Editing Republics of the Soviet Union (section)

== Union Republics of the Soviet Union ==
{{see also|Emblem of the Soviet Union}}
[[File:USSR Republics numbered by Constitution.svg|400px|thumb|right|Map of the Union Republics from 1956 to 1991, as numbered by the Soviet Constitution: 1. [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russia]], 2. [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukraine]], 3. [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic|Belarus]], 4. [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Uzbekistan]], 5. [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Kazakhstan]], 6. [[Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic|Georgia]], 7. [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|Azerbaijan]], 8. [[Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic|Lithuania]], 9. [[Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic|Moldavia]], 10. [[Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic|Latvia]], 11. [[Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic|Kyrgyzstan]], 12. [[Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic|Tajikistan]], 13. [[Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|Armenia]], 14. [[Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic|Turkmenistan]], 15. [[Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic|Estonia]]]]
The number of the union republics of the USSR varied from 4 to 16. From 1956 until its dissolution in 1991, the Soviet Union consisted of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics. (In 1956, the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic, created in 1940, was absorbed into the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.) Rather than listing the republics in alphabetical order, the republics were listed in constitutional order (which roughly corresponded to their population and economic power when the republics were formed). However, particularly by the last decades of the Soviet Union, the constitutional order did not correspond to order either by population or economic power.

Some of the union republics were autonomous republics before promotion. Soviet historiography considered the establishment of an autonomous republic to be the start of national autonomy and the succeeding union republic a continuation of the same entity in such cases.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Sixteen Soviet Republics |year=1945 |publisher=Embassy of the USSR, Washington, D.C. |url=https://www.marxists.org/history/ussr/overview/sixteensovietrepublics.pdf |page=2 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; font-size:100%;" width="100%"
! class="unsortable" |[[Emblems of the Soviet Republics|Emblem]]
! Name
!class="unsortable"|[[Flags of the Soviet Republics|Flag]]
! Capital
! Official languages
! Established
! Union Republic status
! Sovereignty
! Independence
! Population<br/><small>(1989)</small>
! Pop.<br/>%
! Area (km<sup>2</sup>)<br/><small>(1991)</small>
! Area<br/>%
! [[Post-Soviet states|Post-Soviet]] and ''de facto'' states
! No.
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem of the Armenian SSR.png|50x50px]]
| align="center" |'''[[Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic]]'''
| align="center" |[[File:Flag of Armenian SSR.svg|border|100px|Flag of Armenian SSR]]
| align="left" |[[Yerevan]]
| align="left" |[[Armenian language|Armenian]], Russian
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1920|12|2}}
| rowspan="2" align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1936|12|5}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1990|8|23}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1991|9|21}}
| align="left" |{{nts|3287700}}
| align="left" |{{nts|1.15}}
| align="left" |{{nts|29800}}
| align="left" |{{nts|0.13}}
| align="left" |{{flag|Armenia}}
| 13
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem of the Azerbaijan SSR.svg|50px]]
| align="center" |'''[[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic]]'''
| align="center" |[[File:Flag of Azerbaijan SSR.svg|border|100px|Flag of Azerbaijan SSR]]
| align="left" |[[Baku]]
| align="left" |[[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]], Russian
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1920|4|28}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1989|9|23}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1991|10|18}}
| align="left" |{{nts|7037900}}
| align="left" |{{nts|2.45}}
| align="left" |{{nts|86600}}
| align="left" |{{nts|0.39}}
| align="left" |{{flag|Azerbaijan}}<br />
| 7
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem of the Byelorussian SSR (1981-1991).svg|50px]]
| align="center" |'''[[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic]]'''
| align="center" |[[File:Flag of Byelorussian SSR.svg|border|100px|Flag of Belarusian SSR]]
| align="left" |[[Minsk]]
| align="left" |[[Belarusian language|Byelorussian]], Russian
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1920|7|31}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1922|12|30}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1990|7|27}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1991|8|25}}
| align="left" |{{nts|10151806}}
| align="left" |{{nts|3.54}}
| align="left" |{{nts|207600}}
| align="left" |{{nts|0.93}}
| align="left" |{{flag|Belarus}}
| 3
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem of the Estonian SSR.svg|50px]]
| align="center" |'''[[Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic]]'''{{efn|name="Baltic states status"|The [[annexation of the Baltic republics]] in 1940 is considered an illegal occupation by the current Baltic governments and by a number of foreign countries.<ref name="Latvia"/><ref name="Court"/><ref name="UN"/><ref name="USA"/><ref>{{cite book |last=[[European parliament]]: [[Media:Europarliament13011983.jpg|Resolution on the situation in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania]] (No C 42/78) |title=Official Journal of the European Communities |year=1983 |publisher= European Parliament}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Aust, Anthony |title= Handbook of International Law |year=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-53034-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Ziemele, Ineta |title= State Continuity and Nationality: The Baltic States and Russia |year=2005 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |isbn=90-04-14295-9}}</ref> The Soviet Union considered the initial annexation legal, but officially recognized their independence on 6 September 1991, three months prior to its final dissolution}}
| align="center" |[[File:Flag of Estonian SSR.svg|border|100px|Flag of Estonian SSR]]
| align="left" |[[Tallinn]]
| align="left" |[[Estonian language|Estonian]], Russian
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1940|7|21}}{{efn|name="Baltic annexations"|Not internationally recognized, independent republic continued ''de jure.''}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1940|8|6}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1988|11|16}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1990|5|8}}
| align="left" |{{nts|1565662}}
| align="left" |{{nts|0.55}}
| align="left" |{{nts|45226}}
| align="left" |{{nts|0.20}}
| align="left" |{{flag|Estonia}}
| 15
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem of the Georgian SSR.svg|50px]]
| align="center" |'''[[Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic]]'''
| align="center" |[[File:Flag of Georgian SSR.svg|border|100px|Flag of Georgian SSR]]
| align="left" |[[Tbilisi]]
| align="left" |[[Georgian language|Georgian]], Russian
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1921|2|25}}
| rowspan="3" align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1936|12|5}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1989|11|18}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1991|4|9}}
| align="left" |{{nts|5400841}}
| align="left" |{{nts|1.88}}
| align="left" |{{nts|69700}}
| align="left" |{{nts|0.31}}
| align="left" |{{flag|Georgia}}<br />''{{flag|Abkhazia}}''<br />''{{nowrap|{{flag|South Ossetia}}}}''
| 6
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem of Kazakh SSR.svg|50px]]
| align="center" |'''[[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic]]'''
| align="center" |[[File:Flag of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (1953–1991); Flag of Kazakhstan (1991–1992).svg|border|100px|Flag of Kazakhstan SSR]]
| align="left" |[[Almaty|Alma-Ata]]
| align="left" |[[Kazakh language|Kazakh]], Russian
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1920|8|26}}{{efn|As [[Kazakh Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic|Kazak ASSR]].}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1990|10|25}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1991|12|16}}
| align="left" |{{nts|16711900}}
| align="left" |{{nts|5.83}}
| align="left" |{{nts|2717300}}
| align="left" |{{nts|12.24}}
| align="left" |{{flag|Kazakhstan}}
| 5
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem of the Kirghiz SSR.svg|50px]]
| align="center" |'''[[Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic]]'''
| align="center" |[[File:Flag of Kyrgyz SSR.svg|border|100px|Flag of Kyrgyzstan SSR]]
| align="left" |[[Bishkek|Frunze]]
| align="left" |[[Kyrgyz language|Kirghiz]], Russian
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1926|2|11}}{{efn|As [[Kirghiz Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic (1926–1936)|Kirghiz ASSR]].}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1990|12|15}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1991|8|31}}
| align="left" |{{nts|4257800}}
| align="left" |{{nts|1.48}}
| align="left" |{{nts|198500}}
| align="left" |{{nts|0.89}}
| align="left" |{{flag|Kyrgyzstan}}
| 11
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem of the Latvian SSR.svg|50px]]
| align="center" |'''[[Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic]]'''{{efn|name="Baltic states status"}}
| align="center" |[[File:Flag of Latvian SSR.svg|border|100px|Flag of Latvian SSR]]
| align="left" |[[Riga]]
| align="left" |[[Latvian language|Latvian]], Russian
| rowspan="2" align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1940|7|21}}{{efn|name="Baltic annexations"|Not internationally recognized, independent republic continued ''de jure.''}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1940|8|5}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1989|7|28}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1990|5|4}}
| align="left" |{{nts|2666567}}
| align="left" |{{nts|0.93}}
| align="left" |{{nts|64589}}
| align="left" |{{nts|0.29}}
| align="left" |{{flag|Latvia}}
| 10
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem of the Lithuanian SSR.svg|50px]]
| align="center" |'''[[Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic]]'''{{efn|name="Baltic states status"}}
| align="center" |[[File:Flag of Lithuanian SSR.svg|border|100px|Flag of Lithuanian SSR]]
| align="left" |[[Vilnius]]
| align="left" |[[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], Russian
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1940|8|3}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1989|5|18}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1990|3|11}}
| align="left" |{{nts|3689779}}
| align="left" |{{nts|1.29}}
| align="left" |{{nts|65200}}
| align="left" |{{nts|0.29}}
| align="left" |{{flag|Lithuania}}
| 8
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem of the Moldavian SSR (1981-1990).svg|50px]]
| align="center" |'''[[Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic]]'''
| align="center" |[[File:Flag of Moldavian SSR.svg|border|100px|Flag of Moldovan SSR]]
| align="left" |[[Chișinău|Kishinev]]
| align="left" |[[Moldovan language|Moldavian]], Russian
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1924|10|12}}{{efn|As [[Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Moldavian ASSR]].}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1940|8|2}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1990|6|23}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1991|8|27}}
| align="left" |{{nts|4337600}}
| align="left" |{{nts|1.51}}
| align="left" |{{nts|33843}}
| align="left" |{{nts|0.15}}
| align="left" |{{flag|Moldova}}<br />''{{flag|Transnistria|state}}''
| 9
|-
| align="center" | [[File:Emblem of the Russian SFSR.svg|50px]]
| align="center" |'''[[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]]'''
| align="center" | [[File:Flag of Russian SFSR.svg|border|100px|Flag of Russian SFSR]]
| align="left" | [[Moscow]]
| align="left" |[[Russian language|Russian]]
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1917|11|7}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1922|12|30}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1990|6|12}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1991|12|12}}
| align="left" |{{nts|147386000}}
| align="left" |{{nts|51.40}}
| align="left" |{{nts|17075400}}
| align="left" |{{nts|76.62}}
| align="left" | {{flag|Russia}}
| 1
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem of the Tajik SSR.svg|50px]]
| align="center" |'''[[Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic]]'''
| align="center" |[[File:Flag of Tajik SSR.svg|border|100px|Flag of Tajikistan SSR]]
| align="left" |[[Dushanbe]]
| align="left" |[[Tajik language|Tajik]],<br />Russian
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1924|10|14}}{{efn|As [[Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Tajik ASSR]].}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1929|12|5}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1990|8|24}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1991|9|9}}
| align="left" |{{nts|5112000}}
| align="left" |{{nts|1.78}}
| align="left" |{{nts|143100}}
| align="left" |{{nts|0.64}}
| align="left" |{{flag|Tajikistan}}
| 12
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem of the Turkmen SSR.svg|50px]]
| align="center" |'''[[Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic]]'''
| align="center" |[[File:Flag of Turkmen SSR.svg|border|100px|Flag of Turkmenistan SSR]]
| align="left" |[[Ashgabat|Ashkhabad]]
| align="left" |[[Turkmen language|Turkmen]], Russian
| colspan="2" align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1925|5|13}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1990|8|27}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1991|10|27}}
| align="left" |{{nts|3522700}}
| align="left" |{{nts|1.23}}
| align="left" |{{nts|488100}}
| align="left" |{{nts|2.19}}
| align="left" |{{flag|Turkmenistan}}
| 14
|-
| align="center" | [[File:Emblem of the Ukrainian SSR.svg|50px]]
| align="center" |'''[[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic]]'''
| align="center" | [[File:Flag of Ukrainian SSR.svg|border|100px|Flag of Ukrainian SSR]]
| align="left" | [[Kyiv|Kiev]]
| align="left" | [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], Russian
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1919|3|10}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1922|12|30}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1990|7|16}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1991|8|24}}
| align="left" |{{nts|51706746}}
| align="left" |{{nts|18.03}}
| align="left" |{{nts|603700}}
| align="left" |{{nts|2.71}}
| align="left" | {{flag|Ukraine}}
| 2
|-
| align="center" | [[File:Emblem of the Uzbek SSR.svg|50px]]
| align="center" |'''[[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic]]'''
| align="center" | [[File:Flag of the Uzbek SSR.svg|border|100px|Flag of Uzbekistan SSR]]
| align="left" | [[Tashkent]]
| align="left" | [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]],<br />Russian
| colspan="2" align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1924|12|5}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1990|6|20}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1991|9|1}}
| align="left" |{{nts| align=left |19906000}}
| align="left" |{{nts|6.94}}
| align="left" |{{nts|447400}}
| align="left" |{{nts|2.01}}
| align="left" | {{flag|Uzbekistan}}
| 4
|}

===Short-lived Union Republics of the Soviet Union===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; font-size:100%;" width="100%"
|-
! class="unsortable" |Emblem
! Name
!class="unsortable"|Flag
! Capital
! Titular nationality
! Established
! Union Republic status
! Abolished
! Population
! Area (km<sup>2</sup>)
! Soviet successor
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem of the Karelo-Finnish SSR.svg|50px]]
| align="center" |'''[[Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic]]'''
| align="center" |[[File:Flag of the Karelo-Finnish SSR.svg|100px]]
| align="left" |[[Petrozavodsk]]
| align="left" |[[Karelians]], [[Finns]]
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1923|7|25}}{{efn|As [[Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Karelian ASSR]].}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1940|3|31}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1956|7|16}}
| align=left | 651,300<br/><small>(1959)</small>
| align=left | 172,400
| align=left | {{flag|Russian SFSR}}<br>{{Nowrap|({{flag|Karelian ASSR}})}}
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem of the Transcaucasian SFSR (1930-1936).svg|50px]]
| align="center" |'''[[Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic]]'''
| align="center" |[[File:Flag of Transcaucasian SFSR (1925-1936).svg|100px]]
| align="left" |[[Tiflis]]
| align="left" |[[Azerbaijanis]], [[Armenians]], [[Georgians]]
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1922|3|12}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1922|12|30}}
| align="left" |{{dts|format=dmy|1936|12|5}}
| align=left | 5,861,600<br/><small>(1926)</small>
| align=left | 186,100
| align=left | {{flag|Armenian SSR}}<br/>{{flag|Azerbaijan SSR}}<br/>{{flag|Georgian SSR}}
|}

===Non-union Soviet republics===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; font-size:100%;" width="100%"
|-
! class="unsortable" |Emblem
! Name
! class="unsortable" |Flag
! Capital
! Created
! Defunct
! Population
! Area (km<sup>2</sup>)
! Soviet successor
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem_of_the_SSR_of_Abkhazia_(1928-1931).svg|50px]]
| align="center" |[[Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia]]<sup>a</sup>
| align="center" |[[File:Flag_of_the_SSR_Abkhazia.svg|100px]]
| align="left" |[[Sukhumi]]
| align="left" | 1921
| align="left" | 1931
| align="left" | 201,016
| align="left" | 8,600
| align="left" |{{Flag|Georgian SSR}}<br>{{Nowrap|({{flag|Abkhaz ASSR}})}}
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem of the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic.svg|50px]]
| align="center" |[[Bukharan People's Soviet Republic]]
| align="center" |[[File:Flag of the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic.svg|100px]]
| align="left" |[[Bukhara]]
| align="left" | 1920
| align="left" | 1924
| align="left" | 2,000,000
| align="left" | 182,193
| align="left" |{{Flag|Uzbek SSR}}
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem of the Khorezm People's Soviet Republic (1923–25).svg|50px]]
| align="center" |[[Khorezm People's Soviet Republic]]
| align="center" |[[File:Flag of Khiva 1920-1923.svg|100px]]
| align="left" |[[Khiva]]
| align="left" | 1920
| align="left" | 1924
| align="left" | 800,000
| align="left" | 62,200
| align="left" |{{flag|Turkmen SSR}}<br/>{{flag|Uzbek SSR}}
|-
|align="center" |[[File:Coat of arms of the Far Eastern Republic.svg|50px]]
|align="center" |[[Far Eastern Republic]]
|align="center" |[[File:Flag of Far Eastern republic.svg|100px]]
| align="left" |[[Verkhneudinsk]]<br/>[[Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai|Chita]]
| align="left" | 1920
| align="left" | 1922
| align="left" | 
| align="left" | 
| align="left" |{{flag|Russian SFSR}}
|-
|align="center" |[[File:Emblem of the Tuvan People's Republic (1943-1944).svg|50px]]
|align="center" |[[Tuvan People's Republic]]
|align="center" |[[File:Flag of the Tuvan People's Republic (1943-1944).svg|100px]]
| align="left" |[[Kyzyl]]
| align="left" | 1921
| align="left" | 1944
| align="left" | 
| align="left" | 
| align="left" |{{Flag|Russian SFSR}}<br>({{Flag|Tuvan ASSR}})
|-
|colspan="9" style="padding-left:0.5em; font-size:90%;"|
<sup>a</sup> Abkhazia's status in relation to the [[Georgian SSR]] as a "treaty republic" was never clear or well-defined, making its status as a separate non-union republic disputed. <br/>
|}

The Turkestan Soviet Federative Republic was proclaimed in 1918 but did not survive to the founding of the USSR, becoming the short-lived [[Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]] of the RSFSR. The [[Crimean Soviet Socialist Republic|Crimean Soviet Socialist Republic (Soviet Socialist Republic of Taurida)]] was also proclaimed in 1918, but did not become a union republic and was made into an autonomous republic of the RSFSR, although the [[Crimean Tatars]] had a relative majority until the 1930s or 1940s according to censuses. When the [[Tuvan People's Republic]] joined the Soviet Union in 1944, it did not become a union republic, and was instead established as an autonomous republic of the RSFSR.

The leader of the [[People's Republic of Bulgaria]], [[Todor Zhivkov]], suggested in the early 1960s that the country should become a union republic, but the offer was rejected.<ref>{{cite book |last=Elster |first=Jon |title=The roundtable talks and the breakdown of communism |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |year=1996 |page=179 |isbn=0-226-20628-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQZIjbQri0gC&pg=PA179 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Held |first=Joseph |title=Dictionary of East European history since 1945 |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1994 |page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofeast0000held/page/84 84] |isbn=0-313-26519-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofeast0000held/page/84 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Gökay |first=Bülent |title=Eastern Europe since 1970 |publisher=[[Longman]] |year=2001 |page=19 |isbn=0-582-32858-6}}</ref> During the [[Soviet–Afghan War]], the Soviet Union proposed to annex [[Geography of Afghanistan|Northern Afghanistan]] as its 16th union republic in what was to become the [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Afghan Soviet Socialist Republic]].<ref>[http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1984/08/19/page/8/ Soviets may be poised to annex the Afghan North] - ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. 19 August 1984. Retrieved on 10 December 2016. "Miraki said then-Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev urged Afghan President Babrak Karmal to win Afghan Communist Party approval for Moscow's annexation of eight northern provinces and their formation into the 16th Soviet republic, the Socialist Republic of Afghanistan. The defector said Brezhnev envisioned the southern half of the country as a powerless, Pa-than-speaking buffer with U.S.-backed Pakistan."</ref>

===Republics not recognized by the Soviet Union===
{{main|Parade of sovereignties}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 100%;"
|-
!class="unsortable"|Emblem
! Name
!class="unsortable"|Flag
! Capital
! Official languages
! Independence from SSR declared
! Independence from USSR declared
! Population
! Area (km<sup>2</sup>)
! Post-Soviet subject
|-
| align="center" |[[File:Emblem of the Moldavian SSR (1981-1990).svg|50px]]
| align=center | ''[[Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic]]''
| align=center | [[File:Flag of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (1952–1990).svg|100px]]
| align=left | [[Tiraspol]]
| align=left | Russian, Ukrainian, Moldovan
| align=left | 2 September 1990
| align=left | 25 August 1991
| align=left | 680,000<br/><small>(1989)</small>
| align=left | 4,163<br/><small>(1989)</small>
| align=left | ''{{nowrap|{{flag|Transnistria}}}}''
|}

===Other defunct Soviet states===
* [[Ukrainian People's Republic of Soviets]] (1917–1918) → [[Ukrainian Soviet Republic]] (1918)
* [[Bessarabian Soviet Socialist Republic]] (1919)
* [[Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia]] (1919–1920)
* [[Galician Soviet Socialist Republic]] (1920)
* [[Polish Soviet Socialist Republic]] (1920)
* [[East Polish Soviet Socialist Republic]] (1990)