Union of Soviet Socialist Colonies

The Union of Soviet Socialist Colonies, often abbreviated as USSC, or Soviet Colonial Union, was an ancient precursor state of the modern Soviet Star Union.

Founding
Interstellar Soviet civilization began with Project Siberia, a top-secret endeavor carried out by the ancient USSR on Old Earth, following the discovery of a wormhole by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. Early forays into this now-defunct wormhole were carried out using primitive chemical rockets, such as Soyuz-type craft. Following the discovery of a system which held a habitable planet, close enough to be within range of USSR ships using technology available at the time, USSR authorities on Earth made the decision to establish a colony on this new world.

The first wave of colonies arrived on the new planet, which was dubbed Kremlin, by means of primitive chemical rockets, which delivered personnel and equipment on a one-way trip to the nascent colony. Despite initial estimates, the endeavor grew far beyond the initial scope of the project, eventually leading to hundreds of rockets being launched, which led to severe economic problems for the USSR that combined with political and economic upheavals on Earth to lead to its eventual downfall. However, Project Siberia was successful in its goal, establishing several settlements on Kremlin, with a combined population of several thousand, as well as the infrastructure and industry to support them. The post-collapse colony on Kremlin suddenly found itself severed from its government and lacking the means to build rockets with which to travel back to Earth, was forced to establish its own local authorities in order to survive. Eventually, the decision to close off the wormhole, was made and it was carried out through the detonation of a primitive 50-megaton nuclear device, out of a desire to prevent the spread of the political crisis to the new planet, with the express purpose of rebuilding communist civilization on this new world.

Expansion
The USSC was officially founded on the 1st of September in the 2034th year Before Infinite Conquest, several months after contact with earth was severed and it would remain the main administrative body of the Soviet civilization for the next two millenia.

The first thousand years after the founding, was a period of stagnation, as Soviet authorities focused on population growth and the development of infrastructure, rather than scientific discovery and low population would remain a problem for the Soviet civilization for the majority of the USSC's history. However, as population grew, the Soviet government's attention eventually returned to the stars and the invention of the first Warp Drive prototype in the year 231 BIC led to the subsequent early colonization program of the USSC.

The first planet outside Kremlin to be settled by Soviet colonists, was Gagaringrad, quickly followed by Proletaria, Stalingrad and eventually, Novorossyia. At its height, the Union of Soviet Socialist Colonies consisted of five colonies and several space-based outposts and asteroid mining stations. The USSC military was small and outfitted for policing duties and anti-piracy operations and consisted of less than fifty ships, most of them under the two hundred meter length.

Downfall
Also see: Red October War The USSC era is best described as a period of peaceful development and isolation, however that would come to an abrupt end mid-way into the year 105 BIC, when the Soviet civilization encountered its first alien species, an event which was followed by the outbreak of a century-spanning war, a mere twelve months later. The ensuing conflict, which would later become known as the Red October War, would cause far-reaching ideological and societal changes and soon after the end of the conflict, the USSC would reorganize into the Union of Soviet Systems following the official adoption of the Infinite Conquest doctrine. The Union of Soviet Systems would later evolve into the modern Soviet Star Union.