Was the USSR a country?

Question

Was the USSR a country?

I thought it wasnt asit stands for, Union of Soviet socialist republics, which would imply it was a union of preexisting countries that entered into a partnership, and didnt cease being countries while being part of the USSR, I would think the USSR would nnot meet the definition of a country.

Although, as the USSR had an unified defence force, a centralized goverment, currency, and other things resembling a country.

I do not believe it is possible to have countries within countries, is this indeed possible?

Hopefully this will not void my question, but I would like to make the point that the countries/republics that were assimilated into the USSR were countries for many hundreds of years before, they have a history so to speak, the states in the USA were born much closer to the conception of the USA, and while they have some of there own laws, they don't contradict the federal laws. I don't see the analogy.

Answer 1

THEY were a confederation of soviet socialist states, ruled by one political party from moscow. Each nation had its own police, but not its own military. Each nation had its own leader, but no legislature. If you want to think of another model, think of the states as vassals to the Russian nation.

The USSR was bigger than Russia, so therefore it was not a country. It was a political confederation of states in a vassal-like state to the Russian political party.

Answer 2

The USSR was a federation like the US. Russia and the other countries (Ukraine, Estonia, Uzbekistan, etc.) were like 'states', though in reality Russia wielded all the power. Historians often use the terms 'USSR' and 'Russia' interchangeably for that reason. The USSR broke up in 1991, and now all the former 'states' are independent countries.

Answer 3

USSR
USA
EU

Three examples of a multitude of states united under one banner. The word state, according to Merriam-Webster:

5 a : a politically organized body of people usually occupying a definite territory; especially : one that is sovereign b : the political organization of such a body of people c : a government or politically organized society having a particular character

7 a : one of the constituent units of a nation having a federal government b plural, capitalized : The United States of America

and

8 : the territory of a state

The Soviet Union (USSR/CCCP) was very much like the USA, except for it's political philosophy and make up.

Answer 4

Josh ... Yes, it WAS a country. As you might know, USSR stands for Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and it's sometimes referred to simply as the Soviet Union.

However, the USSR has dissolved, of course. As for whether it's possible for them to be countries within a country, I guess it's just as possible as America's 50 states being united. Some people who are newcomers to America are surprised that each of America's 50 states has their own legislative body and different rules/laws as well. The "guiding light" is the United States Constitution which is supposed to serve as a framework for the laws of the states.

Yes, having 50 different entities functioning separately and independently is inefficient, but rest assured that Californians don't want to live under the same laws that govern New Yorkers ... and vice versa. Having things this way allows diverse attitudes, customs, and lifestyles to co-exist within the framework of the country known as the U.S.A.

Answer 5

Are you from an alien planet?? Well as for your question, yes Russia was known as the USSR up until the fall of ther Berlin Wall in 1989. The Russian country USSR took many countries and even attempted to take Afghanistan, but failed. And as for your second question, yes you can have a country within a country. For example, Puerto Rico is its own country, yet is a satellite state of the United States.

Another thing the United Status of America is actually a union made up of 50 states and yet we are a country as a whole.

Answer 6

No the USSR was not a country. It was a union of countries under a Communist/Socialist dictatorship style government.

I notice some previous posts claim that Russia was the USSR. Russia was a member state with a separate Russian president. Many people get confused because the states had no rights and were dictated to by the Communist/Socialist party. The Russian president resided in their "White House".

Boris Yeltsin (president of Russia) defied Gorbachev (head of USSR) in 1991.

Answer 7

Your assumption for the USSR not being a country would be the same for the USA. Each state is sovereign in its own right and so these 50 states don't make up a country? The Soviet republics were each a part of the whole just like our 50 states are a part of the total USA.

Answer 8

Well they did have countries within countries because they never integrated them into the mainstream of the country. They took over other countries who didnt want to be a member so they forced them to. It wasnt the best way to do it but they never really trusted people from the other countries.

Answer 9

Russia became the USSR. Russia is a country. Therefore, the USSR was geographically, a country.