Soviet Union
The Soviet Union, officially known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a socialist state that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was formed by a group of revolutionary communists led by Vladimir Lenin, who overthrew the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution of 1917. The Soviet Union was a federal state comprised of multiple republics, with Moscow serving as its capital. The government was characterized by a single-party system and a planned economy, with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union holding all political power. The Soviet Union played a major role in World War II, emerging as a superpower alongside the United States during the Cold War. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 marked the end of the Cold War era and the disintegration of the communist state.