP) replaced this policy. NEP introduced a degree of free market reform in the USSR, and a measure of economic recovery followed. Grain surpluses were recorded, and Russian rail-roads also expanded. The policy remained in place until Lenin's passing in 1924.

Lenin's passing left the Bolshevik party without a clear replacement. Lenin had never clearly stated whom his replacement should be in his final testament. However, Lenin did request that Stalin be removed from his position as General Secretary of the Communist Party. However, the testament was never widely published, and was further edited. By 1927, Stalin had clearly emerged as Communist Party leader.

Among Stalin's most notable policies was the Five Year Plan, which replaced NEP. The Five Year Plan set a variety of targets to expand Russian industry. Although some of these targets may have seemed somewhat unrealistic, the Five Year Plan did notably expand Russian industry by the early 1930s. New Five Year Plans would be introduced during the 1930s.

The USSR remained largely isolationist during the period. However, in 1936 the USSR supported the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War. Here the Soviets provided them with a variety of equipment and supplies. However, despite this the Republicans could still not win the Spanish Civil War as Franco emerged in Spain.

In 1939, Stalin was not in attendance at the Munich Conference. Although this conference did not ensure peace in Europe, so Stalin negotiated a pact with the Germans. The Nazi-Soviet Pact was a neutrality agreement by both sides, and provided the Germans with a clear path into Poland. As such, the German army advanced into and defeated Poland; and France and Britain declared war with Germany.

However, the pact would not last; and by 1941 German troop movements had been detected close to the Soviet border. For sure, Russian intelligence warnings had detected the German army, however they were largely ignored. The war did not begin well for the Red Army as they retreated, and retreated again. However, a freezing winter and fresh reserves stalled the German advance, and they never really recovered. From 1943 onward, the Red Army steadily advanced and by 1945 occupied Berlin.

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