In Soviet legal, historical, sociopolitical and other literature, the term state is used both in a wider sense as a synonym for the country as a whole, and in a narrower sense as a synonym for an administrative–territorial formation having the status of a union national republic. Aside from instances when the juridical status of union republics is considered, it can be said that in Soviet scholarly, sociopolitical works, in periodicals, and in other publications the term state is used exclusively in the wider sense.

For example, in the constitution of the RSFSR, the largest union republic of the USSR in territory, population and economic potential, the term state occurs in the narrower sense three times only: in Article I, which states that it is “a socialist state of the whole people”; in Article 68, which states that it is “a sovereign Soviet socialist state”; and in Article 78, which stipulates that each of the autonomous republics of the RSFSR “is a Soviet socialist state.” On the other hand, the RSFSR constitution uses the term in its wider sense forty times. For example, “the state helps enhance the social homogeneity … and the all-round developing and drawing together of all the nations and nationalities of the USSR” (Article 19); “When abroad, citizens of the RSFSR enjoy the protection and assistance of the Soviet state” (Article 31), etc.

The third occurrence of the term state in its narrow sense in the constitution of the RSFSR clarifies the assertion that in this sense it serves in Soviet vocabulary merely to designate property.