Sentence:  In 1607 and 1608 , the English Muscovy Company had sent him northward to look for a route over the North Pole or across the top of <WSD>Russia</WSD> . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a former communist country in eastern Europe and northern Asia; established in 1922; included Russia and 14 other soviet socialist republics (Ukraine and Byelorussia and others); officially dissolved 31 December 1991