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 United Kingdom House of Commons.

Table of contents

1 Motivation of the term
2 Countries dominated by the Soviet Union

2.1 Within the Soviet Union
2.2 The so-called "Socialist Camp"

3 Countries attempted to introduce Marxist-type socialism
4 Marxist countries that avoided the domination of the Soviet Union
5 Marxist-type socialist republics remained after the collapse of the Soviet Empire
6 Related topics

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 the British Empire and 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

Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Estonia
Georgia
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Lithuania
Moldova
Russian Federation (which in its turn consisted of several autonomous republics)
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
Uzbekistan

The so-called "Socialist Camp"

These countries are also known as members of the Comecon, a Soviet-led economic community.

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. Most received some aid, either military or economic, from the Soviet Union.

Marxist countries that avoided the domination of the Soviet Union

Marxist-type socialist republics remained after the collapse of the Soviet Empire

All other countries listed above are either no longer exist or no longer have socialism.