Editing Soviet Union (section)

== Etymology ==
{{Main|Official names of the Soviet Union}}
{{See also|Names of Russia}}
{{multiple image
 | align = left
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 | image1 = Lenin in 1920 (3x4 cropped).jpg
 | caption1 = [[Vladimir Lenin]], founder of the Soviet Union and the leader of the [[Bolsheviks]]
 | image2 = Leon Trotsky 1918 (3x4 rotated cropped).jpg
 | caption2 = [[Leon Trotsky]], founder of the [[Red Army]] and a key figure in the [[October Revolution]]
}}
The word ''[[soviet (council)|soviet]]'' is derived from the [[Russian language|Russian]] word {{translit|ru|sovet}} ({{langx|ru|link=no|совет}}), meaning 'council', 'assembly', 'advice',{{Efn|{{langx|uk|рада}} ({{translit|uk|[[rada]]}}); {{langx|be|савет/рада}}; {{langx|uz-Cyrl|совет}}; {{langx|kk|совет / кеңес}} ({{translit|kk|sovet / kenges}}); {{langx|ka|საბჭოთა}} ({{translit|ka|sabch′ota}}); {{langx|az|совет|italic=no}}; {{langx|lt|taryba}}; {{langx|ro|soviet}} ([[Moldovan Cyrillic]]: {{lang|ro-Cyrl|совиет}}); {{langx|lv|padome}}; {{langx|ky|совет}}; {{langx|tg|шӯравӣ / совет}} ({{translit|tg|šūravī / sovet}}); {{langx|hy|խորհուրդ / սովետ}} ({{translit|hy|xorhurd / sovet}}); {{langx|tk|совет|italic=no}}; {{langx|et|nõukogu}}.}} ultimately deriving from the [[proto-Slavic]] verbal stem of {{lang|sla-x-proto|vět-iti}} ('to inform'), related to Slavic {{lang|sla|věst}} ('news'), English ''wise''. The word ''sovietnik'' means 'councillor'.<ref name="Klein-1920">{{Cite Americana |wstitle=Soviet |year=1920 |first=Henri F. |last=Klein}}</ref> Some organizations in Russian history were called ''council'' ({{langx|ru|link=no|совет}}). In the [[Russian Empire]], the [[State Council (Russian Empire)|State Council]], which functioned from 1810 to 1917, was referred to as a Council of Ministers.<ref name="Klein-1920" />

The soviets as [[workers' council]]s first appeared during the [[1905 Russian Revolution]].{{sfn|Pons|Service|2010|p=763}}{{sfn|Mccauley|2014|p=487}} Although they were quickly suppressed by the Imperial army, after the [[February Revolution of 1917]], workers' and soldiers' soviets emerged throughout the country and shared power with the [[Russian Provisional Government]].{{sfn|Pons|Service|2010|p=763}}<ref name="Dewdney"/> The Bolsheviks, led by [[Vladimir Lenin]], demanded that all power be transferred to the soviets, and gained support from the workers and soldiers.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/April-Theses |title=April Thesis |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=27 December 2022}}</ref> After the [[October Revolution]], in which the [[Bolsheviks]] seized power from the Provisional Government in the name of the soviets,<ref name="Dewdney">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union |title=Soviet Union |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |last1=Dewdney |first1=John C. |last2=Conquest |first2=Robert |last3=Pipes |first3=Richard E. |last4=McCauley |first4=Martin |access-date=27 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=The causes of the October Revolution |publisher=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/higher/history/russia/october/revision/4 |url-status=dead |access-date=31 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805155250/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/higher/history/russia/october/revision/4 |archive-date=5 August 2014}}</ref> Lenin proclaimed the formation of the [[Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic]] (RSFSR).{{sfn|Service|2005|p=84}}

During the [[Georgian Affair]] of 1922, Lenin called for the Russian SFSR and other national soviet republics to form a greater union which he initially named as the Union of Soviet Republics of Europe and Asia ({{langx|ru|Союз Советских Республик Европы и Азии|Soyuz Sovyetskikh Respublik Evropy i Azii|links=no}}).{{sfnm|1a1=Fischer|1y=1964|1p=608|2a1=Lewin|2y=1969|2p=50|3a1=Leggett|3y=1981|3p=354|4a1=Volkogonov|4y=1994|4p=421|5a1=Service|5y=2000|5pp=452–455|6a1=White|6y=2001|6p=175}} [[Joseph Stalin]] initially resisted Lenin's proposal but ultimately accepted it, and with Lenin's agreement he changed the name to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), although all republics began as ''socialist soviet'' and did not change to the other order until [[1936 Soviet Constitution|1936]]. In addition, in the regional languages of several republics, the word ''council'' or ''conciliar'' in the respective language was only quite late changed to an adaptation of the Russian ''soviet'' and never in others, e.g. [[Ukrainian SSR]].

{{lang|ru|СССР}} (in the Latin alphabet: ''SSSR'') is the abbreviation of the Russian-language cognate of USSR, as written in [[Cyrillic letters]]. The soviets used this abbreviation so frequently that audiences worldwide became familiar with its meaning. After this, the most common Russian initialization is {{lang|ru|Союз ССР}} (transliteration: {{translit|ru|Soyuz SSR}}) which essentially translates to ''Union of SSRs'' in English. In addition, the Russian short form name {{lang|ru|Советский Союз}} (transliteration: {{translit|ru|Sovyetsky Soyuz}}, which literally means ''Soviet Union'') is also commonly used, but only in its unabbreviated form. Since the start of the [[Great Patriotic War]] at the latest, abbreviating the Russian name of the Soviet Union as {{lang|ru|СС}} has been taboo, the reason being that {{lang|ru|СС}} as a Russian Cyrillic abbreviation is associated with the infamous {{lang|de|[[Schutzstaffel]]}} of [[Nazi Germany]], as ''SS'' is in English.

In English-language media, the state was referred to as the Soviet Union or the USSR. The Russian SFSR dominated the Soviet Union to such an extent that, for most of the Soviet Union's existence, it was colloquially, but incorrectly, referred to as '''Russia'''.