RUSSIAN+LEVEL+TWO

=NOTE: You can click on all highlighted words for links to articles about that subject.=

=The Soviet national [|anthem] with English translation. Also included are some interesting examples of [|Soviet art.]=

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 * The Soviet Union was the old name of the Russian government. It came into existence during the Russian Revolution of 1917. During the Russian Revolution, the leaders of the Soviet government killed the Russian noble family and created a new government, headed by [|Vladimir Lenin.] This government was based on the idea of [|Communism.] In a Communist society, all people would work for the government. Some people thought this would make a more fair and equal society, in which there would be no upper class and lower class, no rich or poor people. Unfortunately the Soviet Union became a dictatorship, and the government tried to control the lives of all citizens. The secret police, called the [|KGB], monitored the activities of regular people. Citizens who criticized the government were sent to prison camps and were sometimes executed. The United States and the Soviet Union spent many years opposing each other during the [|Cold War.] It was called a Cold War because the US and the Soviet Union did not fight each other directly. The Soviet Union had nuclear weapons, and for many years people were afraid there would be a nuclear war between the two countries. Eventually the Russian people themselves refused to live in such a terrible society, and in a series of elections, they threw out the Soviet government in 1991. At that time Russia became a freer society and was renamed the [|Russian Federation].** **However, some people feel that under the Putin government, Russia is returning to a more dictatorial society.**