The former Soviet Republics include Azerbaijan (10 letters), BELARUS (7 letters), Armenia (7 letters), Kazakhstan (10 letters), Uzbek (5 letters) and Latvia (6 letters). These countries were part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) which was a single-party state that existed from 1922 to 1991. After the dissolution of the USSR, these countries declared their independence and became sovereign states.