Soviet Union



The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR, or CCCP in transcribed Russian in the English alphabet, and more commonly known and referred to as the Soviet Union) was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. Out of the 15 republics of the USSR, Russia was the largest in terms of size, and making up over half of the total USSR population, dominated the union for its entire 69-year history. It was founded by Vladimir Lenin, who had earlier been exiled by what was ultimately the last Czar of Russia, Czar Nikolas II. After studying Karl Marx's ideologies, he was set on emulating Marx's teachings in undergoing a revolution, with his faction being composed of what he called the Red Russians, otherwise known as the bolsheviks. Ultimately, he succeeded. Shortly afterward, the newly-founded USSR became a founding member of the Philosophers, alongside the United States of America and China. Throughout its existence, the USSR committed several atrocities in the name of Marxism, which grew to a head with the second leader of the USSR, Josef Stalin, which included the Katyn Forest Massacre during World War II, a massacre that was covered up to the West, even after Stalin's death, until the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.

The Order of Lenin, named after its founder, was the most prestigious award issued within the Soviet Union. It was awarded to individuals, organizations, as well as cities for outstanding achievements in warfare, science, industry, the arts, and various other fields, and as such was considered the highest honor within the Eastern bloc. It was also usually issued out with the title of "Hero of Socialism." A well known recipient of the award was the Soviet weapons researcher Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin. Another was the Stalin Medal, utilizing the Soviet Star, with a famous recipient of the award also being Granin.

Cold War incidents
In the early 1960s, the Cold War between the USA and the Soviet Union reached a vital point following the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion. In 1962, a U2 Spy Plane photographed a Nuclear Weapons Disposal Facility in Cuba, gaining evidence that the Soviets were in fact using it to store live missiles, sparking the fear of nuclear war. President John F. Kennedy made a deal with Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev, that in return for the U.S. not invading Cuba, the Soviet Union would remove their missiles. As a result of their failure to establish a Missile Base in Cuba, the Soviet Union searched for two years for a new location to build their missile base, eventually finding the San Hieronymo Peninsula.

In actuality, the U.S.'s part of the deal was not just to not invade, but in fact to provide the Soviet Union with scientist Nikolai Stepanovich Sokolov. In 1964, in an operation known as the Virtuous Mission, Naked Snake was sent to rescue Sokolov and return him safely to the West. The operation was, in official records, a disastrous failure. However, in a follow up mission, known as Operation Snake Eater, Snake was successful in destroying a secret nuclear weapon, being developed by the extremist GRU Colonel, Volgin. Afterwards, the Soviet Union hailed Naked Snake, now known as Big Boss, as a hero due to his fight against Volgin, given Jonathan's comments, during the San Hieronymo Takeover, to Big Boss.

When the era of détente began in 1970, the Soviet Union, in order to participate in the SALT Talks endorsed by President Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev, halted construction of the San Hieronymo missile base and abandoned the personnel, cutting off both supplies and communications. This ultimately led which to an uprising as soon as the FOX Unit took over the base, and was nearly the target of the ICBMG, although it was later revealed that Gene never intended to launch the ICBMG into the Soviet Union, and only made it seem as though it were to do this.

At some point later, the Soviet Union dispatched KGB operative Vladimir Zadornov to Costa Rica, to help spread Communism across Central America, and to split America into two and thus win the Cold War. He tricked CIA Station Chief Hot Coldman into forging an alliance with him and attempted to use Peace Walker to launch a nuke towards Cuba from an American base in Nicaragua, to ensure the plan succeeded. However, the KGB's plan backfired when Coldman ended up going through with the launch upon dying, and leaking false data to NORAD, which almost resulted in an all out nuclear war.

During its time, the Soviets also frequently stoked ethnic hatreds in the countries it occupied (including Georgia and Abkhazia), as a means to further control them. When it fell in the 1990s, this also resulted in the ethnic hatreds that were relatively restrained to boil up to the surface.

Behind the scenes
The Soviet Union plays an important role in the Metal Gear series, with many characters originating from the former country. However, despite its importance, it was only used a setting once in the series, in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

In Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, the Soviet Union was still in existence as late as December 1999 (the setting of the game). This was due to the fact that the Soviet Union still existed when the game was released in 1990. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, its role was given to the Commonwealth of Independent States in the Previous Operations summary in Metal Gear Solid. Because the re-released versions of Metal Gear 2 did not update the game's script, the Soviet Union is still referenced in-game.

A group based in the Soviet Union, known as the Assembly was briefly mentioned in a leaked voice casting sheet for Metal Gear Solid 3. In it, the Assembly was described as having bought out out Boris Volgin's money laundering business, and were responsible for supplying his son, GRU Colonel Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin, with the Philosophers' Legacy.