Which statement describes the USSR as a multinational state?

• A. It was multinational, composed of European and Asian peoples, with equal rights for member republics.
• B. It consisted only of ethnic Russians and had no autonomy for other peoples.
• C. It allowed only two republics with limited rights.
• D. It was a constitutional monarchy with a centralized legislature.

Answer: (A)

The statement reflects how the USSR was designed to function as a multinational state: it brought together many nationalities from both Europe and Asia into a single federal framework, and in principle all member republics had equal rights within the union. The USSR was formed as a federation of Soviet Socialist Republics, each with its own national identity and representation within central structures, and the constitutional framework proclaimed equality among the republics. This captures the intended idea that diverse peoples lived under one state with formal parity, even though in practice central authority often outweighed local autonomy. The other descriptions—claiming only Russians with no autonomy, or reducing the union to just two weakly empowered parts, or depicting a constitutional monarchy with centralized power—do not fit the actual structure and politics of the Soviet state.