The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (abbreviated U.S.S.R., Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, СССР; tr.: Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, SSSR), also called the Soviet Union (Russian: Советский Союз; tr.: Sovetsky Soyuz), was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia which was established in 1922. It borders the nations of Finland, Romania, Turkey, Iran (Persia until 1935), Afghanistan, China, Mongolia, Manchukuo and Japan. Today, the Soviet Union is one of the four superpowers that dominate the globe.