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
British House of Commons.
Though it was not ruled by an Emperor and never formally considered itself to be an Empire, the Soviet Union had many imperialistic tendencies that had been common in historic empires.
Some of the Imperial features of the Soviet Union included:
- Territorial expansion through invasion
- Interest in conquering "foreign" lands (eg: Afghanistan)
- Strong central "Imperial" government controlling the governments of all subsidiary territories
- Imposition of puppet governments in neighbouring countries
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 a the British Empire or the Ottoman Empire.
At the height of its existence, the "Soviet Empire" consisted of the following nations:
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