The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. The USSR was established on the territory that until 1917 had been occupied by the Russian Empire without Finland, a part of the Kingdom of Poland and some other territories. The Soviet power in this territory was established resulting from the October Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent Civil War, which led to a consolidation of 4 republics: the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the Byelorussian SSR and the Transcaucasian SFSR.
On December 30, 1922, they were formed into a single state, the Union of SSR, with integrated government authorities and the capital in Moscow, while each federal republic retained de jure the right of a free exit from the Union. The Soviet Union dominated in the world system of socialism, was a UN co-founder and a permanent member of the UN Security Council with the right of veto. According to the Constitution of 1977, the USSR was proclaimed a unified federal multinational socialist State. The federal republics were considered sovereign states. Their number varied from 4 to 16; the USSR boundaries actively enlarged.
In the second half of the 1980s, the USSR encountered an economic and political crisis; an internal political conflict between the federal center and the Union republics intensified. The consequences of all these events led to a collapse of the USSR in 1991. By the time of the break-up, the USSR consisted of 15 federal republics.
The Russian Federation was de facto recognized the legal successor state to the USSR in the international legal relations and took its place in the UN Security Council.
The postal block provides images of coats of arms of 15 Union Republics; the postage stamp features the coat of arms of the USSR.
In addition to the issue of the postal block, JSC Marka produced First Day Covers and special cancels for Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Novosibirsk, Penza, Yoshkar Ola and Yakutsk as well as an illustrated envelope with the postal block, a label and a First Day Cover with a cancel for Moscow inside.
Design Artist: S. Ulyanovsky.
Face value: 200 rubles.
Block size (diam): 100 mm, stamp size in the block: 37×37 mm
Quantity: 30 thousand items.
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