Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms

Difference Between

Home / Countries / Russia / Difference Between Russia and Soviet Union

Difference Between Russia and Soviet Union

February 24, 2011 Posted by Jay

Russia vs Soviet Union
 

Russia and Soviet Union are two sovereign states that stretch across two continents: Asia and Europe. However, the Soviet Union, officially Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, is now a defunct government that split into the Russian Federation and several other small countries. Therefore, it is important to have a look at the difference between Russia and Soviet Union.

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union was originally composed of the Russian Empire, which was inaugurated when the Empire was overthrown by Vladimir Lenin in 1917. Referred to as the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, it was not yet named the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republic). In 1922, the USSR was formed by the union of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and the Transcaucasian Republics. The USSR had one party political system where the Communist Party dominated. During its time, the USSR was the single largest state in the world, and it covered more than 8.6 million square miles. The capital of the USSR was Moscow. Since USSR was stretched over two continents, it had five climatic zones namely tundra, taiga, steppes, desert and mountains.

Steppes

The economy of the Soviet Union started first as a planned economy where the government handled the production and distribution of goods. No one was allowed to own anything. This cumulated in an economic disaster which resulted in a new policy. This New Economic Policy legalized free trade and the ownership of small business. The rise of Stalin, however, saw the end of the New Economic Policy and saw the birth of the Soviet Union as a new industrialized world power. Soviet transportation was technologically backward except for the railway system, which was the best in the world at that time. This is because a good transport system (the railways)was dictated by the centralization of all economic decisions. However, roads and other means of transportation remained underdeveloped. The Soviet Union was ethnically diverseas the ethnicity of the people was sometimes chosen in some cases. At the age of 16, if the child’s parents did not agree on the child’s ethnicity, his ethnicity will be the same as his mother’s. The Soviet Union was an atheist state according to their laws, but there were people that professed religion. Most of them were Russian Orthodox Christians and the rest were divided between Protestants and Muslims and Roman Catholics.

Russia

Russia is one of the resulting states from the fallout of the Soviet Union,assuming the duties of the Soviet Union when it dissolved. Russia retained majority of the territories from the Soviet Union including Siberia. Russia has the 10th largest economy in the world as it owns great amounts of natural resources, particularly oil and natural gas. Even though it was wrecked by political unrest, the Russian economy continued to grow over the years.

Difference Between Russia and Soviet Union

Tourism in Russia also experienced massive growth with the economic progress it was experiencing. Moscow and St. Petersburg, the former and current capital cities, are the most visited cities in the world. These cities also feature world renowned museums like the Tretyakov Gallery and the Hermitage, theaters such as the Bolshoi and Mariinsky, and churches such as Saint Basil’s Cathedral and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The Kremlin is also a big attraction as it is home to certain important city squares such as the Red Square. The Black Sea coastline is also home to some attractive beaches and resorts and will be the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Tourists also flock to Lake Baikal, the volcanoes and geysers of Kamchatka, the lakes of Karelia and the Altai Mountains. Travelling around the Russian Federation is still done by train since it inherited one of the best railway systems from the dissolved Soviet Union. However, unlike the USSR, the roads in Russia are now developed.

What is the difference between Russia and Soviet Union?

The major difference between the Soviet Union and Russia is the eras in which they existed. The USSR lasted from 1917 to about 1991 while Russia continued from that point in time. Except for economic progress, the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation are the same in terms of people and culture, although the Soviet Union has more ethnic diversity because of the inclusion of Asian states such as Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Then, government-wise, the Soviet Union, is a communist republic while the Russian Federation is a federation and a semi-presidential republic. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, more political parties have risen in Russia’s government although the Communist Party is still one of the major ones. At its simplest, the Soviet Union and Russia is one and the same. The Soviet Union is the predecessor of the current Russian Federation.

Summary:

Soviet Union vs Russia

• Soviet Union, or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, is a defunct union of countries that spans over Europe and Asia. It had a single-party political system and closed economic policy.

• Russia or the Russian Federation is the successor of the Soviet Union and consists now only of Russia and Siberia for the most part. It has since abandoned the single party political system and is now a federalist republic.

• The tourist spots in Russia and the Soviet Union is still the same, with the major cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg attracting the majority of visitors. However, there are many natural wonders that merits visitation, like Lake Baikal.

 

Photos By: Dennis Jarvis (CC BY- SA 2.0), Ludovic Hirlimann (CC BY- SA 2.0) via Flick

Related posts:

No related posts.

Filed Under: Russia Tagged With: capital of USSR, economy of Soviet Union, Russia, Russian climatic zones, Russian economy, Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Union, USSR

About the Author: Jay

Comments

  1. swift69 says

    April 11, 2012 at 6:42 am

    “small” countries?  How, exactly, does Ukraine, the largest country entirely in Europe, qualify as a “small” country?

    What a lame article.

    Reply
    • Fuckyou!!! says

      November 28, 2013 at 5:02 pm

      Um…Russia, which is in Europe, is a larger country then Ukraine.

      Reply
      • ANYBODYK52 says

        December 14, 2013 at 10:13 pm

        Russia is in Asia Asshole!

        Reply
        • Fuckyou!!! says

          January 17, 2014 at 11:41 pm

          @ ANYBODYK52

          “Russia is in Asia Asshole”

          LOL, shows how little you know. Russia is a combined landmass of Europe and Asia, which is called Eurasia.

          Western Russia (i.e. European Russia) is in Europe. Western Russia (i.e. European Russia) is 40% of Europe. Ukraine used to be a part of Russia and at that time the percentage of Western Russia (i.e. European Russia) used to be much higher. Belarus used to be a part of Russia too, specifically a part of Western Russia (i.e. European Russia). The majority of the Russian population lives in Western Russia (i.e European Russia). Russia is a larger country than Ukraine. Russia is the largest country in the world.

          The Soviet Union split into Russia (larger than Ukraine and Belarus) and other small countries such as Ukraine and Belarus.

          Reply
          • Adam Clowes says

            April 14, 2018 at 9:26 pm

            no. russia is russia. west of the mountain range. soviet union was cccp until 1917. then was ussr until 1990’s. largest in europe is greenland anyway. but yes… russian federation is larger than canada. but i guess technically, considering the dribble i have read on this page, that as its 5km away by walking at certain points of the year and the deepth of water is less than 100ft inwhich monolith connection is exposed…….its all the same , right? ahahha

      • ANYBODYK52 says

        December 14, 2013 at 10:13 pm

        Russia is in Asia Asshole!

        Reply
        • Adam Clowes says

          April 14, 2018 at 9:08 pm

          russia is in europe. ‘russian federation’ is east of the mountain range and very much ‘siberia’ and HUGE. 55 miles away from alaska at closest ppoint as it goes

          Reply
    • Fuckyou!!! says

      January 18, 2014 at 12:36 am

      Ukraine qualifies as a small country because the article is about Russia and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union split into Russia and other small countries such as Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldavia. Kyrgyzstan was a part of the Soviet Union and is by far larger than Ukraine; though Kyrgyzstan is small compared to Russia.

      The article is NOT about Europe. Ukraine is the largest country that is ENTIRELY in Europe.

      Russia is the largest country that is NOT ENTIRELY in Europe. Western Russia (i.e. European Russia) is larger than Ukraine.

      Reply
      • Adam Clowes says

        April 14, 2018 at 9:06 pm

        incorrect. greenland is the largest country in europe.

        Reply
        • Oscar says

          September 24, 2020 at 7:42 pm

          Greenland is not a country. It is an autonomous region of Denmark. Although not 100% sure.
          However, Greenland is definitely not a country.

          Reply
    • Hawaii_Doc says

      May 11, 2014 at 5:20 pm

      When compared to US states like Alaska and Texas, Ukraine might be considered as small by some. Now that Russia has stolen Crimea from Ukraine it makes Ukraine only slightly larger than the US states on Nevada and California combined. This just shows how small European nations are, with the exception of Russia.

      Reply
      • Adam Clowes says

        April 14, 2018 at 9:06 pm

        crimea is very very deep to russian heritage and history. it was infact the eu and un that created the taking of crimea from russia. lol. hence why they took it back. was no need to be disrecpectful to the russians, like that

        Reply
  2. Hawaii_Doc says

    May 11, 2014 at 4:48 pm

    Please look up the definition of a continent. Russia lies on one (1) continent, Eurasia. Europe nor Asia are not seperate continents but merely the opposie ends of the same continent. In fact Africa too is part of the same continent. Most people also beieve that North America and South America are two seperate continents, they are in fact a single continent named America. These are facts that are geologically correct despite what you were wrongly taught in school. I invite you to verify these facts for yourself.

    Reply
    • Adam Clowes says

      April 14, 2018 at 9:04 pm

      wrong. lol! 7 continents in the world. north america, south america (but yes are called the ‘americas’ as a collective), europe, africa, asia, antartica, and australasia. is no such ‘eurasia’ despite what you think. only americans think like you

      Reply
      • L says

        April 28, 2018 at 6:17 pm

        Physiographically, Eurasia is a single continent. The concepts of Europe and Asia as distinct continents date back to antiquity and their borders are geologically arbitrary. In ancient times the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, along with their associated straits, were seen as separating the continents, but today the Ural and Caucasus ranges are more seen as the main delimiters between the two

        Reply
        • Adam Clowes says

          August 10, 2018 at 6:19 pm

          that is like saying english language is an american creation. lol

          Reply
  3. Brandon says

    June 14, 2014 at 7:34 am

    Their athletes are not as great.

    Reply
  4. Adam Clowes says

    August 10, 2018 at 6:17 pm

    physiographically my arse. the reality is simple. THERE IS NO EURASIA! lol. There is europe. and there is a an asia. Middle east is simple given its title due to the swastika. look at it from a global ariel view…. swastika. Real historians are full aware of this. And aware of hindus second most important emblem, being such. Either way.. still aint separate continents. 7 wonders of the world was created due to such geography. Seven natural wonders. One from from each seven continents. (in original history writings anyway. Why the europeans think they are able to thieve this, i will never know. English were not dumb enough to. lol

    Reply
  5. Vladimir Yuri Visayinnovich says

    November 17, 2021 at 9:27 am

    Middle east is simple given its title due to the swastika. look at it from a global ariel view…. swastika. Real historians are full aware of this. And aware of hindus second most important emblem, being such. Either way.. still aint separate continents. 7 wonders of the world was created due to such geography. Seven natural wonders. One from from each seven continents. (in original history writings anyway. Why the europeans think they are able to thieve this, i will never know. English were not dumb enough to. lol

    Reply
  6. Dmitry Vladimir Yuri says

    November 17, 2021 at 9:31 am

    That is cool

    Russia is truly a successor state of it’s parent country- the Soviet Union

    But Russia is just a bleeding bear , a dying bear that once held dominance

    Russia is dying and by 2050 Russia will get divided into thousands of federal republics , kingdoms and principalities.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Request Article

Featured Posts

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

You May Like

Difference Between  HD and UHD TV

Difference Between HD and UHD TV

Difference Between Classes and Structures

What is the Difference Between Zyrtec and Benadryl

What is the Difference Between Zyrtec and Benadryl

Difference Between Wine and Champagne

Difference Between Vested and Invested

Latest Posts

  • What is the Difference Between Actinic Keratosis and Bowen’s Disease
  • What is the Difference Between Kerion and Favus
  • What is the Difference Between Corpus Callosum and Corpus Luteum
  • What is the Difference Between Ciprofloxacin and Amoxicillin
  • What is the Difference Between HER2 Positive and HER2 Negative
  • What is the Difference Between Hiatal Hernia and Gallbladder Pain
  • Home
  • Vacancies
  • About
  • Request Article
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2010-2018 Difference Between. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy: Legal.