Soviet Empire
Soviet Empire was a term used to critically describe the actions and nature of the
Soviet Union. It gained popularity after US President
Ronald Reagan famously denounced the
USSR as an "Evil Empire" in a
1982 speech to the
House of Commons.
Motivation of the term
Though it was not ruled by an
Emperor and never formally considered itself to be an
Empire, the Soviet Union had typical imperialistic tendencies common to historic empires:
- Territorial expansion through invasion or subversion (e.g.: Poland, Baltic States, Finland, Afghanistan).
- Strong central "Imperial" government controlling the governments of all subsidiary and satellite territories.
- The union is held together by strong coercion, including military force (see histories of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland).
For these reasons and others, the Soviet Union is sometimes considered by historians to be one of the
main empires of history, equal to such notables as a the
British Empire or the
Ottoman Empire.
Countries dominated by the Soviet Union
At the height of its existence, the "Soviet Empire" consisted of the following nations:
- Within the Soviet Union
- The so-called "Socialist Camp"
Marxist countries that avoided the domination of the Soviet Union
Countries attempted to introduce Marxist-type socialism
In the political terminology of the
Soviet Union, they were "countries moving along the socialist way of development", as opposed to the "countries of developed socialism", listed above.
Countries that still have Marxist-type socialist republics
All other countries listed above are either no longer exist or no longer have socialism.
Related topics
Communism
