1936 map of The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

A soviet republic (from ), also called council republic, is a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

in which the government is formed of

soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

s ( workers' councils) and politics are based on

soviet democracy Soviet democracy, also called council democracy, is a type of democracy in Marxism, in which the rule of a population is exercised by directly elected '' soviets'' ( workers' councils). Soviets are directly responsible to their electors and boun ...

. During the

Revolutions of 1917–1923 The revolutions of 1917–1923 were a revolutionary wave that included political unrest and armed revolts around the world inspired by the success of the Russian Revolution and the disorder created by the aftermath of World War I. The uprisings ...

, various revolutionary workers' movements across Europe declared independence or otherwise formed governments as soviet republics. Although the term is usually associated with the

republics of the Soviet Union In the Soviet Union, a Union Republic () or unofficially a Republic of the USSR was a Federated state, constituent federated political entity with a List of forms of government, system of government called a Soviet republic (system of governm ...

, it was not initially used to represent the political organisation of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, but merely a system of government.

History

The earliest known examples of workers' councils on a smaller scale occurred during the Russian Revolution of 1905, including the Revolution in the Kingdom of Poland (1905–1907), which spread throughout the lands of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

; early soviets were active particularly in Central Russia and

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

, where workers took over factories, districts, and sometimes even entire towns or regions before the tsarist authorities reclaimed control. Near the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, soviet republics started appearing on a larger scale as short-lived communist revolutionary governments that were established in what had been the Russian Empire after the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

and under its influence. These states included some such as the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic which won independence from Russia during the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

period. Others such as the Ukrainian Soviet Republic and the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia later became union republics of the Soviet Union and are now independent states. Still others such as the Kuban Soviet Republic and the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic were absorbed into other polities and no longer formally exist under those names. In the turmoil following World War I, the Russian example inspired the formation of Soviet republics in other areas of Europe including

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

and Bremen.Stephen A. Smith. "Towards a Global History of Communism." ''The Oxford Handbook of the History of Communism''. Stephen A. Smith, ed. Oxford University Press, 2014. p. 8. Soviets also appeared within towns throughout Poland, known as ''rady delegatów robotniczych'' (councils of workers' delegates), mostly throughout 1918 and 1919. One year later a Provisional Polish Revolutionary Committee was created under the patronage of Soviet Russia with the goal to establish a Soviet republic within

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

(it was later dissolved following the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

's defeat in the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

). Short-lived Irish Soviets also briefly emerged during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

, most notably the Limerick Soviet. Soviet republics, most notably the Chinese Soviet Republic (Jiangxi Soviet), later appeared in China during the early stages of the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

. Other than these cases, "soviet republic" typically refers to the administrative

List

*The

or any of its two very distinct types of republics: ** The larger union republics, representing the main ethnic groups of the Union and with the constitutional right to secede from it. ** The smaller autonomous republics, located within some of the union republics and representing ethnic minorities. Typically, in regard to governance, autonomous republics were subordinate to the union republics they were located in. * Arbeiter- und Soldatenräte (Workers' and Soldiers' Councils) during the German Revolution of November 1918, including Bremen (January–February 1919),

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

(November 1918 to February 1919),

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

(April 1919),

(April–May 1919) and

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

(8–22 November 1918). * Bukharan People's Soviet Republic, its name later changed to the Bukharan Soviet Socialist Republic (October 1920–February 1925). * Chinese Soviet Republic, also known as the "Jiangxi Soviet" (November 1931–September 1937) led by the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

. * Commune of the Working People of Estonia (November 1918–February 1919). * Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (January–April 1918) in the south of Finland only. * Galician Soviet Socialist Republic (15 July–21 September 1920) in Soviet-occupied territory during the

. * Hunan Soviet (ca. 1927) led by the Chinese Communist Party. * Hungarian Soviet Republic (March–August 1919) led by the Hungarian Communist Party. * Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic (December 1918–January 1920). * Limerick Soviet (15–27 April 1919) during a general strike against British military rule. * Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (December 1918–February 1919). * Other Irish Soviets (1919–1922) mainly in the province of

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

. * Persian Socialist Soviet Republic also known as the ''Soviet Republic of Gilan'' (June 1920–September 1921). * Republic of Užice (Autumn 1941), a Partisan-governed military state during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. * Shanghai Civil Government (22 March - 1 April 1927), violently dissolved on the orders Chiang Kai-Shek, resulting in the

. * Slovak Soviet Republic (16 June–7 July 1919) directly supported by the Hungarian Soviet Republic. * Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia (January–February 1919). * Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia (February–August 1919). * Soviet Republic of Naissaar (December 1917–February 1918) on an Estonian island in the Baltic Sea. * Ukrainian People's Republic of Soviets (December 1917–March 1918). * Ukrainian Soviet Republic (March–April 1918).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soviet Republic (System Of Government) Dictatorship of the proletariat Government of the Soviet Union Socialism Republic Types of socialism

History

List

See also

References