<P> Soviets (singular: soviet; Russian: сове́т, tr . sovét, Russian pronunciation: (sɐˈvjet), literally "council" in English) were political organizations and governmental bodies, primarily associated with the Russian Revolutions and the history of the Soviet Union, and which gave the name to the latter state . </P> <P> "Soviet" is derived from a Russian word signifying council, assembly, advice, harmony, concord, and all ultimately deriving from the Proto - Slavic verbal stem of * vět - iti "to inform", related to Slavic "věst" ("news"), English "wise", the root in "ad - vis - or" (which came to English through French), or the Dutch "weten" (to know; cf . "wetenschap" = science). </P> <P> The word "sovietnik" means councillor . </P> <P> A number of organizations in Russian history were called "council" (Russian: сове́т). For example, in Imperial Russia, the State Council, which functioned from 1810 to 1917, was referred to as a Council of Ministers after the revolt of 1905 . </P>

Who were soviets describe their role in russian revolution