How many Soviet republics were there?

I agree with Berserk on 70% of his points :) - I don't deny that the USSR was a country (although if we introduce a certain criterion based, say, on cultural or national unity, then, of course, the USSR cannot be called a country), and I slightly disagree with his views on communism as a religion: firstly, I still refuse to call communism a religion (religion, in my opinion, includes a certain mandatory element of mysticism; communism is simply a belief). Secondly... this belief is not destructive - or rather, not completely destructive, since it preaches the idea that "the end justifies the means" (the higher good at the cost of the death of thousands from the upper classes - the idea of world revolution was also shared by Marx himself) - but as an ideological organization, it has the characteristics of a destructive cult (for those who are not aware - a destructive cult differs from an ordinary one in that it actively introduces depersonalization and suppresses the human personality; in ordinary cults, its transformation is assumed - the personality is considered a value, but the existence of certain ideals that can ennoble the personality is also recognized)