Russia

[ ruhsh-uh ]

noun

1. Official_name Russian Federation. a republic since 1991, the largest country in the world by area, extending from eastern Europe to northern and western Asia. 6,593,000 square miles (17,076,000 square kilometers). : Moscow.
2. Soviet Union.
3. Russian Empire ( def ).

Russia

/ ˈrʌʃə /

noun

1. the largest country in the world, covering N Eurasia and bordering on the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and the Baltic, Black, and Caspian Seas: originating from the principality of Muscovy in the 17th century, it expanded to become the Russian Empire; the Tsar was overthrown in 1917 and the Communist Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was created; this merged with neighbouring Soviet Republics in 1922 to form the Soviet Union; on the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 the Russian Federation was established as an independent state. Official language: Russian. Religion: nonreligious and Russian orthodox Christian. Currency: rouble. Capital: Moscow. Pop: 142 500 482 (2013 est). Area: 17 074 984 sq km (6 592 658 sq miles)
2. See Russian Empire
   another name for the Russian Empire
3. See Soviet Union
   another name for the former Soviet Union
4. See Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
   another name for the former Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

Russia

1. A vast nation that stretches from eastern Europe across the Eurasian land mass. It was the most powerful republic of the former Soviet Union ; ethnic Russians composed about half of the population. It is the world's largest country. Its capital and largest city is Moscow .

Notes

Russia now occupies the seat on the Security Council of the United Nations formerly held by the Soviet Union.

Peter the Great , a czar who reigned in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, attempted to westernize Russian government and culture .

Russia was ruled by czars of the Romanov family from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries.

During the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks , under Lenin , took control of the government; communists governed from 1917 until 1991.

Other Words From

• an·ti-Rus·sia adjective
• pro-Rus·sia adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Russia¹

First recorded in 1730–40; from Medieval Latin Russī (nominative plural masculine) “Russians” + -ia noun suffix; Russ ¹( def ), -ia

Example Sentences

In less than 10 years, Navalny has risen from blogging about corruption to being the face of Russia’s opposition movement.

From Vox

They cannot raise money within Russia, so they’ve asked people who see the film to help them by donating.

From Washington Blade

Like Alexei Navalny in Russia and Maria Kolesnikova in Belarus, Kaftancioglu is key to the Turkish opposition’s appeal to younger Millennials and Generation Z, who are less bound than their parents to Turkey’s traditional identity politics.

From Time

Even as the Saudis explore alternative partners, including Russia and China, for arms purchases and nuclear power capability, they have taken some steps in response to administration concerns, including the recent release of some dissident prisoners.

From Washington Post

He has so far managed to apply increasing pressure in the Kremlin, and I’m pretty sure he will continue to grow our movement, to attack Putin’s political structure, and present our vision of Russia’s future.

From Time

It is the only tourist center Ukraine has left on the Black Sea, since Russia annexed Crimea last spring.

From The Daily Beast

At least 70 percent of the children were adopted from overseas, including Russia, China, Ethiopia and Ukraine.

From The Daily Beast

Sales are best in Asia, London, the Middle East, and Russia.

From The Daily Beast

The Russia in which Yakunin died was one of the church triumphant.

From The Daily Beast

He is a representative of the Free Russia Foundation, an organization which aims to rebuild freedom and democracy in Russia.

From The Daily Beast

The emperor Nicholas of Russia declared, by ukase, his purpose to assist Austria.

From Project Gutenberg

It is here that the Communist regime in Russia has encountered its most fatal difficulty.

From Project Gutenberg

Free discussion—never a very free thing in Russia—has now on any general scale become quite impossible.

From Project Gutenberg

But once Austria was disposed of, Prussia and Russia met their punishment for having given her secret or open aid.

From Project Gutenberg

The designs of Russia have long been proverbial; but the exercise of the new art of printing may assign them new features.

From Project Gutenberg