Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (commonly referred to as the Soviet Union or abbreviated as USSR or CCCP in Cyrillic), often referred to as just Russia or Soviet Russia, was a major communistCodsworth: "Here you are, /. Now, I've been thinking. If something is amiss... your loved ones may simply be hiding. From... the Red Menace."The Sole Survivor: "The Red Menace?"Codsworth: "Why the communists, of course! The Russians AND the Chinese!"(Codsworth's dialogue) power existing before the Great War. However, it has been eclipsed by China as the main foe of the United States, and enjoyed much more cordial relations by 2077.
==Background==
In 1917, tsarist Russia underwent a revolution under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, and became the first ever constitutionally socialist state. This would be the basis for the eventual USSR. The Soviet Union fought in World War II on the side of the Allies, with Soviet tanks and troops capturing Berlin.Fallout intro shows the conquest of Berlin, with an IS-2 before the Reichstag. Later in the 20th century, the Soviet Union and fellow communist power China both contested the United States' claim that American astronaut Captain Carl Bell was the first human in space aboard Defiance 7.Museum of Technology placard: "This is the actual skeleton of Captain Carl Bell who died on May 5, 1961 after his Space Capsule crash landed. Captain Bell is credited as being the first human in space on board the Space Capsule Defiance 7, but this has been constantly refuted by both the Soviet Union and China. Defiance 7's flight lasted for a total of 12 minutes and 7 seconds as it achieved one full revolution around the Earth. Donated by Edwina Bell."
By the 21st century, China was considered a greater threat to the United States than the Soviet Union. However, the two communist powers were considered natural allies by the United States and thus a threat. After the outbreak of the Sino-American War, the possibility of a joint nuclear first strike by the USSR and China under orders from Chairman Cheng was considered as a viable option by defense analysts.[[The Switchboard terminal entries#> 2067 Jun 19|The Switchboard terminal entries; research terminal, > 2067 Jun 19]] Russian human mutation experiments also "inspired" similar research efforts in America.Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.85: "Michael MastersMichael Masters was an esteemed electronic and biological engineer before the bombs dropped. He doesn't remember much of the first years after D.C. was destroyed, but he does remember his human life and resents his Ghoulish nature (though he does appreciate the gift of longevity). He was extremely intelligent and jovial in his old life, but living as a Ghoul has made him very pessimistic and angry at the world. He sees his Ghoulness as a karmic curse, because he was attempting to keep America at the forefront of human mutation experiments, breeding super-warriors after being inspired by the work of the German, Russian, and Chinese doctors."(Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition Wasteland Census)
By 2077, relations between the United States and the Soviet Union improved. It was still considered a potential enemy among the U.S. military,Wastewater treatment plant terminal entries; manager's terminal, Reply from City Treasurer and corporate propaganda vilified the USSR as a land of forced labor camps, enforced austerity, and a source of spies trying to obtain national secrets.HELIOS One terminal entries; terminal, "Can I Tell Him?" Communist propaganda was also commonly broadcast to the United States,Pioneer Scout camp terminal entries; Pioneer badge exam terminal, CodebreakerPioneer Scout camp terminal entries; Pioneer badge exam terminal, Rail Enthusiast and Russians were commonly bundled together with the Chinese as the "Red Menace."
However, relations were close enough that a Soviet diplomat from the Soviet Consulate in Los Angeles was accepted as a resident of Vault 13, in the midst of the Sino-American War, and thus survived the Great War.Natalia Dubrovhsky's Fallout bioVault Dweller's Survival Guide p.3-2: "NATALIANatalia is the grand-child of a Russian diplomat who worked at the Soviet Consulate in Los Angeles. She is a talented acrobat, with excellent coordination and reflexes. She is extremely intelligent and resourceful. Her only difficulty as a young child was understanding personal property laws. Natalia is very interested in leaving the Vault, and curious to explore the outside world." A substantial amount of old AK-112 assault rifles were also imported to the United States, remaining a common sight in New California.Fallout and Fallout 2 item description: "{2300}{}{Assault Rifle}""{2301}{}{An AK-112 5mm Assault Rifle. An old military model, out of use around the time of the war. Can fire single-shot or burst, using the high velocity 5mm rounds. Min ST: 5.}"(PRO ITEM.MSG (Fallout), PRO ITEM.MSG (Fallout 2))
Soviet citizens were also present in American organized crime. Boston crime boss Eddie Winter employed Russian hitman Aleksandr Strelnikov, and Lev immigrated to the United States prior to the war to prey upon the American public.Eddie Winter holotape 0A Vault Dweller: "Who is Lev, and why would he do this?"Lou: "He's just some Soviet former mobster jagoff. He and his crew joined up with us a while back. You probably saw him hanging around the Crater Core? Liked to think of himself as Meg's number two, but I don't think she thought the same. Dunno why he did what he did. Maybe just hates ghouls. Maybe hates the rest of Meg's gang. Maybe both. "(Lou's dialogue)A Vault Dweller: "How did you end up here?"Lev: "From Russia, before the war. But I like it here. Americans are so soft. Such easy prey."(Lev's dialogue)
==Known locations==
* Chukchi Sea, Chukotka, and Gulf of AnadyrCapitol Post article loading screen
* Russia
* The Kremlin
* Red Square
* Trans-Siberian Railway
==Notes==
* In the Fallout 3 add-on Operation: Anchorage, General Jingwei's shocksword has a Soviet hammer and sickle.General Jingwei's shocksword texture file
* Surkov-brand vodka, which can be found in Fallout 4 and Fallout 76, was marketed as being imported directly from Russia.:File:BottleLabels01 d.png
* In Fallout 76, the Camp McClintock Patriotism Training building has a sign with the Soviet hammer and sickle being stabbed. A poster depicts a similar situation, with a voting booth replacing the knife.Voting booth smashing a red and yellow hammer and sickle insignia
* The Soviet Union is mentioned in Fallout Tactics: the Spetnaz, a Russian special forces unit, is mentioned in the description for the Scorpio submachine gun, and the AK47 explicitly names Soviet armies.
* A crashed satellite bearing the Cyrillic letters CCCP (USSR in English) appears in Episode 2 of the Fallout TV series, potentially the first explicitly Soviet item to appear in the franchise. War and Peace also appears in the series, though it is a 19th century book from tsarist Russia.
==Appearances==
The Soviet Union is mentioned in Fallout, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, Fallout 76 and its updates Wild Appalachia and Wastelanders, Fallout Tactics, and the Fallout TV series.
==Behind the scenes==
* In the Origins of Fallout, R. Scott Campbell noted that, "The nuclear Armageddon in the back-story was between the US and China. After shipping several people asked me why China and not the old standby, the Soviet Union. I made the choice when I remembered experiences with Oleg, a Moscow developer I worked with months before when I was assistant-producing a typing game. Once, in the middle of a phone conversation, I heard some muffled bangs, and the phone went quiet. When I asked him what the noise was, he replied, 'Oh, it was just the Russian mob firing their guns in the street.' I thought he was joking – he wasn't. After that, I had a really hard time believing that the once mighty USSR would be in a position to threaten the world any time soon. So I turned to the next major communist country that typifies 'the East': China."
* In Wild Appalachia, a top-secret Soviet spy ring was planned for inclusion. The player character would find a Soviet Mr. Handy and complete Mission: Accessible, a training program that would prepare them for secret operations for "Mother Russia." Svetlana: (Svetlana's dialogue)
* In the real world, Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space on April 12, 1961, and the Vostok 1 flight was completed with his safe return to Earth.
* The country's remains were meant to appear in 14° East's canceled Fallout Extreme, as the Cause made their way into China. The region would have been inhabited by Russian Cossacks. Locations in the game would have included abandoned oil refineries, Russian steppes villages, and a re-education colony.
==Gallery==
FO3 loading capitalpost01.jpg|Map in the Capitol Post
Fallout4 AwesomeTales41.png|Stereotypical depiction of a Russian from Astoundingly Awesome Tales
Sovietsatellite.png|Crashed Soviet satellite in the Fallout TV show
Sovietsatelliteclose.png|Decals close-up. These actually use the ASCII for Hammer and Sickle, rather than the official Soviet iconography
File:Patriotism Training McClintock.jpeg|The Soviet "Red Star" on a sign at Camp McClintock
==References==
Non-game
Non-canon
Category:Pre-War countries
de:Sowjetunion
es:Unión de Repúblicas Socialistas Soviéticas
fr:Union Soviétique
pl:ZSRR
pt:União Soviética
ru:СССР
uk:СРСР
zh:苏联