captive nation

plural captive nations

1. UShistoricalgovernmentA country under the control of a Communist regime (especially the Soviet Union).

   Almost from the moment the Soviet empire swallowed the captive nations, the fight against it began.

   1989 November 21, A[braham] M[ichael] Rosenthal, “ON MY MIND; Helping the Revolution”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 Dec 2017

   2 more examples

   Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump claimed that "socialism is dying" and described Cuba as a "captive nation." But Cuban officials framed voting yes to the constitution as a matter of patriotism.

   2019 February 25, Euan McKirdy, “Cubans overwhelmingly vote in favor of new constitution”, in CNN, archived from the original on 12 Oct 2022

   When the moment struck in the late 1980s as the Soviet Union started to collapse, nonviolent resistance to Communist rule forced the Soviets out, freeing the captive nations without a shot fired.

   2021 June 24, Henry Olsen, “Opinion: The U.S. can’t save Hong Kong. But it must keep the spirit of freedom alive.”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 Jul 2021