Autonomous republics of the Soviet Union
Encyclopedia
Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics (ASSRs) 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.
In the Russian SFSR, for example, Chairmen of the Government of the ASSRs were officially members of the Government of the RSFSR. Unlike the union republics, the autonomous republics did not have a right to disaffiliate themselves from the Union. The level of political, administrative and cultural autonomy they enjoyed varied with time - it was most substantial in the 1920s (Korenizatsiya
), the 1950s after the death of Joseph Stalin
, and in the Leonid Brezhnev
era.
Gorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast
(now Altai Republic
), Adygea Autonomous Oblast (now Republic of Adygea), and Khakassian Autonomous Oblast (now Republic of Khakassia
) were all promoted in status to that of an ASSR in 1991, in the last year of the Soviet Union. Only the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
retained its autonomous oblast status in Russia.
Other autonomous republics also existed within RSFSR at earlier points of the Soviet history:
Ukrainian SSR
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...
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....
, but higher than the autonomous oblasts
Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union
Autonomous oblasts 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:*Nagorno-Karabakh AO -Byelorussian SSR:...
and the autonomous okrugs.
In the Russian SFSR, for example, Chairmen of the Government of the ASSRs were officially members of the Government of the RSFSR. Unlike the union republics, the autonomous republics did not have a right to disaffiliate themselves from the Union. The level of political, administrative and cultural autonomy they enjoyed varied with time - it was most substantial in the 1920s (Korenizatsiya
Korenizatsiya
Korenizatsiya sometimes also called korenization, meaning "nativization" or "indigenization", literally "putting down roots", was the early Soviet nationalities policy promoted mostly in the 1920s but with a continuing legacy in later years...
), the 1950s after the death of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, and in the Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in...
era.
Georgian SSR
- Abkhaz ASSR, now AbkhaziaAbkhaziaAbkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
- Adjar ASSR, now AdjaraAdjaraAdjara , officially the Autonomous Republic of Adjara , is an autonomous republic of Georgia.Adjara is located in the southwestern corner of Georgia, bordered by Turkey to the south and the eastern end of the Black Sea...
Russian SFSR
The 1978 Constitution of the RSFSR recognized sixteen autonomous republics within the RSFSR. Their current status (as of October 2007) within the Russian Federation is given in parentheses:- Bashkir ASSR (now Republic of BashkortostanBashkortostanThe 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...
) - Buryat ASSR (now Buryat RepublicBuryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist RepublicThe Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the former Soviet Union....
) - Chechen-Ingush ASSR (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...
and 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...
) - Chuvash ASSR (now Chuvash Republic)
- Dagestan ASSR (now Republic of Dagestan)
- Kabardino-Balkar ASSR (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 ASSR (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:...
) - Karelian ASSRKarelian ASSRThe Karelian ASSR was an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, with the capital in Petrozavodsk.The Karelian ASSR was formed as a part of the Russian SFSR by the Resolution of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of June 27, 1923 and by the Decree of...
(now Republic of KareliaRepublic of KareliaThe Republic of Karelia is a federal subject of Russia .-Geography:The republic is located in the northwestern part of Russia, taking intervening position between the basins of White and Baltic seas...
) - Komi ASSR (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 ASSR (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...
) - Mordovian ASSR (now Republic of MordoviaMordoviaThe Republic of Mordovia , also known as Mordvinia, is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the city of Saransk. Population: -Geography:The republic is located in the eastern part of the East European Plain of Russia...
) - Northern Ossetian ASSR (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:...
) - Tatar ASSR (now Republic of TatarstanTatarstanThe 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,...
) - Tuva ASSR (now Tuva RepublicTuvaThe Tyva Republic , or Tuva , is a federal subject of Russia . It lies in the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders with the Altai Republic, the Republic of Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, and the Republic of Buryatia in Russia and with Mongolia to the...
) - Udmurt ASSR (now Udmurt RepublicUdmurtiaThe Udmurt Republic , or Udmurtia is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the city of Izhevsk. Population: -History:...
) - Yakut ASSR (now Sakha (Yakutia) Republic)
Gorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast
Gorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast
The 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 Republic
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:...
), Adygea Autonomous Oblast (now Republic of Adygea), and Khakassian Autonomous Oblast (now Republic of 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...
) were all promoted in status to that of an ASSR in 1991, in the last year of the Soviet Union. Only the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Jewish Autonomous Oblast
The 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....
retained its autonomous oblast status in Russia.
Other autonomous republics also existed within RSFSR at earlier points of the Soviet history:
- Chechen-Ingush ASSR (1936-1944, 1957-1990)
- Crimean ASSR (October 18, 1921 – June 30, 1945; now the Autonomous Republic of CrimeaCrimeaCrimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
within UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) - Kabardino-Balkar ASSR (1936-1944, renamed Kabardin ASSR in 1944-1957, restored as Kabardino-Balkar ASSR in 1957-1991)
- Karelian ASSRKarelian ASSRThe Karelian ASSR was an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, with the capital in Petrozavodsk.The Karelian ASSR was formed as a part of the Russian SFSR by the Resolution of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of June 27, 1923 and by the Decree of...
(1923-1940, 1956-1991) - Kazakh ASSRKazakh ASSRThe Kazak Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was an autonomous republic of the Soviet Union within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic existing from 1925 until 1936....
(1925-1936), now the independent state of KazakhstanKazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
) - Kirghiz ASSR (1926-1936), now the independent states of KazakhstanKazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
and 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...
) - Mountainous ASSRSoviet Mountain RepublicMountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic or Mountain ASSR was a short-lived autonomous republic within the Russian SFSR in the Northern Caucasus that existed from January 20, 1921 to July 7, 1924....
(1922-1924) broken up into several smaller Northern Caucasus Republics - Turkestan ASSR (1918-1924), now the independent states of KazakhstanKazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, 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...
, TajikistanTajikistanTajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
, TurkmenistanTurkmenistanTurkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
, and UzbekistanUzbekistanUzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
) - Volga German ASSR (1918-1941)
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...
- 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...
(1924-1940). In 1940, it was separated into Moldavian SSRMoldavian SSRThe Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic , commonly abbreviated to Moldavian SSR or MSSR, was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union...
(now the independent state 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...
). - Crimean ASSR (February 12, 1991 – ). Crimea Oblast was promoted to the ASSR status following a referendum held on January 20, 1991 (now Autonomous Republic of Crimea).