Soviet EmpireFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search

The maximum territorial extent of countries in the world under Soviet influence, after the Cuban Revolution of 1959 and before the official Sino-Soviet split of 1961The informal term "Soviet Empire" is used by critics of the Soviet Union to refer to that country's influence over a number of smaller nations during the Cold War. These nations were independent countries with separate governments that set their own policies, but those policies had to remain within certain limits decided by the Soviet Union. Failure to stay within the limits could result in military intervention by the Warsaw Pact. Countries in this situation are often called satellite states. This arrangement was always unofficial, and the Soviet government always denied having any power over other countries.Though the Soviet Union was not ruled by an emperor and declared itself anti-imperialist, critics[1][2] argue that it exhibited tendencies common to historic empires (the General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party was the prime overlord over the vassal-like Nomenklatura structure and supreme commander of the Soviet Armed Forces and the KGB). Some scholars hold that the Soviet Union was a hybrid entity containing elements common to both multinational empires and nation states.[1] It has also been argued that the USSR practiced colonialism as did other imperial powers.[3]Contents 1 Influence 1.1 The Soviet Union and its satellite states 2 Soviet involvement in the Third World 3 Socialist states opposed to the Soviet Union 4 See also 5 References

InfluenceThe Soviet Empire is considered to have included the following:[4][5]The Soviet Union and its satellite states

The USSR is seen in red, while states in light pink were satellites. Yugoslavia and Albania, communist states which ceased being Soviet allies in the '60s after the Sino-soviet split, are in purple and orange.These countries were the closest allies of the Soviet Union. They were members of the Comecon, a Soviet-led economic community founded in 1949. In addition, the ones located in Eastern Europe were also members of the Warsaw Pact. They were sometimes called the Eastern bloc in English and were widely viewed as Soviet satellite states. Bulgaria Cuba Czechoslovakia East Germany Hungary Mongolia Poland Romania North Vietnam/Vietnam (1945-1976/1976-present) Albania (ended participation in Comecon after 1961 due to Sino-Soviet Split)North Korea was a Soviet ally,[6] but always followed a highly isolationist foreign policy and therefore it did not join the Comecon or any other international organization of Socialist states.Soviet involvement in the Third WorldSome countries in the Third World had pro-Soviet governments during the Cold War. In the political terminology of the Soviet Union, these were "countries moving along the socialist road of development", as opposed to the more advanced "countries of developed socialism", which were mostly located in Eastern Europe, but also included Vietnam and Cuba. Most received some aid, either military or economic, from the Soviet Union, and were influenced by it to varying degrees. Sometimes, their support for the Soviet Union eventually stopped, for various reasons; in some cases the pro-Soviet government lost power, in other cases the pro-Soviet forces were overthrown by military coups promoted by the United States (such as in Chile and Brazil), in some cases the pro-Soviet forces gained power by military aid from the Soviet Union (such as in Vietnam), while in other cases the same government remained in power but changed its relations with the Soviet Union.

States that had communist governments in red, and states that the USSR believed at one point to be "moving toward socialism" in orange. Not all of the bright red states remained Soviet allies.Some of these countries were not Socialist states. They are marked in italic. Egypt (19541973) Syria (19551991) Iraq (19581961) Guinea (19601978) Somalia (19611977) Ghana (19641966) Peru (19681975) Sudan (19681972) Libya (19691991) People's Republic of the Congo (19691991) Chile (19701973) People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (19691990) Uganda (19661971) Madagascar (1972-1991) People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (19741991) Lao People's Democratic Republic (19751991) Benin (19751979) People's Republic of Mozambique (19751990) People's Republic of Angola (19771991) Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (19781991) Grenada (1979-1983) Nicaragua (19791990) People's Republic of Kampuchea (19791989)Socialist states opposed to the Soviet Union

Communist state alignments in 1980: pro-Soviet (red); pro-Chinese (yellow); and the non-aligned North Korea and Yugoslavia (black). Somalia had been pro-Soviet until 1977. Cambodia (Kampuchea) had been pro-China until 1979.Some Socialist states were openly opposed to the Soviet Union and many of its policies. Though their forms of government may have been similar, they were completely sovereign from the USSR and held only formal ties. Relations were often tense, sometimes even to the point of armed conflict. Yugoslavia (Informbiro 1948) Albania (following the Sino-Soviet split) China (following the Sino-Soviet split) Cambodia (19751979, due to Sino-Soviet split and Cambodian-Vietnamese War) Somali Democratic Republic (19771991, due to the Ogaden War)See also Index of Soviet Union-related articles American imperialism Cominform Greater Germanic Reich Imperialism Evil Empire Communist state Sino-Soviet split Soviet republics