How did Soviet Union (USSR) emerge as a superpower after World War 2?
1. The Soviet Russian population was about the same as the USA's even with all the millions killed by the Nazi's & the Russians themselves. 2. Their territory (even without the Soviet Bloc Countries) stretched from the Baltic, the Black Sea, Iran, China, Mongolia & to the Pacific Ocean 3. Vast natural resources including oil 4. A large network of arms & aircraft manufacturing 5. A good plan at hornsnoggling by Stalin over Churchill, Roosevelt & Truman on getting what it wanted after the war. 6. Pouring in a tremendous amount of capital on armaments after the war (even though consumer goods lacked far far distant to that amount . 7. An efficient use of the KGB & recruitment of western leftists spies from the Great Britain & the USA. 8. Infiltration of many western nations with communist rabble rousers 9. Acquiring the atom bomb 10. ICBM's & nuclear proliferation along with an advanced scientific know how that kept pace with the USA. 11. The willingness to keep their Warsaw pact countries in line & a heavy handed approach at quelling dissent.
When did the Soviet union become a superpower?
There is no exact date. A superpower is a country that is powerful and that can project that power or influence anywhere in the world. So a nuclear nation that can deliver those weapons anywhere in the world, that has a navy that sails all the worlds oceans, and has the ability to send troops anywhere is a superpower. If you had to choice a time, they were a regional power before WW2 but after the war and when they developed nuclear weapons they became a superpower. That is also when the US also became a superpower.
European superpowers in the Medieval ages?
Well, in the Early Middle Ages both the Holy Roman Emperor and the Byzantine Emperor wielded considerable power, although the Holy Roman Empire fractured and the Byzantines were eventually conquered by the Turks. The France and England also became important countries in the 1400's. In the 1200's, Norway was a pretty powerful country due to their sizable navy. Although they used to be ranked amongst the most powerful countries in Europe, modern historians believe they just bluffed. For example when the Norwegian King promised the King of France 300 ships and 50.000 men in support for an invasion of England, the other Europeans were like "Whoa! We better not mess with them!". However, what nobody knew was that the King could not legally draft that many men. Norwegian law was that no more than 16 000 could be drafted for overseas operations. And 300 ships? The Norwegian Navy counted roughly 330 ships at the time, and sending away 89% of the home defense fleet would probably not be well-received at home. The Golden Age of Norway ended abruptly when the country was near-annihilated by the Black Death. In a desperate measure to save Norway's stature the Norwegian King politically pushed for a unified Scandinavia led from Oslo. However, through clever political maneuvering and an assassination or three Denmark ended up with the capital of the new Scandinavia, the Kalmar Union created in 1397. They remained the dominant Scandinavian country for the rest of the Middle Ages, but held little power outside Northern Europe. In the late 1400's Spain and Portugal emerged as new powerful powers. In the 1500's they started with colonies in the Americas, and the gold from there made them immensely powerful and wealthy, and Spain the most powerful country in the Western World by the late 1500's, the first European superpower since the fall of the Roman Empire, all thanks to Columbus.