the Communist bloc the former Soviet Union and the countries of eastern Europe which had Communist governments and were under Soviet influence, especially between the end of World War II and about 1990
the East bloc the former name for the group of countries including the former Soviet Union and other eastern European countries with Communist governments, which had a close military and trade relationship
a name for the former SOVIET UNION, together with the countries of Eastern Europe which it partly controlled, and other Communist countries that supported it, such as North Korea, Vietnam, and Cuba