Old red drunkard punched by jockey (6)
I believe the answer is:
soviet
'old red' is the definition.
(red can informally mean a communist)
'drunkard punched by jockey' is the wordplay.
'drunkard' becomes 'sot' (synonyms).
'punched by' is an insertion indicator.
'jockey' becomes 'vie' (I've seen this in another clue).
'sot' enclosing 'vie' is 'SOVIET'.
(Other definitions for soviet that I've seen before include "National council in former USSR" , "Communist government council" , "Union of ... Socialist Republics" , "Relating to the USSR" , "Elected council in a communist country" .)