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• soviet
  soviet

  noun

  (in the Soviet Union).
• Soviet
  Soviet

  adjective

  of, characteristic of, or relating to the former Soviet Union, its people, or its government

soviet

American  

[soh-vee-et, -it, soh-vee-et] / ˈsoʊ viˌɛt, -ɪt, ˌsoʊ viˈɛt /

noun

soviets plural

1. (in the Soviet Union).

   1. (before the revolution) any governmental council.

   2. (after the revolution) a local council, originally elected only by manual workers, with certain powers of local administration.

   3. (after the revolution) a higher council elected by a local council, being part of a hierarchy of soviets culminating in the Supreme Soviet.

2. any similar council or assembly connected with a socialistic governmental system elsewhere.

3. (initial capital letter) Often Soviets. a governing official or person living in the Soviet Union.

   The Soviets have denied our charge.

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adjective

1. of or relating to a soviet.

2. (initial capital letter) of the Soviet Union.

   a Soviet statesman.

soviet ¹ British  

/ ˈsɒv-, ˈsəʊvɪət /

noun

1. (in the former Soviet Union) an elected government council at the local, regional, and national levels, which culminated in the Supreme Soviet

2. (in prerevolutionary Russia) a local revolutionary council

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adjective

1. of or relating to a soviet

Soviet ² British  

/ ˈsəʊvɪət, ˈsɒv- /

adjective

1. of, characteristic of, or relating to the former Soviet Union, its people, or its government

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• anti-Soviet
  noun
• sovietdom
  noun
• pro-Soviet
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• soviets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of soviet

First recorded in 1915–20; from Russian sovét “council, counsel, advice,” Old Russian, Old Church Slavonic sŭvětŭ, equivalent to sŭ- “together, with” + větŭ “counsel”; loan translation of Greek symboúlion

Explanation

In the former U.S.S.R., a soviet was an elected legislative body, similar to a parliament. Soviet is from the Russian sovet, "governing council," and its Greek source, symboulion, "council of advisors." After the Russian Revolution, the term soviet was used for local governments elected by workers, as well as the higher councils that those local soviets elected in turn. Each separate republic making up the Soviet Union had its own governing soviet, and together they formed the Supreme Soviet, the highest legislative body in the country.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

soviet Soviet soviets

“China respects the sovereign status of the former soviet countries after the dissolution of the Soviet Union,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 24, 2023

Bavaria proclaimed itself a socialist republic; a soviet took over in Cologne.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 29, 2018

He also appeared for the Great Train robber Charles Wilson and for the soviet spy George Blake.

From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2017

Related: On my radar: Jonathan Meades’s cultural highlights According to a probably mendacious soviet of pollsters, statisticians and PRs, the UK has more subscribers to social media than any other European country.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 19, 2016

Attitude toward United States.—The degree of confidence which the Russians and the soviet officials show toward our Government is to me a matter of surprise, considering our activities during the past 18 months.

From The Bullitt Mission to Russia by Bullitt, William C. (William Christian)

Ding dusted off the same all-out approach China had used to produce its first atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs and satellites in the 1960s during a rift with the Soviet Union.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Measles cases in the U.S. just set a depressing record, making 2026 the worst year for the disease since the Soviet Union collapsed.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

The exodus and the ageing of the ethnic Slavic population -- many descendants of people forcibly resettled there in the Soviet era -- and the lack of economic prospects are all driving the internal migration.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

"To us, he remains the General 200," a derogatory nickname referring to a Soviet military code for casualties.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

Frank Powers and the other U-2 pilots had given the government a view from above the Soviet Union.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Can you discuss incorporating the film's themes about race, the soviets, the government, surveillance and conformity, and free will?

From Salon ● May 29, 2020

As the delegates talked, Germany continued to collapse from within: inspired by the Russian Revolution, workers and soldiers were forming soviets, or councils.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 29, 2018

StevenSigmon The CIA trained Afghans to use pressure cookers against the soviets.

From Time ● Apr. 16, 2013

In many cities, the soviets had more influence than the provisional government.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2012

The rural, county, provincial, regional, and All-Russian soviets are elected indirectly, and the people have no direct vote in the election.

From The History of the American Expedition Fighting the Bolsheviki Campaigning in North Russia 1918-1919 by Jahns, Lewis E.