Revealed along the way is the dark underside of a regime whose march toward supremacy resulted in the loss of tens of millions of lives."--Jacket.For nearly 75 years, the Soviet Union controlled Eastern Europe with an iron fist. Conceived in 1917, the empire grew to the size of a large continent with satellites in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin and South America, and has influenced segments of North America. Today the empire lies fragmented and overturned. What events and what leaders in history led to the rise and fall of one of the world's post powerful empires? Author Brian Crozier details a comprehensive history of the Soviet Union from 1917 to the 1990s. Each chapter covers an important epoch in the life of the empire, from the assassination of the Romanov family to the demolition of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. This book accounts the significant details of key historical events as well as the overriding international political environment during each period.