The Soviet Union had many regions called "republics". They all belonged to the Russian Empire before 1917. All these "republics" were part of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union was one country. After its dissolution, all of the republics became independent countries. The names of these countries are: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.