Wikipedia:Today's featured article/March 25, 2005

The military history of the Soviet Union began in the early days following the 1917 October Revolution and the creation of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, which joined with other former provinces of the Russian Empire to become the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922. In the 1940s, the Soviet Union took part in World War II, assisting in the defeat of Nazi Germany and militarily occupied many former Axis nations in eastern Europe, which formed its satellite states in the Soviet bloc. Following the end of World War II, the Soviet Union became one of two superpowers, rivaling the United States. The Cold War between the two nations led to Soviet military buildups, the arms race, and the Space Race. By the early 1980s, the Soviet armed forces were the world's largest by every measure&#8212;in number of weapons, in manpower, and in size of their military-industrial base. In the end, the Soviet Union fell in 1991 due to economic and political factors rather than due to military defeat. (more...)

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