The USSR is one of the main wheat-producing countries in the world. It has a longestablished wheat breeding network involving institutes and stations nationwide. Soviet scientists have contributed to modern varieties and germplasm as well as to scientific knowledge about wheat genetics, physiology, and breeding. Up to now information for English-speaking audiences about wheat and wheat breeding in the USSR has been very limited. The objective of this review by A.I. Morgunov, associate scientist in the CIMMYT Wheat Program, is to present the current status of wheat breeding in the region. He concentrates on breeding objectives and methods and the organization of the breeding system itself. Although we realize that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) no longer exists, the name is used for simplicity and because the events described refer to a period before the breakup of the Soviet Union. Due to the lack of literature, this special report often refers to a book published in the USSR, Wheats of the World (Dorofeev et al. 1987), which gives a very comprehensive description of wheat breeding in the country.