The initials in English are USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). In the Russian (Cyrillic) alphabet CCCP.

Please note that an apparent "C" is equivalent to an English "S"; the apparent "P" actually is equivalent to English "R") The country's name in Russian was Союз Советский Социалистических Республик, pronounced "Soyuz Sovetskiĭ Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik"

To address the question that was actually asked, unlike the other two responses, I can recommend three excellent books, Russia, the People and the Power by Robert G. Kaiser, The Russians by Hedrick Smith, and Behind the High Kremlin Walls by Vladimir Solovyov and Elena Klepikova. Some other good ones include "Mig Pilot", that is by the pilot who flew his fighter to Japan in 1975, I forget his name, "Breaking With Moscow" by Arkady N. Schevchenko and anything by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.Michael Montagne

That is more than you can say for now, with our grab-as-grab-can society imposed on them via just one or two corrupt leaders now retired to fat lives abroad together with those with the riches which those 'leaders' permitted them to scoop from the rest during the few years since '91

Russia is now the ruins of what was a great able and cultured nation only a few years ago. The common people - the vast majority -now live in abject poverty, in a 'market economy', which means you need money to live, and in the Russian climate, which has to be experienced to be believed.

That shows the erosive power of finance in the hands of a few malicious amoral villains. And those are the ones who now rule'our' world.

That should make us think, and see exactly who they are who are now paying all our presidents to do what they want. - Shouldn't it?

Before 1991-93 we (Russians) could be shure in our future, we had guarantees of medical service and education for-free. Also we had normal life level. But we had not enough commodities and products.

After 8 years of anti-Russian "democracy" and wild/criminal capitalism Russian GNP became extremely lower than before that period. People became extremely poor in this 8 years. Economy was almost destroyed.

Now we have true democratically choosen pro-Russian government. And we grow rich and repair our economy.

P.S. Excuse me for my terrible English

Generally, the capability of the USSR to maintain its internal and external economic structure eventually failed, and the political structure followed. Factors included the dissatisfaction of its citizens, nationalist movements in Eastern Europe and Asia, and an unworkable, inflexible bureaucracy.

Economy

The Soviet's tightly controlled economy was not able to compete with the free-market economy of the US and its allies. In almost every area of competition - excepting only nuclear armaments - the Soviet system fell behind. One example of this can be found in the production of Soviet steel. Around and after WWII, the Soviet system was behind the US in steel production. Since they used a command economy, this was a factor that had to be settled not via supply and demand but rather through the Soviet government's use of limited resources and time (e.g. currency and time). By the 1990s, Soviet steel production surpassed that of the US. Unfortunately for the Soviets, by this time there was a plethora of steel traded on the open markets. So while they did indeed begin to produce more steel than the US, it was more expensive for them to produce steel domestically than it was for the US to import it. This left the US with resources to spend on other "projects" - such as computer technology. This phenomenon was to repeat itself in a variety of other areas as well.

Military

The move away from nuclear arms to conventional arms was one that the USSR was ill-prepared to exploit, although Russian scientists were among the best in the world. When Ronald Reagan became President in 1981, he embarked on an ambitious expansion of the armed forces, requiring the Soviets to expand their own cumbersome military apparatus. When the Russian and Soviets economies fell on hard times, they could no longer afford to control their satellite countries in Asia and Eastern Europe.

Communism vs. Religion

Russia fell primarily because the Great God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob caused it to fall. For more than 60 years Godless communism had enslaved and murdered people all over the globe and espoused that the state was God. Afghanistan was the first chink in the mighty Soviet armor. Then the other "stans" broke away. All those soviet vassal states with great numbers of Muslims broke away, and the communists lost control of their empire. Mainly God allowed thousands of Jews to return to return to Israel from Russia. The great red bully of the world was shaken to the core and split up when God decided that enough was enough!

(Here are some of the suggested factors:)

The Soviet Union's war in Afghanistan badly overstretched their military and demoralized their military.

The Soviet Union's economy was very inefficient. In trying to keep up with the West in the Cold War arms race, the Soviets spent themselves into the ground. They ran billions of rubles in annual deficits over several decades. Mikhail Gorbachev and his advisers had to implement broad economic reforms, towards capitalism, to try to prevent total economic breakdown.

In a parallel to the French Revolution, Gorbachev's attempted to reform gradually and only partially; it spiraled out of his control into a general collapse of the old Soviet system of government. In contrast to the French Revolution, Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin were able to control the collapse process well enough to prevent complete anarchy and economic chaos.

Four reasons and a Theory:

1. Socialism failed economically - Economic Stagnation occurred, there were years without a reform
2. Outside opposition (Capitalist countries) and Nationalism within the republics
3. Competition with the West- They wanted equality with USA, but had no money
4. Party officials were killed for personal gain, weakening the party
5. Conspiracy theory - There are rumors that Gorbachev knew he would bring down the system.

US Influence

The United States of America manipulated the USSR economic system through sabotage and other negative activities towards the state and its economy, creating cracks which resulted into USSR breaking apart.

Loss of Satellite Economies

Growing dissatisfaction among the countries of Eastern Europe (and the fall of puppet regimes) meant that the USSR could not exploit those resources to prop up the union. This led to the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact beginning in 1989. The central government was then increasingly pressured by nationalist movements in the Ukraine, Caucasus, Georgia and outlying Asian states.

After the Berlin Wall was knocked down in 1989, this reunified Germany as one, but also started a revolution in USSR (Soviet Union). In 1991, Gorbechev was forced to give up his power after a coup (overthrow of the government), which was the official collapse of the Soviet Union, which became known as Russia.

Too Much Spending On The Military -Apex :P