Talk:Soviet Union
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Did you know nomination
[edit]- The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.
The result was: rejected by reviewer, closed by Schwede66 talk 17:51, 11 January 2024 (UTC)
- ... that Source: Boris Yeltsin came into power on July 10, 1991?
- Reviewed:
Created by 342rfawrfarefarwf (talk). Self-nominated at 18:03, 9 January 2024 (UTC). Post-promotion hook changes for this nom will be logged at Template talk:Did you know nominations/Soviet Union; consider watching this nomination, if it is successful, until the hook appears on the Main Page.
- Unfortunately the article is not eligible for DYK as it is not newly-created, it was not expanded at least five times, and it wasn't promoted to Good Article status within the last seven days. In addition, no hook has actually been proposed. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 18:33, 9 January 2024 (UTC)
Successor?
[edit]Was the Soviet Union legal successor to the Russian Empire? Marquis05 (talk) 05:06, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
- The Soviet Union was not the legal successor to the Russian Empire in a straightforward legal sense, but it was its de facto successor AlasdarVan (talk) 05:56, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
- Can you explain? Marquis05 (talk) 06:10, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
- Maybe they could, but Wikipedia talk pages are not forums. Ask the question on a forum like Reddit instead. Yue🌙 06:13, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
- So we should add two words "de facto" at the beginning of the article to avoid misunderstanding. Marquis05 (talk) 06:21, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
- Internationally, it was indeed recognized that the SU was the legal successor to the RE, due to the acquisition of all RE assets, and it did assume many of the Empire's responsibilities and positions both domestically and internationally. But, the Soviet Union implemented a new legal and political framework, distinct from that of the Russian Empire, which could be an argument for the succession not being LEGAL. While the SU itself did not recognize (did not claim) the legality of their succession, it was de-facto.
- It is also hard to say if int.community officially recognized the SU as the LEGAL successor of the RE. They did recognize the legality of establishment of the SU, though not succession. An example would be a mention from the US History Governmental website on USSR, where it states:
- "With the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, the United States considered the Russian Federation as the successor state of the USSR"
- No mention of neither de jure nor de facto. AlasdarVan (talk) 20:25, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
- Forget about the example. I did not notice it was about the Russian Federation and USSR, not USSR and the RE. Sorry AlasdarVan (talk) 20:29, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
- Can you explain? Marquis05 (talk) 06:10, 3 June 2024 (UTC)
- Russian Republic succeeded Russian Empire. Mellk (talk) 13:22, 5 June 2024 (UTC)
- This is a difficult question. And this is a much more complex issue than in the case of the Soviet Union with its 12 successors and 1 continuator (I invite everyone to expand the article Succession, continuity and legacy of the Soviet Union). It looks like this is a partial succession by choice in the case of the Russian Empire and the USSR. "The General Treaty between the USSR and the United Kingdom was signed on 18 August 1924. It announced that 17 treaties between the Russian Empire and the United Kingdom were not in force, but at the same time there was a list of treaties between the Russian Empire and the United Kingdom that remained in force between the USSR and United Kingdom." [1]
During Gorbachev's visit to the UK in 1986, an Agreement was signed between the Government of the USSR and the Government of the UK on the settlement of mutual financial and property claims that arose before 1939. Under it, the UK renounced all claims that arose before 1 January 1939, in particular claims in relation to any bonds issued or guaranteed before 7 November 1917 by the former Government of the Russian Empire or any part of the Russian Empire, or the authorities administering such part, and belonging to the Government or citizens of the United Kingdom. [2]
In 1996, Paris and Moscow signed an accord for Russia to partly repay czarist bonds. "In France, lawsuits were also filed against the Russian government, demanding repayment of the loan (in full). However, the court (in France) refused to recognize the Russian Federation as a guarantor for the issuance of the tsarist loans. According to the court's position, the actions of the Russian Empire are covered by diplomatic immunity, which the Russian Federation inherited as the legal successor of the Russian Empire and which neutralizes lawsuits directed against the Russian Federation." [3] The same article says “In 1990, Mikhail Gorbachev signed an agreement in which the USSR recognized itself as the legal successor of the Russian Empire and all regimes that existed on its territory in 1917–1922.” But it is necessary to find the text of this agreement. ruASG+1 04:20, 29 August 2024 (UTC)
Short description
[edit]Please take seriously the short description. Do not frivolously discard a perfectly good short description because it "sounds odd". Feel free to use this section of the talk page to start a discussion of possible improvement to the short description. Bruce leverett (talk) 04:36, 22 June 2024 (UTC)
1986 Study should be removed
[edit]Someone is trying to push personal agendas when linking the debunked 1986 study about quality of life. The study is not peer reviewed, incorrectly lists multiple capitalist countries with decentralized economies socialists and vice versa. The sample size is also only 33 countries which suggests even more sampling bias. Regardless of your opinions the source is not reliable and has many detractors. Davionwiki (talk) 19:58, 23 June 2024 (UTC)
Successor list should include de facto successors
[edit]The Gagauz Republic was a de facto successor to the Soviet Union and should be listed as such. It declared independence from the Moldavian SSR and never formally seceded from the union. Whether or not it was internationally recognized is irrelevant because it was functionally independent and not part of overall Moldova at the time of the USSR's official dissolution. SavagePanda845 (talk) 18:12, 23 July 2024 (UTC)
- In the documentation for Template:infobox country, I don't see any guidelines about deciding what entities should be included in the "Succeeded by" column. Am I missing something, or, alternatively, has this issue been resolved, or even discussed, in the talk page for that template or in any other talk page anywhere?
- Looking at German Empire, I see that the "Succeeded by" column includes Memel territory, Territory of the Saar Basin, and Danzig. But for some reason, it doesn't include various other pieces of territory that were carved out of Germany after the first world war. Bruce leverett (talk) 01:40, 24 July 2024 (UTC)
- I had added the Gagauz Republic as one of the Soviet Union’s successors. It was removed, I re-added it with a summary, and it was removed again. It took it to talk to not start an edit war. SavagePanda845 (talk) 01:52, 24 July 2024 (UTC)
- I think we should create a uniform standard for each successor states. I don’t know if the Gagauz Republic should be here at all. YDMC192 (talk) 02:46, 24 July 2024 (UTC)
- Another question about a piece of the old Soviet Union being a successor is Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which has caused at least one edit war. Also Transnistria.
- Since this is Wikipedia, perhaps we should be using notability as a criterion, rather than diplomatic recognition by other nations, or "functional independence" (whatever that is). With that as the criterion, all three of these states should be on the list. Bruce leverett (talk) 04:12, 24 July 2024 (UTC)
- I think that they should only put sovereign states recognized by the United Nations. That’s just my opinion. Because that’s the only format. YDMC192 (talk) 07:40, 24 July 2024 (UTC)
- I didn't say "functional independence" as if that's a widely recognized status countries seek to achieve. I meant that if a break-away nation holds territory and functions independently from the nation they broke away from, then it should be included. Like, that is literally what a country is and diplomatic relations shouldn't matter. Case in point, North Korea is very much considered its own country, despite not being recognized by their southern neighbors. Of course that doesn't mean you have to support them or believe they should exist. Personally, the idea of "recognizing" countries is just silly to me, because they're there whether you like them or not. SavagePanda845 (talk) 21:45, 24 July 2024 (UTC)
- Usually it is said that 15 republics emerged from the USSR. The infobox should summarize key details, the information about breakaway states should be mentioned elsewhere. It is not possible to adequately communicate the nuances in the infobox. This all depends on the sources. Mellk (talk) 21:57, 24 July 2024 (UTC)
- Include only the sovereign states recognized by the United Nations organization or something. YDMC192 (talk) 22:55, 24 July 2024 (UTC)
- Notes are often used in infoboxes though for unclear things or for clarification. They may not give every bit of information as like you said, infoboxes summarize key details, but they do condense it and leave it readable. SavagePanda845 (talk) 00:03, 25 July 2024 (UTC)
- How many breakaway states and self-proclaimed states were there? Should we include a footnote for every single one? Mellk (talk) 00:05, 25 July 2024 (UTC)
- I agree that the infobox should be a summary of key details, a point that I had forgotten. From MOS:INFOBOXPURPOSE, this is a statement of the basic paradox: "The less information that an infobox contains, the more effectively it serves its purpose, allowing readers to identify key facts at a glance."
- At present, a summary of the breakaway and self-proclaimed states is given in the last paragraph of the "Post-Soviet states" section. This is little more than a bunch of links, but I think that is adequate for the purposes of this article. I also think that the infobox should list only the 15 republics (plus perhaps the CIS). However, future editors will be tempted to re-add the breakaways to this list, and if a single footnote mentioning them would help to discourage that, it might be useful. Bruce leverett (talk) 00:29, 25 July 2024 (UTC)
- Perhaps it can be done in a similar as in ru:Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, where it states UN member states only, and the footnote mentions the Russian Federation as the continuator state and other details, if necessary, Mellk (talk) 00:35, 25 July 2024 (UTC)
- Maybe that as you described but only the states recognized by the United Nations only. YDMC192 (talk) 01:29, 25 July 2024 (UTC)
- Perhaps it can be done in a similar as in ru:Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, where it states UN member states only, and the footnote mentions the Russian Federation as the continuator state and other details, if necessary, Mellk (talk) 00:35, 25 July 2024 (UTC)
- How many breakaway states and self-proclaimed states were there? Should we include a footnote for every single one? Mellk (talk) 00:05, 25 July 2024 (UTC)
- Usually it is said that 15 republics emerged from the USSR. The infobox should summarize key details, the information about breakaway states should be mentioned elsewhere. It is not possible to adequately communicate the nuances in the infobox. This all depends on the sources. Mellk (talk) 21:57, 24 July 2024 (UTC)
- I think we should create a uniform standard for each successor states. I don’t know if the Gagauz Republic should be here at all. YDMC192 (talk) 02:46, 24 July 2024 (UTC)
- I had added the Gagauz Republic as one of the Soviet Union’s successors. It was removed, I re-added it with a summary, and it was removed again. It took it to talk to not start an edit war. SavagePanda845 (talk) 01:52, 24 July 2024 (UTC)
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were NEVER part of the Soviet Union
[edit]Why does the article insist on naming these three sovereign states as having preceded the USSR and succeeded it when they were never legally a part of it, but rather illegally occupied by it? Basically only criminal Russia today claims that they were legitimately part of it. At the very least, the infobox should make it VERY clear that these three are considered to have been illegally occupied by the USSR and don't consider themselves as neither predecessors, nor successors of the USSR.
Also, the sentence "In August 1991, Latvia and Estonia immediately declared the restoration of their full independence (following Lithuania's 1990 example)." is rather simplistic history and makes it look as if Estonia and Latvia truly followed Lithuania's example when getting rid of the Soviet rule. The real timeline of events was far more complicated and all three had declared Soviet rule to have been legally null and void from the start in early 1990, in a rather short timeframe. Estonia had even been the first to declare sovereignty from the occupying USSR. I suggest this sentence be revised - the word "example" should be changed to "declaration". 146.255.183.23 (talk) 17:18, 8 August 2024 (UTC)
- None of which changes the fact that by any practical definition they were part and parcel of the Soviet Union. I understand that that is distasteful to them, but it is a simple fact. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 15:54, 19 September 2024 (UTC)
Independent confusion between Estonia, Latvia and Armenia
[edit]Well since both got their independence restored possibly on the same year and month (Like Latvia: Either 5/4/1990 (Declared/Partial Independent) or 8/21/1991 (Fully Independent), and Estonia: Either 5/8/1990 (Declared/Partial Independent) or 8/20/1991 (Fully Independent)). It's pretty confused for people to think what the actual date is that they restored their independent. Let's hope someone can make this less confused. Don’t forget about the Armenia’s independence (despite it gained in 8/23/1990 as declared/partial and 9/21/1991 and fully). As of according to the actual history or government, 4 countries left the Soviet Union not just 1— Preceding unsigned comment added by STB363 (talk • contribs) 20:08, 19 August 2024 (UTC)
GDP placement is wrong, I think.
[edit]Can someone fix this, I do not have access. Japan was the second largest economy in the world in 1990, after the US. Why does it say 2nd after the Soviet Unions GDP? It should say third. Northside95 (talk) 22:14, 27 August 2024 (UTC)
- The Soviet Union had fixed exchange rate of the Soviet ruble (and didn't allow free movement of capital) therefore in 1990 its nominal GDP was the second largest according to CIA, see List of countries by past and projected GDP (nominal)#CIA estimates in 1990. ruASG+1 02:55, 29 August 2024 (UTC)
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