Russia

geographical name

Rus·sia ˈrə-shə

variants or Russian Rossiya

rä-ˈsē-yə

or officially Russian Federation independent country in eastern Europe and northern Asia bordering on the Arctic and Pacific oceans and on the Baltic and Black seas and covering the largest area of any country in the world; capital Moscow area 6,601,668 square miles (17,098,242 square kilometers), population 142,123,000

Note: From 1922 to 1991, Russia was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union called the Russian Republic .

the Soviet Union

—a common usage despite the fact that the Soviet Union included other republics besides Russia

or formerly Muscovy

ˈmə-skə-vē

former empire in eastern Europe and northern Asia coextensive (except for Finland and Kars, a mountainous region now in northeastern Turkey) with the Soviet Union; capital Saint Petersburg