soviet

Definition: a ruling council of a communist country

My generation, of course, applies this to the Soviet Union. But “soviet” has a generic meaning as well.

Here’s an entire page on the etymology of the word. It literally means “co-talking” in Russian, but is commonly used as the word “council.”

Why I Looked It Up

From The Covenant, when discussing Bantu mine workers:

One gang of workers wanted to establish a soviet in which laboring men would take control of the mines, overthrow the government, and establish a communist dictatorship in harmony with Russia.