Republics of the Soviet Union

In its final decades of its existence, the Soviet Union consisted of 15 Socialist Soviet Republics (SSR). They are all independent countries now, only very loosely organized under the heading Commonwealth of Independent States.

The USSR was a highly centralised and authoritarian entity. Under the constitution adopted in 1936 and modified along the way until October 1977, the political foundation of the Soviet Union was formed by the Soviets (Councils) of People's Deputies. These existed at all levels of the administrative hierarchy, with the Soviet Union as a whole under the nominal control of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, located in Moscow. The role of the Soviets in the individual republics and other territories was primarily to put into effect the decisions made by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

Soviet Republics Armenian SSR[?] Azerbaijan SSR[?] Byelorussian SSR[?] Estonian SSR Georgian SSR[?] Kazakh SSR Kirghiz SSR Latvian SSR[?] Lithuanian SSR[?] Moldavian SSR[?] Russian SFSR[?] Tadzhik SSR[?] Turkmen SSR Ukrainian SSR[?] Uzbek SSR[?]

Independent Countries Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Estonia Georgia Kazakstan Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lithuania Moldova Russia Tajikistan Turkmenistan Ukraine Uzbekistan

Sorted by region

Russian SFSR[?] The Baltic Republics Estonian SSR Latvian SSR[?] Lithuanian SSR[?] The West Byelorussian SSR[?] Moldavian SSR[?] Ukrainian SSR[?]

The Caucasus Armenian SSR[?] Azerbaijan SSR[?] Georgian SSR[?] The Central South Kazakh SSR Kirghiz SSR Tadzhik SSR[?] Turkmen SSR Uzbek SSR[?]

Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia was from 1922 until the 1930s organized in the Transcaucasian SSR[?]. A Finno-Karelian SSR also existed between March 31, 1940 and July 16, 1956.

Russia is by far the largest, it spans both Europe and Asia. Of the other 14, Kazakhstan is by far the largest. Russia is also by far the most populated, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are next, in that order.