soviet union
soviet union — noun
1. a vast Communist state that was formed from Russia and fourteen other republics,
a vast Communist state that was formed from Russia and fourteen other republics, covering large parts of eastern Europe and northern Asia, which existed from 1922 until 1991
The Soviet Union sent the first human into space, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961.
always preceded by 'the'
Olga's grandmother was born in Ukraine when it was still part of the Soviet Union.
collocation: part of the Soviet Union
Schoolchildren in Kyiv, Tashkent, and Vladivostok used the same state textbooks under the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, and each republic became an independent country.
The Soviet Union stationed tank divisions in East Germany to counter NATO forces.
- USSR
the standard abbreviation, used in formal writing and on maps
- the Soviet bloc
broader term that includes the USSR and its allied Eastern European states such as Poland and Czechoslovakia
文法句型
the Soviet Union
用法筆記
Always write 'the' before the name: 'the Soviet Union'. This sense emphasizes the political structure of the state as a federation of communist republics bound by a single government in Moscow.
常見錯誤
2. the vast geographical expanse in Eastern Europe and northern Asia that was once
the vast geographical expanse in Eastern Europe and northern Asia that was once occupied by the Soviet state, stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean
At over 22 million km², the Soviet Union covered more land than any other country.
geographical size: 22 million km²
The Soviet Union's Pacific coast lay eleven time zones from its capital, Moscow.
collocation: eleven time zones
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania — three Baltic Soviet republics — each joined the EU in 2004.
Tourists visiting Moscow in 1985 were entering the capital of the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union's border with China followed the Amur River for thousands of kilometres.
- USSR
geopolitical abbreviation, often used on historical maps
文法句型
the Soviet Union
用法筆記
Like sense 1, this always takes 'the'. This sense foregrounds the territory and physical geography rather than the political system. Common in atlas descriptions and historical geography.