Mother Russia

Meanings

proper noun

A national personification of Russia as a woman, appearing in patriotic posters, statues, etc.
metonymicallyRussia.
We did not understand what it was all about; but we were defending Mother Russia.
1920, Malcolm Waters Davis, Open Gates to Russia, page 44
2 more examples
In the thirties and forties, they were the Marxists talkin' about spreading Mother Russia's legs around the world; now it's sing along with the black man.
1970, Wally Ferris, Across 110th, page 103
Collective daydreaming shut down when we boarded the Soviet-made airliner in Korea. Next stop Mother Russia.
2005, Paul Carter, Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs, Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin, page 165

Calque of Russian Ма́тушка Росси́я (Mátuška Rossíja) or Росси́я-Ма́тушка (Rossíja-Mátuška).

More words from Russian

Bulgarian Майка Русия

Catalan Mare Rússia

Finnish Äiti-Venäjä

French Mère Russie

German Mütterchen Russland

Hebrew אִמָּא רוּסְיָה

Italian Madre Russia

Polish Matka Rosja

Portuguese Mãe Rússia

Romanian Mama Rusie, Mama Rusia

Russian Ма́тушка Росси́я, Росси́я-Ма́тушка

Spanish Madre Rusia

Cite this entry

APA

Mother Russia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mother%20Russia

MLA

“Mother Russia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mother%20Russia. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Mother Russia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mother%20Russia.