Soviet Union tablecloth This plasticised map of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), with its division into formal republics and constituent republics, portrays the vast Russian empire in a dominant red colour. At the time of the USSR's establishment, each republic was granted the right of secession (which would later be exercised by all former Soviet republics in 1991). However, during the period this map represents, the USSR functions as an ultra-centralised empire under the control of the Communist Party Central Committee.
