The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is a constitutionally socialist state in Eurasia and Eastern Europe. The name is a translation of Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from Советский Союз, Sovetskiy Soyuz. A soviet is a council, the theoretical basis for the socialist society of the USSR.