Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union
Encyclopedia
Autonomous oblast
s of the Soviet Union
were administrative units created for a number of smaller nations, which were given autonomy within the republics of the Soviet Union
.
Azerbaijan SSR
Byelorussian SSR
s, this clause was removed in the December 15, 1990 revision, when it was specified that the autonomous oblasts were to be directly subordinated to the Russian SFSR. In June 1991, five autonomous oblasts existed within the RSFSR, four of which were elevated to the status of the republic on July 3, 1991:
Other autonomous oblasts also existed at earlier points of the Soviet history:
Tajik SSR
Ukrainian SSR
Uzbek SSR
Autonomous oblast
An autonomous oblast is an autonomous entity within the state which is on the oblast level of the overall administrative subdivision. It may refer to:*Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union*Autonomous oblasts of Russia...
s of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
were administrative units created for a number of smaller nations, which were given autonomy within the republics of the Soviet Union
Republics of the Soviet Union
The Republics of the Soviet Union or the Union Republics of the Soviet Union were ethnically-based administrative units that were subordinated directly to the Government of the Soviet Union...
.
Azerbaijan SSRAzerbaijan SSRThe Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Azerbaijan SSR for short, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union....
- Nagorno-Karabakh AONagorno-Karabakh Autonomous OblastThe Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast was an autonomous oblast within the borders of the Azerbaijan SSR, mostly inhabited by ethnic Armenians and created on July 7, 1923. According to Karl R. DeRouen it was created as an enclave so that a narrow strip of land would separate it from Armenia proper....
(now Nagorno-KarabakhNagorno-KarabakhNagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, lying between Lower Karabakh and Zangezur and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains...
)
Byelorussian SSRByelorussian SSRThe Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was one of fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union. It was one of the four original founding members of the Soviet Union in 1922, together with the Ukrainian SSR, the Transcaucasian SFSR and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
- DzierzynszczyznaPolish Autonomous DistrictPolish Autonomous Districts were national raions in the interbellum period possessing some form of a national autonomy in the Ukrainian and Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republics of the USSR...
(1932–1935; Polish Autonomous District)
Russian SFSR
While the 1978 Constitution of the RSFSR specified that the autonomous oblasts are subordinated to the kraiKrai
Krai or kray was a type of an administrative division in the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR, and is one of the types of the federal subjects of modern Russia ....
s, this clause was removed in the December 15, 1990 revision, when it was specified that the autonomous oblasts were to be directly subordinated to the Russian SFSR. In June 1991, five autonomous oblasts existed within the RSFSR, four of which were elevated to the status of the republic on July 3, 1991:
- Adyghe Autonomous Oblast (now Republic of Adygea)
- Gorno-Altai Autonomous OblastGorno-Altai Autonomous OblastThe Gorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast It was upgraded into an ASSR in 1991, shortly before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It corresponds to the current Altai Republic....
(now Altai RepublicAltai RepublicAltai Republic is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the town of Gorno-Altaysk. The area of the republic is . Population: -Geography:...
) - Jewish Autonomous OblastJewish Autonomous OblastThe Jewish Autonomous Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated in the Russian Far East, bordering Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast of Russia and Heilongjiang province of China. Its administrative center is the town of Birobidzhan....
(now independent from Khabarovsk KraiKhabarovsk KraiKhabarovsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Russian Far East. It lies mostly in the basin of the lower Amur River, but also occupies a vast mountainous area along the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk, an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The administrative center of the krai is the...
) - Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Oblast (now Karachay-Cherkess RepublicKarachay-CherkessiaThe Karachay-Cherkess Republic , or Karachay-Cherkessia is a federal subject of Russia . Population: -Geography:*Area: *Borders:**internal: Krasnodar Krai , Kabardino-Balkar Republic , Stavropol Krai ....
) - Khakas Autonomous Oblast (now Republic of KhakassiaKhakassiaThe Republic of Khakassia or Khakasiya is a federal subject of Russia located in south-central Siberia. Its capital city is Abakan, which is also the largest city in the republic...
)
Other autonomous oblasts also existed at earlier points of the Soviet history:
- Chechen Autonomous OblastChechen Autonomous OblastChechen Autonomous Oblast , or Autonomous Oblast of Chechnya , was an autonomous oblast of the Russian SFSR, created on November 30, 1922 when it was separated from the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic....
(1922–1936; now Chechen RepublicChechnyaThe Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
) - Chechen-Ingush Autonomous OblastChechen-Ingush Autonomous OblastChechen-Ingush Autonomous Oblast was an autonomous oblast of the Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, created on January 15, 1934 by merging Chechen and Ingush Autonomous Oblasts....
(1944–1957; merged into the Chechen-Ingush ASSR) - Cherkess Autonomous OblastCherkess Autonomous OblastCherkess Autonomous Oblast was created in 1943....
(Cherkess National District 1926-1928; Cherkess AO 1928-1957; later merged into Karachay-Cherkess AO) - Chuvash Autonomous Oblast (1920–1925; now Chuvash Republic)
- Ingush Autonomous OblastIngush Autonomous OblastIngush Autonomous Oblast was created on 7 July 1924....
(1924–1936; now Republic of IngushetiaIngushetiaThe Republic of Ingushetia is a federal subject of Russia , located in the North Caucasus region with its capital at Magas. In terms of area, the republic is the smallest of Russia's federal subjects except for the two federal cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg...
) - Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous OblastKabardino-Balkar Autonomous OblastKabardino-Balkar Autonomous Oblast was formed in 1921 as the Kabardin Autonomous Oblast. It was renamed in 1922....
(1921–1936; now Kabardino-Balkar RepublicKabardino-BalkariaThe Kabardino-Balkar Republic , or Kabardino-Balkaria , is a federal subject of Russia located in the North Caucasus. Population: -Geography:The republic is situated in the North Caucasus mountains, with plains in the northern part....
) - Kalmyk Autonomous OblastKalmyk Autonomous OblastKalmyk Autonomous Oblast was an autonomy of the Kalmyk people within the Russian SFSR that existed at two separate periods.It was first established in November 1920. Its administrative center was Astrakhan. In June 1928, it was included into Lower Volga Krai...
(1920–1935; now Republic of KalmykiaKalmykiaThe Republic of Kalmykia is a federal subject of Russia . Population: It is the only Buddhist region in Europe. It has also become well-known as an international chess mecca because its former President, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, is the head of the International Chess Federation .-Geography:*Area:...
) - Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous OblastKara-Kyrgyz Autonomous OblastThe Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast , in the former region of Soviet Central Asia, was created on 14 October 1924 within the Russian SFSR from the predominantly Kazakh and Kyrgyz parts of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. On 15 May 1925 it was renamed into the Kirghiz Autonomous...
(1924–1926; renamed Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast in 1924, became an autonomous republic in 1926 (Kyrgyz ASSR), a full union republic in 1936 (Kyrgyz SSR), and now the independent state of the Republic of KyrgyzstanKyrgyzstanKyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
) - Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Oblast (1922–1926; 1957-1991 - see above)
- Komi-Zyryan Autonomous OblastKomi-Zyryan Autonomous OblastKomi-Zyryan Autonomous Oblast, one of several autonomous oblast's that existed in the former Soviet Union, was created August 22, 1921. It was the predecessor of the Komi Republic. The seat of the Oblast was located in Ust-Sysolsk ....
(1922–1929; now Komi RepublicKomi RepublicThe Komi Republic is a federal subject of Russia .-Geography:The republic is situated to the west of the Ural mountains, in the north-east of the East European Plain...
) - Mari Autonomous OblastMari Autonomous OblastMari Autonomous Oblast was created 1920-11-04,as a part of RSFSR. Later Mari ASSR was proclaimed, eventually developed to the modern Mari El Republic within Russian Federation.The early years: Povolzhye famine, 1921 Mari wildfires....
(1920–1936; now Mari El RepublicMari ElThe Mari El Republic is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the city of Yoshkar-Ola. Population: -Geography:The republic is located in the eastern part of the East European Plain of Russia, along the Volga River. The swampy Mari Depression is located in the west of the republic...
) - North Ossetian Autonomous OblastNorth Ossetian Autonomous OblastThe North Ossetian Autonomous Oblast was created 1924-07-07....
(1924–1936; now Republic of North Ossetia-AlaniaNorth Ossetia-AlaniaThe Republic of North Ossetia–Alania is a federal subject of Russia . Its population according to the 2010 Census was 712,877.-Name:...
) - Tuvan Autonomous OblastTuvan Autonomous OblastThe Tuvan Autonomous Oblast was an autonomous oblast of the Soviet Union created on 11 October 1944 following the annexation of the Tuvan People's Republic by the Soviet Union. On 10 October 1961 it was transformed into the Tuvan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic....
(1944–1961; now Tuva Republic) - Udmurt Autonomous OblastUdmurt Autonomous OblastThe Udmurt Autonomous Oblast was formed on 4 November 1920 as the Votsk Autonomous Oblast. It was renamed on 1 January 1932 and was reorganized into the Udmurt ASSR on December 28, 1934, which was reorganized into the Udmurt Republic on 20 September 1990....
(1920–1934; now Udmurt RepublicUdmurtiaThe Udmurt Republic , or Udmurtia is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the city of Izhevsk. Population: -History:...
)
Tajik SSRTajik SSRThe Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Tajik SSR for short, was one of the 15 republics that made up the Soviet Union. Located in Central Asia, the Tajik SSR was created on 5 December 1929 as a national entity for the Tajik people within the Soviet Union...
- Gorno-Badakhshan AO (now Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous ProvinceGorno-Badakhshan Autonomous ProvinceGorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province is an autonomous, mountainous province in the east of Tajikistan. Located in the Pamir Mountains, it makes up 45% of the land area of the country but only 3% of the population....
)
Ukrainian SSRUkrainian SSRThe Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
- MarchlewszczyznaPolish Autonomous DistrictPolish Autonomous Districts were national raions in the interbellum period possessing some form of a national autonomy in the Ukrainian and Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republics of the USSR...
(1926–1935; Polish Autonomous District) - Moldavian AOMoldavian Autonomous OblastMoldavian Autonomous Oblast was created on March 7, 1924 within the Ukrainian SSR.The new oblast had four districts, all of them having a Moldovan majority:* Rîbniţa with 48,748 inhabitants, of which 25,387 Moldovans...
(1924; became an autonomous republic (Moldavian ASSRMoldavian ASSRThe Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic , shortened to Moldavian ASSR or, less frequently, Moldovan ASSR, was an autonomous republic of the Ukrainian SSR between 12 October 1924 and 2 August 1940, encompassing modern Transnistria The Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic...
only months after its formation, a union republic (Moldavian SSRMoldavian SSRThe Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic , commonly abbreviated to Moldavian SSR or MSSR, was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union...
, and now the Republic of MoldovaMoldovaMoldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
)
Uzbek SSRUzbek SSRThe Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Uzbek SSR for short, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union since its creation in 1924...
- Karakalpak AOKarakalpak Autonomous OblastKarakalpak Autonomous Oblast was created on February 19, 1925 by separating lands of the ethnic Karakalpaks from the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and Khorezm People's Soviet Republic....
(1925–1932; now Karakalpakstan)
See also
- Autonomous republics of the Soviet UnionAutonomous republics of the Soviet UnionAutonomous Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union were administrative units created for certain nations. The ASSRs had a status lower than the union republics of the Soviet Union, but higher than the autonomous oblasts and the autonomous okrugs....
- Autonomous okrugs of the Soviet Union