Russia

RUSH-uh/ˈɹʌʃə/

6 meanings of Russia

Practice

1
modern countryproper nouncountable or uncountable
A transcontinental country in Eastern Europe and North Asia, officially the Russian Federation, with its capital and largest city at Moscow.
Russia spans eleven time zones, from Kaliningrad in the west to Kamchatka in the east.
Trade talks between Russia and its neighbors continued through the winter.
Note
A name far older than the state it now labels. English has used it since the 1390s, through Medieval Latin Russia, from Old East Slavic Rusĭ. That word first named the Rus, Norse settlers around Ladoga and Novgorod whose princes later ruled Kievan Rus. Arabic rūs and Byzantine Greek Rhôs come from the same source. Its constitution makes Russia and the Russian Federation equivalent official names, though formal documents usually prefer the longer one.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 8 facts
The name predates the present Russian state. en.wikipedia.org
English use dates to approximately the 1390s. en.wiktionary.org
English Russia derives through Medieval Latin Russia from Old East Slavic Rusĭ. en.wiktionary.org
Rus initially designated Scandinavian Varangians associated with the foundation and rule of Kievan Rus. en.wikipedia.org
The early Rus settlement centres were around Ladoga and Novgorod. en.wikipedia.org
Arabic rūs derives from Old East Slavic Rusĭ. en.wiktionary.org
Byzantine Greek Rhôs derives from Old East Slavic Rusĭ. en.wiktionary.org
Article 1 of the constitution declares Russia and Russian Federation equivalent names. minjust.gov.ru
2
tsarist empireproper nounhistoricalcountable or uncountable
The Russian state under the tsars: the Tsardom of Russia, or Muscovy, from 1547, and the Russian Empire from 1721 until the revolution of 1917.
Peter the Great turned Russia into a major European power in the early eighteenth century.
Ukraine (“frontier”), the name formerly given to a district of European Russia, now comprising the governments of Kharkov, Kiev, Podolia and Poltava.
1911, “Ukraine”, in 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica
Note
The empire's Russia reached well beyond today's borders. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica calls Ukraine "a district of European Russia," made up of the governments of Kharkov, Kiev, Podolia and Poltava. In that period, government was the word for a province. When older texts use the name this way, it may cover lands that are now independent. The unambiguous labels are the Tsardom of Russia for 1547–1721 and the Russian Empire for 1721–1917.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
The Russian Empire included territories beyond the present Russian Federation. en.wikipedia.org
The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica describes Ukraine using the quoted words and lists Kharkov, Kiev, Podolia and Poltava. en.wikisource.org
Government was used for a Russian province. archive.org
Historical references to Russia can include territory in countries that subsequently became independent. en.wikipedia.org
The Tsardom of Russia dates from 1547 to 1721. en.wikipedia.org
The Russian Empire dates from 1721 to 1917. en.wikipedia.org
3
Soviet Unionproper nounhistoricalcountable or uncountable
A widely used name for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, although strictly the Russian republic (the RSFSR) was only one of the union's several constituent republics.
Throughout the Cold War, Russia and the United States raced to build ever larger nuclear arsenals.
Russia launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, in 1957.
SimilarUSSR
Note
Here the part names the whole: the largest republic stands in for the entire union. The usage is historical and still natural in casual narrative ("Russia launched Sputnik"). In careful writing about the period, Soviet Union or USSR names the state itself, and RSFSR keeps the republic distinct. Used loosely, the short name can quietly erase the union's other republics.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
Russia historically served as a loose name for the Soviet Union. en.wiktionary.org
Russia was the largest constituent republic of the Soviet Union. en.wikipedia.org
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik; Russia in the example denotes that state. nasa.gov
Soviet Union and USSR designate the union state, whereas RSFSR designates its Russian constituent republic. en.wikipedia.org

Less common meanings

4
East Slavic landsproper noundatedcountable
One of the East Slavic lands that grew out of Kievan Rus, usually reckoned as Great Russia (Russia), White Russia (Belarus), and Little Russia (Ukraine).
Nineteenth-century writers often divided the eastern Slavs into three Russias of common descent.
Or rather if I be attaining a better autocratship than that of the Emperor of all the Russias — the empire over self.
1842, George Eliot, Selections from George Eliot's letters
Note
The countable sense is the reason the name has a plural. It survives best in the imperial phrase George Eliot borrows in an early letter, "the Emperor of all the Russias." Great, White and Little Russia formed the usual trio, and some writers added Red Russia, an old name for Galicia, now split between Ukraine and Poland. These labels are dated. For the modern states, use their own names: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
The historical countable sense permits the plural Russias, particularly in the imperial title. en.wiktionary.org
George Eliot used the quoted imperial phrase in an early letter, identified as an 1842 letter to Cara Bray. en.wiktionary.org
Great Russia, White Russia and Little Russia formed the usual historical trio. en.wiktionary.org
Some writers included Red Russia alongside the other Russias. en.wiktionary.org
Red Russia was used as a name for Galicia. en.wikisource.org
Galicia lies in present-day Ukraine and Poland. en.wikipedia.org
5
medieval Kievproper noundatedhistoricalcountable or uncountable
The medieval East Slavic realm ruled from Kiev, now usually called Kievan Rus.
SimilarRus
Note
An older English habit, now dated, gives the medieval state the later country's name. Current writing prefers Kievan Rus, or simply Rus. That is the Old East Slavic name itself, the word traced under the modern country. The newer label also avoids implying that the Kievan state belonged to any single one of the states that descended from it.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
Russia was historically used for Kievan Rus; this sense is dated. en.wiktionary.org
Rus is a rendering of the realm's Old East Slavic name. en.wikipedia.org
The modern country's name derives from Rus. en.wikipedia.org
Distinguishing Rus from Russia avoids projecting modern national ownership onto the medieval realm. hunghist.org
6
leathernouncountable or uncountableabbreviationellipsis
Ellipsis of Russia leather: a durable, scented leather tanned with bark and treated with birch oil, used especially in bookbinding.
Dull Russias will prove a good selling line for women according to the predictions of certain manufacturers.
1914, Shoe and Leather Journal
Note
A trade clipping: leather drops away and the place name does the work, capital letter intact. Because it is countable, it takes a plural for lines of goods. The Shoe and Leather Journal of 1914 passes on manufacturers' forecasts that "dull Russias" will sell well for women. The material itself is bark-tanned leather, from calfskin or other hides, worked with birch oil to make it flexible, hard-wearing and waterproof.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
Russia is an elliptical form of Russia leather, attested with a capital initial. en.wiktionary.org
The leather sense has a countable plural, Russias, used for commercial goods. en.wiktionary.org
The 1914 Shoe and Leather Journal reports manufacturers predicting good sales of dull Russias for women. en.wiktionary.org
Russia leather is bark-tanned and treated with birch oil. fortticonderoga.org
Russia leather can be made from calfskin and other hides. library.si.edu
Birch-oil treatment gives Russia leather flexibility, durability and waterproof properties. en.wiktionary.org

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Origin

Russia, a doublet of Rossiya, was first recorded in English in the 1390s, taken from Medieval Latin Russia, which was based on Old East Slavic Русь (Rusĭ), at first the name of a group of Varangians who in the 9th century made their home near Kiev and came to rule Kievan Rus. Rusĭ probably came from Old East Norse *roþs-, meaning "related to rowing", by way of Proto-Finnic *roocci, and goes back through Old Norse róðr ("rowing") to Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- ("to row").