Russia
Americannoun
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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.
noun
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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)
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another name for the Russian Empire
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another name for the former Soviet Union
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another name for the former Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Discover More
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 Word Forms
- anti-Russia adjective
- pro-Russia adjective
Etymology
Origin of Russia
First recorded in 1730–40; from Medieval Latin Russī (nominative plural masculine) “Russians” + -ia noun suffix; Russ 1 ( def. ), -ia
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Oil prices have been rising this year as geopolitical risks multiply, from Venezuela to Russia to Iran.
From Barron's
Epstein, who was in France, emailed Mandelson and said: "I do not have a visa for Russia, it is a bank holiday in paris today... any ideas how i can get one."
From BBC
Vitaly was a ceramics artist who volunteered to defend his country in the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
From BBC
She had already arranged it with a network of trusted people who would help us, transporting us via a series of safe houses to the eastern front and into Russia.
From Literature
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The last nuclear weapons control treaty between the US and Russia is due to expire on Thursday, raising fears of a new arms race.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.