The Russian Federation

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 is divided into 83 federal subjects

Federal subjects of Russia

Russia is a federation which, since March 1, 2008, consists of 83 federal subjects . In 1993, when the Constitution was adopted, there were 89 federal subjects listed...

 (constituent units), 21 of which are republic

Republic

A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...

s. The republics represent areas of non-Russian ethnicity. The indigenous ethnic group of a republic that gives it its name is referred to as the "titular nationality". Due to decades (in some cases centuries) of internal migration

Human migration

Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...

 inside Russia, each nationality is not necessarily a majority of a republic's population.

Constitutional status

Republics differ from other federal subjects

Federal subjects of Russia

Russia is a federation which, since March 1, 2008, consists of 83 federal subjects . In 1993, when the Constitution was adopted, there were 89 federal subjects listed...

 in that they have the right to establish their own official language

Official language

An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...

 and have their own constitution. Other federal subjects, such as krai

Krai

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 (territories) and oblast

Oblast

Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...

s (provinces), aren't explicitly given this right. The chief executives of many republics used to have the title of president, but in 2010 the amendment to the federal law has been adopted that reserves such title exclusively for the head of the Russian state.

The level of actual autonomy granted to such political units varies but is generally quite extensive. The parliamentary assemblies of such republics have often enacted laws which are at odds with the federal constitution. The republics' executives tend to be very powerful. However, this autonomy was lessened considerably under former President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...

 who sought to impose the supremacy of the federal constitution.

The establishment of seven large "federal districts" above the regions and republics of Russia, with presidentially appointed governors overseeing the republics' activities, has strengthened the rule of law, and respect for the constitution in the republics. In addition, Putin strengthened the position of the republics' legislatures while weakening the executives power. The executive heads of republics are now appointed by the President of Russia himself. The President's nomination must be accepted by the republic's parliament.

There are secessionist movements in most republics, but these are generally not very strong. However, there was considerable support for secession among Tatars

Tatars

Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...

, Bashkirs

Bashkirs

The Bashkirs are a Turkic people indigenous to Bashkortostan extending on both parts of the Ural mountains, on the place where Europe meets Asia. Groups of Bashkirs also live in the republic of Tatarstan, Perm Krai, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Tyumen, Sverdlovsk, Kurgan, Samara and Saratov Oblasts of...

, Yakuts

Yakuts

Yakuts , are a Turkic people associated with the Sakha Republic.The Yakut or Sakha language belongs to the Northern branch of the Turkic family of languages....

, and Chechens after the break-up of 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....

, resulting in war

First Chechen War

The First Chechen War, also known as the War in Chechnya, was a conflict between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, fought from December 1994 to August 1996...

 in the case of Chechnya. The desire for secession in many republics is, however, greatly complicated by the extent to which other ethnic groups reside in their titular republics (Tatarstan

Tatarstan

The Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt,...

, Bashkortostan

Bashkortostan

The Republic of Bashkortostan , also known as Bashkiria is a federal subject of Russia . It is located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. Its capital is the city of Ufa...

, Sakha). (As a result of the First

First Chechen War

The First Chechen War, also known as the War in Chechnya, was a conflict between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, fought from December 1994 to August 1996...

 and Second Chechen War

Second Chechen War

The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....

s, very few non-Chechens now reside in Chechnya

Chechnya

The 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...

.) Also, the majority of Tatars, unlike other titular ethnic groups, reside outside of Tatarstan.

Former Autonomous Republics and Autonomous Oblasts

The Russian SFSR of the former 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....

 included three types of ethnic constituent units, viz., in the order of decreasing "autonomy" level: Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics (or simply autonomous republics), autonomous oblast

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, and autonomous okrug

Autonomous okrug

Autonomous okrug is a term for an administrative country subdivision in Russia. The term was also used in the Soviet Union.- See also :* Okrug* Autonomous okrugs of Russia* Autonomous okrugs of the Soviet Union...

s.

After the dissolution of the USSR, each "autonomous republic" was succeeded by a republic with a similar name (or, in the case of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR, by two republics: Chechnya

Chechnya

The 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...

 and Ingushetia

Ingushetia

The 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...

). Several "autonomous oblasts" (Adygea, Altai

Altai Republic

Altai Republic is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the town of Gorno-Altaysk. The area of the republic is . Population: -Geography:...

, Karachay-Cherkessia

Karachay-Cherkessia

The Karachay-Cherkess Republic , or Karachay-Cherkessia is a federal subject of Russia . Population: -Geography:*Area: *Borders:**internal: Krasnodar Krai , Kabardino-Balkar Republic , Stavropol Krai ....

, Khakassia

Khakassia

The 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...

) have become "republics" as well.

The expression "autonomous republic" is still sometimes used for the republics of Russia. Although they are autonomous and republics, the use of this term is not technically correct, since their official names, as per 1993 Russian Constitution

Constitution of Russia

The current Constitution of the Russian Federation was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993. Russia's constitution came into force on 25 December 1993, at the moment of its official publication...

and their own constitutions, are simply "republic", rather than "autonomous republic".