Deseret News archives: Mighty USSR formed on this date in 1922

On Dec. 30, 1922, collection of Soviet countries formed a union that lasted until 1991

Published: Dec 30, 2024, 10:22 a.m. MSTUpdated: Dec 30, 2025, 9:46 a.m. MST

Visitors look at the painting "The signing of the treaty on the formation of the USSR on Dec. 30, 1922, in the Bolshoi Theater" by Stepan Dudnik at the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022. The Soviet Union cast a long shadow after it was founded 100 years ago, but its lifespan was short — dying just a few days short of its 69th birthday. Alexander Zemlianichenko, Associated Press

Chris is assistant editor with the Politics and the West team, and also writes a daily Deseret News archives story.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Dec. 30, 2024.

A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.

On Dec. 30, 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR, officially came into existence, as leaders gathered in the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow to sign the Treaty on the Creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

After overthrowing the centuries-old Romanov monarchy, Russia emerged from a civil war in 1921 as the newly formed Soviet Union. The world’s first Marxist-Communist state became one of the biggest and most powerful nations in the world, occupying nearly one-sixth of Earth’s land surface, before its fall and ultimate dissolution in 1991.

That’s right, 69 years.

Initially, the union consisted of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Transcaucasia (modern Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan).

The USSR was eventually made up of 15 republics: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

Its leaders through the years — either dictators or secretary generals of the Central Committee — were Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Georgy Malenkov, Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Breshnev, Yuri Andropov, Konstantin Chernenko and Mikhail Gorbachev.

FILE - Mikhail Gorbachev, eighth and final leader of the Soviet Union, closes his resignation speech on the table after delivering it on Soviet television in the Kremlin, Moscow, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 1991. It was a momentous event that ended an era — Gorbachev's resignation drawing a line under the USSR's existence. The AP Moscow photo chief, Liu Heung Shing, was the only foreign photographer who captured the final moments of the Soviet Union on Dec. 25, 1991. | Liu Heung Shing, Associated Press

Interestingly, all save Gorbachev were alive when the USSR was formed. Gorbachev was instrumental in the dissolution of the union of nations.

There is little mention of the USSR forming in the Deseret News and other Western newspapers, though news coverage of battles between the U.S. and its Soviet counterpart through the years have been well documented.

Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about the USSR — though some information is outdated — its changes in leadership and other interesting facts:

“How Russia looked during 1917 revolution — and now”

“This week in history: The USSR’s first Five-Year Plan”

“This week in history: Khrushchev denounces Stalin in secret speech”

“Perspective: What makes a great leader? Look to Gorbachev”