Autonomous okrugs, () which are also referred to as "autonomous districts" or "autonomous areas" are a type of federal subject of the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and simultaneously an administrative division type of some federal subjects. As of 2024, Russia has four autonomous okrugs of its 83 federal subjects. The

Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Chukotka ( ; ), officially the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, is the easternmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. It is an Autonomous okrugs of Russia, autonomous okrug situated in the Russian Far East, and shares a border wi ...

is the only okrug which is not subordinate to an

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

. The Nenets Autonomous Okrug is a part of

Arkhangelsk Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast ( rus, Архангельская область, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic Ocean, Arctic archipelagos of Franz ...

, the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug are parts of

Tyumen Oblast Tyumen Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. It is located in Western Siberia, and is administratively part of the Ural Federal District. The oblast has administrative jurisdiction over two autonomous ...

. According to the

Constitution of the Soviet Union During its existence, the Soviet Union had three different constitutions enforced individually at different times between 31 January 1924 to 26 December 1991. Chronology of Soviet constitutions These three constitutions were: * 1918 Constitutio ...

, in case of a union republic voting on leaving the Soviet Union, autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts, and autonomous okrugs had the right, by means of a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

, to independently resolve whether they will stay in the USSR or leave with the seceding union republic, as well as to raise the issue of their state-legal status.

History

Originally called national okrug, this type of administrative unit was created in the 1920s and widely implemented in the 1930s to provide

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...

to Indigenous peoples of the North, like the

Karelian National Okrug Karelian National Okrug (, ''Karelsky Natsionalny okrug''), was a territory with special status within Kalinin Oblast, Soviet Union. It existed between 1937 and 1939 and was intended to be a Tver Karelians autonomy. Its administrative center wa ...

for the

Tver Karelians Tver Karelians are a people who inhabit regions of Tver, Saint Petersburg, and Moscow. Their dialect is remarkable in that it does not borrow from other Balto-Finnic languages due to centuries of geographical isolation. Although the number of ...

. The

1977 Soviet Constitution The 1977 Constitution of the Soviet Union, officially the Constitution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was adopted on 7 October 1977. The 1977 Constitution, also known as the ''Brezhnev Constitution'' or the ''Constitution of Deve ...

changed the term "national okrugs" to "autonomous okrugs" in order to emphasize that they were indeed autonomies and not simply another type of administrative and territorial division. While the 1977 Constitution stipulated that the autonomous okrugs were subordinated to the oblasts and

krai A krai or kray (; , , ''kraya'') is one of the types of federal subjects of modern Russia, and was a type of geographical administrative division in the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR. Etymologically, the word is related to the verb "" ...

s, this clause was revised on December 15, 1990, when it was specified that autonomous okrugs were subordinated directly to the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

, although they still could stay in the jurisdiction of a krai or an oblast to which they were subordinated before.

List of autonomous okrugs

Former autonomous okrugs

Recent developments

In 1990, ten autonomous okrugs existed within the RSFSR. Between 2005 and 2008, the three autonomous okrugs in which the titular nationality constituted more than 30% of the population were abolished. Since then, three more have been abolished, leaving four. On 13 May 2020, the governors of Arkhangelsk Oblast and Nenets Autonomous Okrug announced their plan to merge following the collapse of oil prices stemming from the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The process was subsequently scrapped on July 2 following public outcry to the merger. The ten autonomous okrugs in 1990 were:

Ethnic composition of autonomous okrugs

The table below also includes autonomous okrugs which have since changed status.

History

List of autonomous okrugs

Former autonomous okrugs

Recent developments

Ethnic composition of autonomous okrugs

Notes

References

See also