The Soviet Union played a defensive role in the Allied victory in World War II, and later emerged as a superpower against the United States during the Cold War. The Soviet era saw the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the world’s first man-made satellite and the launch of the first man in space.
By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the world’s second largest economy, the world’s largest military power, and the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, 15 independent republics split. As the largest country, the most populous, and economically the most developed, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
changed its name to the Russian Federation and continued the legal and successor state status of the Soviet Union. Currently the country is a semi-presidential republic.
The Russian economy is ranked the 12th largest by nominal GDP and the sixth largest by purchasing power balances in 2015. Russia’s energy and mineral resources are the world’s largest, making it the world’s leading oil producer and natural gas producer.
The country is one of five known nuclear weapons states and has the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction in the world. Russia is a major country and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, also a member of the G20, European Council, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), The World Trade Organization (WTO), a principal member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and one of the five members of the Eurasian Economic Union, along with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
In 882 he captured Kiev, a Slavic City which developed into a trading center between Scandinavia and Constantinople. In 989 Vladimir I expanded his territory to the Caucasus and the Black Sea and adopted the teachings of the Greek Orthodox Church. The Russian kingdom of Kiev ended after the Mongol invasion in 1237 by Batu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan.
Subsequently the Mongols were defeated by Dimitri Donskoy in 1380 with a victory at Kulikovo. Then the scattered areas were reunited by Ivan IV; he conquered Kazan (1552), Astrakhan (1516) and took possession of Siberia. The government was continued by his successors until the Romanov dynasty ascended to the throne which was preceded by Michael Romanov’s appointment as Tsar (1613).
