Rail transport in the Soviet Union the Soviet Union collapsed. Twenty other stations were under construction in 1985. The country's rapid transit system was the most intensively used in the world. The Soviet Union was a pioneer in the development of the diesel locomotive to replace the steam locomotive (dieselization) on non-electrified lines. But the USSR failed to make steady progress and while they lead the United States at first, they soon fell behind and their last steam locomotives were retired about 15 years later than for the US. The first mainline diesel locomotive in the world began running in 1924 in the USSR but it
Occupation of the Baltic states of their own accord in 1940, and, with the dissolution of the USSR, these countries became newly created entities in 1991. Russia's stance is based upon the desire to avoid financial liability, the view being that acknowledging the Soviet occupation would set the stage for future compensation claims from the Baltic states. Soviet historians saw the 1940 incorporation as a voluntary entry into the USSR by the Balts. Soviet historiography inherited the Russian concept from the age of Kievan Rus carried through the Russian Empire. It promoted the interests of Russia and the USSR in the Baltic area, and it