On December 30, 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was established when the First Congress of Soviets of the USSR adopted the Declaration on the Formation of the Soviet Union. Starting with the unification of four republics formed after the October Revolution of 1917 and the collapse of the Russian Empire, by 1956, the USSR had grown to include 15 republics: the Russian SFSR, Ukrainian SSR, Belarusian SSR, Uzbek SSR, Kazakh SSR, Georgian SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, Lithuanian SSR, Moldavian SSR, Latvian SSR, Kyrgyz SSR, Tajik SSR, Armenian SSR, Turkmen SSR, and Estonian SSR. It was the largest country in the world by area, second in economic and military power, and third in population. The USSR spanned the eastern half of Europe and the northern third of Asia. The history of the USSR is an incredible succession of remarkable events. It includes magnificent victories and disappointing defeats, the admiration of unique achievements, and the fear of repression. As a vast and powerful country with enormous economic potential and rich cultural traditions, the USSR experienced both accomplishments and losses throughout its existence. The USSR had a profound impact on civilizational processes and world history. Before the Union’s creation, humanity’s global history had never seen such large-scale voluntary unifications of nations and ethnic groups into a single state. Despite facing many challenges, between 1913 and 1986, the nation increased its national wealth more than 50 times and its national income 94 times. The number of university students grew 40-fold, and the number of doctors nearly 50-fold. By 1986, the USSR’s national income was 66% of that of the USA, industrial output was 80%, and agriculture was 85%. The USSR held a leading position in the world, and other states had to consider its interests. Soviet science, culture, art, education, and sports were exceptional. There was no field in which the USSR did not achieve success and victories. The victory over fascism was a triumph of the unyielding Russian spirit. The opening of the space age, the first human in space, the first rocket, the first cosmodrome, and the first space station – these were all achievements of the USSR. Russian culture, the most recognizable worldwide, the sports achievements of Soviet athletes, the neighborly relations between republics, and the well-developed social system – all of this operated across the vast territory of the Union. The political and economic transformations of 1985–1991 severely undermined the economy and destabilized life in the country. Internal political conflicts between the central government and the union republics intensified. In 1990, all republics adopted declarations of sovereignty, and in August 1991, a coup attempt occurred in Moscow. These events led to the dissolution of the USSR. On December 8, 1991, in the Belovezh Forest, Russian SFSR President Boris Yeltsin, Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk, and Belarusian Supreme Soviet Chairman Stanislav Shushkevich signed the agreement to dissolve the USSR. A few days later, on December 25, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as President of the USSR. On December 26, 1991, the USSR officially ceased to exist. Today, everything associated with the Soviet period is often criticized. But denying continuity, vilifying history, and seeing only the negatives in the past deprives us, our children, and our grandchildren of the energy needed for the future. On this day, the Day of a Country That No Longer Exists, we invite witnesses of the Soviet period to look back once again and ask – what was good in the USSR, and what lessons can be carried forward for a better future.