USSR History (1922-1991). Every Year. История СССР.

UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 when the Bolsheviks, headed by Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the Provisional Government that had earlier replaced the house of Romanov of the Russian Empire. Tensions escalated into a civil war between the Bolshevik Red Army and many anti-Bolshevik forces across the former Empire, among whom the largest faction was the White Army. By 1922, the balance of power had shifted and the Bolsheviks had emerged victorious, forming the Soviet Union. The country was one-party state governed by the Communist Party. Before its dissolution, the USSR had maintained its status as a superpower for four decades after World War II. It exercised its hegemony in East-Central Europe and worldwide with military and economic strength, proxy conflicts and influence in developing countries and funding of scientific research, especially in space technology and weaponry. _________________________________ LEADERS OF T