Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

The Soviet Union was originally the

Russian Empire. The tsar, or emperor,

fell from power in a revolution that took

place in 1917. Later in the same year a

group called the Bolsheviks came to

power. This group, later renamed the

Communist Party, fought other Russians

in a civil war that lasted from 1918 to

1920. Vladimir Lenin led the Communists.

The Communists won the war.

Early Years

On December 20, 1922, the Communists

created the Union of Soviet Socialist

Republics. Russia was one of its

republics. The other republics were

mostly regions of the former Russian

Empire. They were home to various

non-Russian groups.

Lenin died in 1924. A few years later, a

Communist Party leader named Joseph

Stalin came to power. Stalin was one of

the cruelest rulers who ever lived. He

killed farmers who did not want collective

farms. He sold crops to foreign

countries and let his own people starve.

During the 1930s he caused as many as

10 million people in the Soviet Union to

die.

WorldWar II

In 1939, just beforeWorldWar II

began, Germany and the Soviet Union

secretly agreed not to attack each other.

Germany then invaded Poland, which

started the war. Germany and the Soviet

Union divided Poland between them.

The Soviet Union also took Latvia,

Lithuania, and Estonia at this time and

made them Soviet republics.

In June 1941, however, Germany broke

the agreement and invaded the Soviet

Union. The Soviet Union then joined

the United States and Great Britain to

fight Germany.

The Soviet Union suffered terribly during

the war. By the time Germany surrendered

in 1945 more than 20 million

Soviet people had died.

ColdWar

Despite all the damage it had suffered,

the Soviet Union was still the greatest

power in Europe afterWorldWar II.

While fighting the Germans, Soviet

troops moved into many countries in

eastern Europe. Between 1945 and 1948

the Soviets set up Communist governments

in these countries. They con-

The Communist Party leader Vladimir Lenin

speaks to an outdoor gathering in 1920.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 13

 

trolled these governments. This activity

worried many people in other countries,

particularly the United States. Both

countries built up their military forces.

The rivalry between them came to be

known as the ColdWar.

The United States and the Soviet Union

both developed nuclear weapons. Many

people were afraid that this would lead

to nuclear war. But neither country ever

used the weapons.

Conditions improved for the Soviet

people following Stalin’s death in 1953.

Over the next few years Nikita Khrushchev

came to power. Khrushchev introduced

some reforms that angered other

Communist party leaders. In 1964 he

lost power.

Some eastern European countries tried

to take advantage of the reforms. They

rose up against Soviet rule. To stop the

uprisings, the Soviet Union invaded

Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in

1968.

The Soviets invaded Afghanistan in

1979. Afghanistan is an Asian country

that bordered the Soviet Union. Rebels

there were trying to overthrow a Communist

government. The United States

supported the rebels. In 1989 the Soviet

Union left Afghanistan in defeat.

Breakup

In 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev came to

power. Gorbachev wanted to build a

stronger economy and a freer society.

His policies were called glasnost, which

means “openness,” and perestroika,

which means “restructuring.” But Gorbachev

soon learned that the more freedom

his people had, the more they

wanted. Beginning in 1987 people in

some of the Soviet republics began to

demand independence.

In 1989 a series of almost completely

peaceful revolutions began. The eastern

European countries gained independence

from Soviet control. During 1991

the Soviet republics also gained their

independence. On the last day of that

year, the Soviet Union came to an end.

Fifteen separate countries replaced it.

#More to explore

ColdWar • Communism • Lenin,

Vladimir Ilich • Moscow • Russia

• Russian Revolution • Stalin, Joseph

Each May Day (May 1) the Soviet government

paraded missiles and other military

weapons through Red Square in central

Moscow.

14 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates is a small,

rich country in the Middle East. The

capital is Abu Dhabi.

Geography

The country is a union of seven small

kingdoms, or emirates. The emirate

called Abu Dhabi takes up most of the

country’s land. It stretches along the

Persian Gulf, to the north. The other six

emirates are in the northeast. The country

shares borders with Saudi Arabia and

Oman. Most of the land is a flat desert.

Plants and Animals

Few plants grow in the desert. Date

palm, mango, and guava trees grow near

the coast. Snakes, lizards, foxes, hares,

and gerbils live in the country.

People

Less than a quarter of the people in the

United Arab Emirates are citizens. Most

people are workers from other countries.

Arabs make up about half of the population.

South Asians form the next largest

group. Most people are Muslims. Arabic

is the main language.

Economy

The United Arab Emirates’ economy

depends on the sale of oil and natural