Questions tagged [soviet-union]
The Soviet Union or USSR (1922–1991) was a socialist state in Eurasia. After the 1924 death of founding leader Lenin (who led the October Revolution in 1917), Stalin established a planned economy and suppressed political opposition. After World War II, the Soviet Union emerged as one of the world's two superpowers, opposing the USA in the Cold War. 1980s leader Gorbachev attempted reform with perestroika and glasnost but the country collapsed in 1991.
522
questions
8
votes
1
answer
266
views
Did the Soviet Union's successful northern campaign have an impact on Swedish iron ore shipments to Germany?
Late in World War II, the Soviet Union successfully invaded Finland and forced her to disassociate herself from Nazi Germany. This happened to the point where the Finns were forced to allow Soviet ...
- 104k
3
votes
0
answers
191
views
Which Soviet submarine was HMS Splendid tracking on 30th March 1982?
In 'Vulcan 607', R. White describes the background of the submarines that headed to the Falkland Islands. For the HMS Splendid, he notes that the submarine, under CO Lane-Nott was engaged in a mission ...
- 10.7k
5
votes
0
answers
190
views
Were there Jewish diplomats in Nazi Germany?
It is pretty well known that Nazis discouraged US companies from having local representatives who were Jews. I imagine it did not happen all at once and the way foreign Jews were treated was quite ...
- 1,740
2
votes
1
answer
362
views
Why was there a "workers' militia" in Eastern Europe but not in the USSR?
After WWII, especially after 1956 in several Eastern European countries the ruling Communist Parties formed "workers' and peasants' militias", see for example, Worker's Militia or Combat ...
- 409
29
votes
5
answers
7k
views
Did the Soviet Union or its satellite states have any broadcast propaganda media for an international audience?
Since 1949, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has been a U.S. Government funded broadcasting service aimed at Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. During the Cold War, it mainly targeted ...
- 3,543
8
votes
0
answers
203
views
Did China repay Soviet grain aid?
The Sino-Soviet rift/split is a complicated issue. But there can be little doubt that it was complete by mid 1963, when the «Polemics on the General Line» were released by the Chinese Communist Party.
...
- 2,660
2
votes
1
answer
264
views
Why did the USSR support the PRC entry into the UN?
In 1971, the USSR (and satellites) voted in favor of UN Resolution 2758, which recognized the People's Republic of China (PRC) as "the only legitimate representative of China to the United ...
user34481
1
vote
4
answers
495
views
Can we meaningfully compare the poverty levels in the USSR to those in the USA at the same time and to those in the USA today? [closed]
I was told (by people who had lived there) that the USSR had homeless people but I would guess that the levels of homelessness were much lower and in general there were far fewer desperate people due ...
- 1,740
19
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Could the Soviet Union have supported Czechoslovakia primarily by air in 1938?
The Soviet Union was bound by treaty to support Czechoslovakia in 1938. One "sticking point" was that the Soviet Union would have to cross Polish and/or Romanian territory to do so.
Was ...
- 104k
5
votes
1
answer
180
views
Did Boris Belousov join in his brother's conspiracy to kill the Emperor?
I'm working on a paper about the Belousov-Zhabotinsky-reaction (a chemical oscillator).
I included some information about the history of oscillation reaction, in particular about Boris Pavlovich ...
- 283
12
votes
1
answer
864
views
Did Boris Pavlovich Belousov die in 1970 or 1976?
I'm working on a paper about the Belousov-Zhabotinsky-reaction (a chemical oscillator).
I included some information about the history of oscillation reaction, in particular about Boris Pavlovich ...
- 283
7
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Was the Volga really Russia's last line of defense before the Urals?
That was a claim made by General Vasily Chuikov in "The Battle For Stalingrad." He even went so far as to postulate a German column heading for Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan), toward the Chinese border. That ...
- 104k
4
votes
0
answers
292
views
Why wasn't Stalin deposed? How did he keep power for so long? [closed]
Stalin's two next successors, Malenkov and Khrushchev, were both ousted.
Why wasn't Stalin? Note that the cult of personality around Stalin was not so much directly tied to the man and his vanity, ...
user8309
20
votes
1
answer
5k
views
How did the world react to Trotsky's assassination?
Exiled former Russian leader Leon Trotsky was murdered in Mexico in August 1940 (with an ice pick) by a Soviet agent in the interest of Trotsky's old rival for power, the then Soviet dictator Stalin. ...
- 5,611
7
votes
1
answer
396
views
Were barcodes used in the Soviet Union?
I recently saw photos online taken from supposedly Soviet Russian shop, displaying a number of products as well as other interior of the shop. The cashier machines look extremely mechanical, but there ...
- 293
6
votes
1
answer
543
views
What was the Soviet reasoning for developing their Airborne Forces (VDV) into a powerful military branch?
The Soviet Airborne Forces (the VDV, or the Воздушно-десантные войска, or the Aerial Descent Force as a more precise translation) were one of the more prestigious units in the Soviet military (see '...
- 10.7k
1
vote
2
answers
277
views
What incentives were there for Soviet and Chinese politicians to try climb to the top when there was so much history of deposing their own? [closed]
USSR had 1936-1938 Great Purge, 1941 Red Army purges, Leningrad affair. Beria was executed. Nikita Khrushchev, Zhukov, Podgorny were ousted.
In China, Hua Goufeng was ousted, Zhao Ziyang house ...
user8309
11
votes
6
answers
5k
views
Were the NKVD hated by the regular army like the SS was?
I remember reading about how the Wehrmacht and the SS soldiers never got along, and I was wondering if it was the same way in the Soviet Union, with the regular Red Army not liking the NKVD?
- 187
4
votes
1
answer
262
views
Could the Germans have "sealed off" the Sea of Azov in World War II?
After the fall of Sevastopol in June, 1942, the Soviet navy retreated to the east coast of the Black Sea.
North of the Black Sea is the much smaller Sea of Azov, with a narrow access through the ...
- 104k
11
votes
2
answers
557
views
Why did Fall Blau start at Voronezh instead of further south?
The main objectives of Fall Blau, the German 1942 summer offensive, were the Volga River, to cut off Soviet oil supplies from further south, and the Caucasus oil fields themselves, for German use.
...
- 104k
3
votes
1
answer
223
views
Why did USSR lay down undersea communications cable between Petropavlovsk and Vladivostok?
Why not just use a land cable that goes around the Sea of Okhotsk? A land cable is safer, and tapping it is harder. I screen cap Google Maps.
I know the undersea cable is more direct, but did it ...
user8309
6
votes
3
answers
609
views
Can the German success on the Eastern front be largely explained by superior air power?
My understanding is that the Russians were mostly superior on the ground to the Germans (except for armor, in the early stages of the war), and the main German advantage was in the air.
The ...
- 104k
11
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Why was the Soviet Naval Infantry disbanded in 1947?
According to Peter Antill:
The naval Infantry performed a number of important landings in both World Wars including raids against the Turks around the Black Sea and the capture of Sakhalin Island and ...
- 1,010
13
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How much of the Jonestown money actually got given to the USSR?
So, I was reading the Wikipedia page on the Jonestown massacre, and I noticed that several members of the People's Temple (including their leadership) willed all of their money to the Communist Party ...
- 316
4
votes
1
answer
223
views
What is this illustration portraying?
While doing my presentation I have come across this illustration titles "Downfall of the Soviet Union". I am, however, unable to determine, who are the people on this illustration and what is it ...
- 49
28
votes
3
answers
8k
views
Were Soviets invited to the Marshall Islands to observe the first hydrogen bomb detonations?
In 1952, did the US invite, or consider inviting, Russian scientist to observe the detonation of the first hydrogen bomb? These were above-ground tests far away from Russian in the Marshall Islands, ...
- 737
6
votes
4
answers
804
views
How obvious was lend-lease equipment to the average Soviet soldier?
As the question says, was the average USSR soldier aware that the equipment isssued to them had come from the United States? Jeeps and aircraft are well known to have been sent to the USSR - would the ...
- 185
4
votes
2
answers
715
views
Was the 1939 Red Army more disciplined / better behaved than the 1943-1945 Red Army?
The Soviet Union Red Army had two westbound offensives into Central Europe (approximately the territory that is currently Belarus, Kaliningrad, Poland) as part of World War II:
The Soviet invasion of ...
- 3,543
7
votes
3
answers
609
views
Did the Allies ever seriously contemplate a "Northern Intervention" in Russia during World War II?
Late in World War I, Britain and America conducted a Northern Intervention around the Russian ports of Murmansk and Archangel to try to prevent the occupation of northern Russia by either the Germans ...
- 104k
5
votes
1
answer
364
views
Did the Soviet ever attempt "innocent passage" thru American waters?
In 1986 and 1988, the US Navy sent warships into Soviet Crimean Sea territorial waters as exercises of innocent passage (which essentially means that you can sail through an unfriendly nation's waters ...
- 490
7
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Did the Germans consider an amphibious landing for Fall Blau?
In the operation Fall Blau (Case Blue) the German Wehrmacht advanced towards the Don river, and then sent Army Group A into the Caucasus region to take the oil fields in the region.
They managed to ...
- 1,737
4
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Was there car insurance in the USSR?
I can't imagine how it works in a planned economy. Does the government replace your car if you crash it? Was there no sort of insurance?
user41834
22
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Did the Soviet leadership ever address the American people on American TV?
As part of the détente between the United States and the Soviet Union, American president Richard Nixon made an 18-minute address to the Soviet people, which was broadcast on Soviet state television ...
- 2,730
2
votes
0
answers
151
views
Did Cuba Benefit More Economically by Dealing with the Soviets [closed]
The Soviets arguably had a good reason to deal with Cuba as it led to them having an attacking point in the event of a hot war. However, the US are usually inclined to boost a country's economy up to ...
- 283
1
vote
3
answers
605
views
Is it true that Adolf Hitler foresaw a surrender on the Western front in the last week of April 1945? [closed]
David Irving's controversial book Hitler's War seems to imply that after his nervous breakdown during the battle of Berlin, Hitler realized that defeat was imminent and decided that surrendering in ...
- 47
3
votes
1
answer
714
views
Why didn't all non-Russian states become independent during the collapse of the Soviet Union?
There are so many sub-divisions in the country who are not Russian in their language and ethnicity, Tuva, Dagestan, Chechnya etc.
When states like the Baltics, Ukraine, and Central Asia were gaining ...
- 3,770
0
votes
2
answers
720
views
How did Red Army achieve to manipulate German Army in 1942 and 1943?
I had read during past days some books and internet texts about the East front campaign, during WW2. I took some information out of that, and it is very surprising to me.
First, I read that Russian ...
- 5,893
4
votes
0
answers
286
views
Help identify details from a Soviet military uniform?
My family on my great-grandfather's side came from Romania and I have a picture of one of his brothers in a soviet military uniform.
I know nothing of his involvement in the military and was hoping ...
- 241
3
votes
2
answers
768
views
Was it ever possible to see students with burka/paranji having education at the schools and universities of the Uzbek Soviet Republic?
Despite strict 'hujum' (assault in English) policies against veiling as part of the liberation of women in Muslim populated less-developed areas of the Soviet Union during the early years of the ...
- 61
5
votes
2
answers
591
views
What was the Soviet plan to respond to a nuclear first strike post WW 2?
I'm interested in the period between the war ending and the Soviets making their own bomb. Did they have a plan? Were they expecting a first strike?
1
vote
1
answer
245
views
Was the assassination of Kirov really that significant in consolidating Stalin's power? [closed]
I understand that the assassination of Kirov was what triggered the launch of the Great Purge and therefore, what allowed for Stalin to consolidate his power, but would there be something more ...
- 11
0
votes
2
answers
282
views
What are some good sources on the everyday life of Soviet troops during WWII?
Imagine I wanted to get a basic understanding what the everyday life of a Soviet soldier (especially infantry, tank units, air force) during WWII was like.
What books and other resources in English, ...
user23839
0
votes
0
answers
173
views
Were Soviet Union's best trained and equipped forces deployed on the Chinese border and not against NATO?
I heard a scholarly gentleman make this claim (without giving any details of his sources) that after the Sino-Soviet split the most capable forces were not aligned for a war with the West but were ...
- 159
5
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Did Yuri Gagarin really mention Anna Magnani in his flight in space?
This NYTimes article about the Italian actress Anna Magnani states:
Perhaps the best way to describe her effect on audiences is to quote from a documentary on the Italian actress by the Belgian film ...
- 51
39
votes
2
answers
11k
views
Did the Soviet army intentionally send troops (e.g. penal battalions) running over minefields?
You can hear this story/claim stated in various way, from just regular troops doing it, to just penal battalions, to strenuous denial nobody ever did this in the Soviet army. (Just look at a Quora ...
- 4,491
23
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Why did the Soviet Union not "grant" Inner Mongolia to Mongolia after World War Two?
In the brief Soviet anti-Japanese campaign of 1945, Soviet and Mongol troops entered Inner Mongolia. Mongolia itself had been essentially a client state of the Soviet Union since 1921. Also the ...
- 4,491
2
votes
1
answer
534
views
How much were lottery prizes taxed in Soviet Union?
I was a bit surprised to learn from this YouTube video (about Lottery in Soviet Union) that lottery of the kind where you had to guess like 6 numbers out of 49 or so existed in Soviet Union since ...
- 296
2
votes
2
answers
422
views
During the Soviet era, were people charged with crimes able to hire lawyers of their own?
Recently, I watched HBO's mini-series Chernobyl where the accused were brought for justice. But I was wondering why there was no lawyer for them.
1
vote
1
answer
253
views
How did the the Soviet-China near-war in 1969 affect the supply of arms to North Vietnam?
This is a bit of what I am looking for:vietnamwar/chinese-and-soviet-involvement/, but it seems incomplete.
Specifically, as the Soviets increased their aid to North Vietnam, where did Soviet weapons ...
8
votes
2
answers
354
views
Did Germans and Soviets count casualties differently at the Battle of Kursk?
I've been reading a good bit on the Soviet-Axis war of World War 2 as of late. Something that continually strikes me is the large variation in casualties for any given operation or battle that ...
