The Soviet Union was the world's first communist country and had a major influence on 20th-century history — and still has an influence today. When you purchase through links on our site, we may ...

For much of the 20th century, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), more commonly known as the Soviet Union, rivaled the United States in political, military, and economic strength.

Russian President Vladimir Putin famously described the Soviet Union’s collapse as the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century.” On Wednesday, he marked Mikhail Gorbachev’s ...

The 20th century led not, ... Outlasting the Soviet Union required a 40-year struggle pervaded by threats of Armageddon. Other aspiring hegemons did dreadful damage before they fell.

I have always felt that Mikhail Gorbachev was one of the greatest heroes of the 20th century (“Mikhail Gorbachev,” Review & Outlook, Aug. 31). Here was a leader who looked at the facts and ...

MOSCOW — Before Mikhail Gorbachev came along, the Soviet Union seemed an immovable superpower in perpetual antagonism to the United States. With a breathtaking series of reforms, Gorbachev ...

Few leaders in the 20th century, indeed in any century, have had such a profound effect on their time. ... The Soviet Union had become a major world power weighed down by a weak economy.