Soviet Union (USSR) ~ Grunge Flag (1923 - 1955)

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Russian: Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик, Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik), usually referred to as the Soviet Union or USSR, emerged from the 1917 Russian Revolution which toppled the tsarist empire. The Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (RSFSR) was established by Vladimir Lenin and its Red Army subsequently gained victory in the Russian Civil War by 1922. Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid 1920’s, initiating a process of rapid industrialisation, a planned economy and a state machinery based on political terror, paranoia and labour camps (the GULAG). Despite a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany and the Nazi-Soviet destruction of Poland in 1939, the USSR was hit by a Nazi-led Axis invasion in 1941. Though a terrible price was paid in resources and human lives, the Soviet regime emerged victoriously from the Second World War and was left as one of the world’s two super powers (along with the USA). During the ensuing Cold War, the USSR established a wide sphere of influence reaching from Germany to Korea. It was the first country in history to launch a satellite and conduct a successful human spaceflight. The Soviets’ communist economy nevertheless proved incapable of keeping up with the versatile capitalism of the West and had long fallen into stagnation by the mid 1980’s. To solve this, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev initiated his famous policies of glasnost and perestroika from 1987 onward. A coup d’état against Gorbachev was quelled in August 1991, which led to the banning of the CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union) and Gorbachev’s resignation in December that year, formally dissolving the Soviet Union.

The Soviet flag was a red field with a gold hammer and sickle and a red star with a gold border in the canton. The first design was adopted in 1923, the symbols slightly modified in 1955 and the red field slightly brightened in 1980. The hammer and sickle represent communism, the star represents the rule of the Communist Party. The flag has become an international symbol for the communist movement.

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