Atlas of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union
Administrative divisions of the Soviet Union, 1989.
Location of the Soviet Union

The Soviet Union, or Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a political federation of republics that existed from 1917 to 1991. The Soviet Union spanned the continents of Europe and Asia from the Baltic and Black Seas to the Pacific Ocean, roughly corresponding to the territory of the former Russian Empire. For most of its history, the USSR was comprised of fifteen Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs) corresponding to the modern-day countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Bahá'ís had lived in the Russian Empire for many years prior to the creation of the Soviet Union in 1917, with major centres existing in the Caucasus (Baku), Turkestan (Ashkhabad), and European Russia (Moscow).

Initially spared from significant difficulties following the Bolshevik Revolution that created the USSR, state-sponsored persecution against the Bahá'ís began in earnest in 1928, culminating in the banning of Bahá'í meetings, the dissolution of Spiritual Assemblies, the expropriation of the House of Worship in Ashkhabad, the exile of prominent Bahá'ís to gulags in Siberia, and the deportation of many Persian Bahá'ís to Iran. By 1938, the activities of the Bahá’í community had ground to a halt. Only a handful of groups remained across the USSR, with some isolated individuals scattered across the Union. Bahá'ís were noted as living in "no more than five" Soviet Republics by 1953: the Azerbaijan, Armenian, Georgian, Turkmen, and Uzbek SSRs.

Some limited expansion took place during the Ten Year Crusade, when additional Bahá'ís arrived in the Kazakh, Kirghiz, and Tajik Republics. After slow progress through the 1960s and early 1970s, the late 1970s saw a new phase of growth, beginning with the Byelorussian SSR welcoming its first pioneer, which was followed by the first Bahá'í wedding recorded in the USSR. A wave of new pioneers arrived in Moscow and a number of other cities across the Union. Finally, with the openness brought by the new government policy of glasnost, organized groups began to enter in the late 1980s, introducing Soviet citizens to the Bahá'í Faith on a large scale and sparking rapid growth. In February 1990, the Soviet Union's first Bahá'í conference in 60 years took place, gathering followers from 35 different centres; at Ridvan that year, Local Spiritual Assemblies were formed in Moscow, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Kiev, and Tallinn, joining the Ashkhabad Assembly which had reformed the previous year. The following year, enough centres had been established to elect the first—and last—National Spiritual Assembly of the Soviet Union, shortly before the Union's dissolution on December 31, 1991. Five National Spiritual Assemblies were formed in 1992, including an independent Assembly in Azerbaijan and four joint Assemblies which were gradually replaced by independent Assemblies for the rest of the former Soviet Republics.

National Assembly: Soviet Union
Official Website: http://www.bahaisofiran.org/
Statistics
Population: 
Bahá’í pop.: 300,000
History
First Local Assembly: 1895, Ashkhabad
First National Assembly: 1991
First National Convention: 1990

Regions of the Soviet Union

General areas

The largest constituent republic of the Soviet Union was the Russian SFSR, roughly coterminous with the modern-day Russian Federation. Within the Russian SFSR, the following regions are defined:

• 
  European Russia: Territory west of the Ural Mountains
• 
  Siberia: Territory east of the Ural Mountains
• 
  Russian Far East: Between Lake Baikal and the Pacific Ocean

The following three general areas of the Soviet Union can also be highlighted:

• 
  Eastern Europe: Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Byelorussian, Ukrainian, and Moldavian SSRs
• 
  The Caucasus: Georgian, Armenian, and Azerbaijan SSRs
• 
  Central Asia (Turkestan): Kazakh, Uzbek, Turkmen, Kirghiz, and Tajik SSRs

Soviet Republics

Republics of the Soviet Union, as of 1991.

Throughout most of its history, the Soviet Union was composed of fifteen Union Republics. The largest of these, and the first to be established, was the Russian SFSR. In alphabetical order, the other republics included the Armenian, Azerbaijan, Byelorussian, Estonian, Georgian, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Latvian, Lithuanian, Moldavian, Tajik, Turkmen, Ukrainian, and Uzbek SSRs; these were established and joined the Union at various points between 1919 and 1940, after which the internal administrative structure of the USSR more or less stabilized. Other Union Republics were recognized by the USSR at different times, including: the Bukharan and Khorezm People's Soviet Republics; the Karelo-Finnish SSR; the SSR of Lithuania and Belorussia; the Transcaucasian SFSR; and the Commune of the Working People of Estonia. As well, two non-union Soviet republics existed, namely the Far Eastern Republic and the Tuvan People's Republic.

Demography

Population

• 
  Population density (1982)

Language, ethnicity, and religion

• 
  Ethnic groups (1970s)
• 
  Religious groups (1961)
• 
  Religious groups (1981)

History

Formation of the USSR and early years

Moscow

St. Petersburg

Tbilisi

Yerevan

Baku

Ashkhabad

Samarkand

Tashkent

Early centres of Baha'i activity in the Soviet Union, including European Russia, the Caucasus, and Turkestan.

In the years immediately following the Bolshevik revolution, the Bahá’í community was largely spared from the harsh anti-religious laws enacted by the new government and for a time enjoyed considerable freedom. At the time, major centres of Bahá’í activity existed in three areas of the Soviet Union, including European Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg), the Caucasus (Baku, Yerevan, Tbilisi), and Turkestan (Ashkhabad, Samarkand, Tashkent).

Media

A collection of media related to the Soviet Union Events (Conferences • Conventions (Nat'l) • Establishments • Holy days • Publications • Seasonal schools (Summer • Winter)) Maps • Buildings and structures • Bahá’í centres (Local • National) • Cities • Schools • Houses of Worship People (Children) • Spiritual Assemblies (Local • National) • Atlas

Notes and references

General remarks The Bahai.media Atlas of the World is an organized and commented collection of geographical and historical maps. The main page is therefore the portal to maps and cartography. That page contains links to entries by country, continent and by topic as well as general notes and references. Every entry has an introduction section in English. The text of the introduction(s) is based on the content of the Bahaipedia encyclopedia. For sources of the introduction see therefore the Bahaipedia entries linked to. The same goes for the texts in the history sections. Historical maps are included in the continent, country and dependency entries. The status of various entities is disputed. See the content for the entities concerned. Notes References