Russia

[ruhsh-uh] /ˈrʌʃ ə/
noun
1.
Also called Russian Empire. Russian Rossiya. a former empire in E Europe and N and W Asia: overthrown by the Russian Revolution 1917.
Capital: St. Petersburg (1703–1917).
2.
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
3.
Russian Federation.
Related forms
anti-Russia, adjective
Can be confused
Russia, Soviet Union.
Examples from the web for Russia
  • There are now roughly one and half times as many deaths as births per year in Russia.
  • The sharp decline in the price of oil had severe consequences for Russia.
  • Cadaveric blood was apparently never used widely, even in Russia.
  • In the first half of the twentieth century the crop was widely grown in Russia.
  • The pope was also disturbed by the communist revolution in Russia.
  • Burlesque is now spreading across the world reaching countries such as Russia.
  • He rapidly changed the land that had only recently become part of Russia.
  • Molniya satellites are typically used for telephony and tv services over Russia.
  • One of the oldest crocodiles recorded died in a zoo in Russia.
  • The group is known to have previously tried to acquire a nuclear weapon in Russia.
British Dictionary definitions for Russia

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.
another name for the Russian Empire
3.
another name for the former Soviet Union
4.
another name for the former Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Russian name Rossiya
Word Origin and History for Russia

1530s, from Medieval Latin Russi "the people of Russia," from Rus, the native name of the people and the country (cf. Arabic Rus, Medieval Greek Rhos), originally the name of a group of Swedish merchant/warriors who established themselves around Kiev 9c. and founded the original Russian principality; perhaps from Ruotsi, the Finnish name for "Sweden," from Old Norse Roþrslandi, "the land of rowing," old name of Roslagen, where the Finns first encountered the Swedes. This is from Old Norse roðr "steering oar," from Proto-Germanic *rothra- "rudder," from PIE *rot-ro-, from root *ere- (1) "to row" (see row (v.)).

Derivation from the IE root for "red," in reference to hair color, is considered less likely. Russian city-states were founded and ruled by Vikings and their descendants. The Russian form of the name, Rossiya, appears to be from Byzantine Greek Rhosia. Russification is from 1842.

Russia in Culture

Russia definition


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.

Note: Russia was ruled by czars of the Romanov family from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries.
Note: Peter the Great, a czar who reigned in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, attempted to westernize Russian government and culture.
Note: During the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks, under Lenin, took control of the government; communists governed from 1917 until 1991.
Note: Russia now occupies the seat on the Security Council of the United Nations formerly held by the Soviet Union.