WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024So′viet Un′ion. - Place NamesSee Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Soviet Union n - a former federal republic in E Europe and central and N Asia: the revolution of 1917 achieved the overthrow of the Russian monarchy and the Soviet Union (the USSR) was established in 1922 as a Communist state. It was the largest country in the world, occupying a seventh of the total land surface. The collapse of Communist rule in 1991 was followed by declarations of independence by the constituent republics and the consequent break-up of the Soviet Union
Official name: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Also called: Russia, Soviet Russia
Abbreviation: USSR