Federal subjects of Russia

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The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation (Russian: субъекты Российской Федерации subyekty Rossiyskoy Federatsii) or simply as the subjects of the federation (Russian: субъекты федерации subyekty federatsii), are the constituent entities of Russia, its top-level political divisions according to the Constitution of Russia.[1] Since March 18, 2014, the Russian Federation constitutionally consists of 85 federal subjects,[2] although the two most recently added subjects are internationally recognized as part of Ukraine.[3][4]

According to the Russian Constitution, the Russian Federation consists of republics, krais, oblasts, cities of federal importance, an autonomous oblast, and autonomous okrugs, all of which are equal subjects of the Russian Federation.[5] Three Russian cities of federal importance have a status of both city and separate federal subject which comprises other cities and towns (Zelenograd, Troitsk, Kronstadt, Kolpino, etc.) within federal city keeping old structure of postal address. In 1993, there were 89 federal subjects listed. By 2008, the number of federal subjects had been decreased to 83 because of several mergers. In 2014, Sevastopol and the Republic of Crimea became the 84th and 85th federal subjects of Russia.

Every federal subject has its own head, a parliament, and a constitutional court. Federal subjects have their own constitution and legislation. Subjects have equal rights in relations with federal government bodies.[6][7] The federal subjects have equal representation—two delegates each—in the Federation Council, the upper house of the Federal Assembly. They do, however, differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy (asymmetric federalism).

Composition of post-Soviet Russia was formed during the history of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic within the USSR and didn't change in the moment of dissolution of the USSR. In 1992 during so-called "parade of sovereignties", separatist sentiments and the War of Laws within Russia, the Russian regions signed the Federation Treaty (Russian: Федеративный договор Federativny Dogovor),[8] establishing and regulating the current inner composition of Russia, based on division of authorities and powers among Russian government bodies and government bodies of constituent entities. The Federation Treaty was included in the text of the 1978 Constitution of the Russian SFSR. The current Constitution of Russia was adopted by national referendum, came into force on December 25, 1993 and abolished the model of Soviet system of government introduced in 1918 by Vladimir Lenin based on right to secede from the country and unlimited sovereignty of federal subjects (in practice it was never allowed), which conflicts with country's integrity and federal laws. The new constitution eliminated a number of legal conflicts, reserved rights of the regions, introduced the institute of local self-government and didn't grant Soviet-time right to secede from the country. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the political system became de jure closer to other modern federal states with a republican form of government in the world. In the 2000s, according to the policy of Vladimir Putin and the United Russia party (dominant party in all federal subjects), the Russian parliament changed the distribution of tax revenues, reduced the number of elections in the regions and gave more power to the federal authorities.

There are several groupings of Russian regions. Federal subjects should not be confused with the eight Federal districts which are not subdivisions of Russia, are much larger and each encompass many federal subjects. Federal districts were created by Executive Order of the President of Russia specially for presidential envoys. Time zones are defined by the Order of the federal government, the composition of Judicial districts is defined by the federal law "On arbitration courts", Economic regions are administrated by the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Defense uses the terminology of Military districts.

Terminology

An official government translation of the Constitution of Russia in Article 5 states:[9] "1. The Russian Federation shall consist of republics, krays, oblasts, cities of federal significance, an autonomous oblast and autonomous okrugs, which shall have equal rights as constituent entities of the Russian Federation."

Another translation of the Constitution of Russia gives for article 65: "The Russian Federation includes the following subjects of the Russian Federation:".[10]

How to translate the Russian term was discussed during the 49th annual American Translators Association conference in Orlando, in which Tom Fennel, a freelance translator, argued that the term "constituent entity of the Russian Federation" should be preferred to "subject".[11] This recommendation is also shared by Tamara Nekrasova, Head of Translation Department, Goltsblat BLP, who in her "Traps & Mishaps in Legal Translation" presentation in Paris stated that "constituent entity of the Russian Federation is more appropriate than subject of the Russian Federation (subject would be OK for a monarchy)".[12]

Rank (as given in constitution and ISO) Russian (Cyrillic) Russian (Latin) English - official translation of the constitution [13] English - unofficial translation of the constitution[10] ISO 3166-2:RU (ISO 3166-2 Newsletter II-2 (2010-06-30))
- субъект Российской Федерации subyekt Rossiyskoy Federatsii constituent entity of the Russian Federation subject of the Russian Federation (not mentioned)
1 республика respublika republic republic republic
2 край kraĭ kray territory administrative territory
3 область oblast oblast region administrative region
4 город федерального значения gorod federal'nogo znacheniya city of federal significance city of federal importance autonomous city (the Russian term used in ISO 3166-2 is avtonomnyy gorod)
5 автономная область avtonomnaya oblast autonomous oblast autonomous region autonomous region
6 автономный округ avtonomnyĭ okrug autonomous okrug autonomous area autonomous district

Types

Each federal subject belongs to one of the following types:

Legend Description
  46 oblasts
 most common type of federal subjects with a governor and locally elected legislature. Commonly named after their administrative centers.
  22 republics
 nominally autonomous, each has its own constitution and legislature; is represented by the federal government in international affairs; is meant to be home to a specific ethnic minority.
  9 krais
 essentially the same as oblasts. The title "territory" is historic, originally given because they were once considered frontier regions.
with substantial or predominant ethnic minority
major cities that function as separate regions.
the only autonomous oblast is the Jewish Autonomous Oblast

List

Code Name Capital/administrative centre
(Largest city given if not capital)		 Flag Coat of arms Federal district Economic region Area (km2)[14] Population[15] Establishment Year
01 Adygea, Republic of Maykop Southern North Caucasus 7,600 447,109 1922
02 Bashkortostan, Republic of Ufa Volga Ural 143,600 4,104,336 1919
03 Buryatia, Republic of Ulan-Ude Siberian East Siberian 351,300 981,238 1923
04 Altai Republic Gorno-Altaysk Siberian West Siberian 92,600 202,947 1922
05 Dagestan, Republic of Makhachkala North Caucasian North Caucasus 50,300 2,576,531 1921
06 Ingushetia, Republic of Magas
(Largest city: Nazran)		 North Caucasian North Caucasus 4,000 467,294 1992
07 Kabardino-Balkar Republic Nalchik North Caucasian North Caucasus 12,500 901,494 1936
08 Kalmykia, Republic of Elista Southern Volga 76,100 292,410 1957
09 Karachay-Cherkess Republic Cherkessk North Caucasian North Caucasus 14,100 439,470 1957
10 Karelia, Republic of Petrozavodsk Northwestern Northern 172,400 716,281 1956
11 Komi Republic Syktyvkar Northwestern Northern 415,900 1,018,674 1921
12 Mari El Republic Yoshkar-Ola Volga Volga-Vyatka 23,200 727,979 1920
13 Mordovia, Republic of Saransk Volga Volga-Vyatka 26,200 888,766 1930
14 Sakha (Yakutia) Republic Yakutsk Far Eastern Far Eastern 3,103,200 949,280 1922
15 North Ossetia-Alania, Republic of Vladikavkaz North Caucasian North Caucasus 8,000 710,275 1924
16 Tatarstan, Republic of Kazan Volga Volga 68,000 3,779,265 1920
17 Tuva Republic Kyzyl Siberian East Siberian 170,500 305,510 1944
18 Udmurt Republic Izhevsk Volga Ural 42,100 1,570,316 1920
19 Khakassia, Republic of Abakan Siberian East Siberian 61,900 546,072 1930
20 Chechen Republic Grozny North Caucasian North Caucasus 15,300 1,103,686 1991
21 Chuvash Republic Cheboksary Volga Volga-Vyatka 18,300 1,313,754 1920
22 Altai Krai Barnaul Siberian West Siberian 169,100 2,607,426 1937
75 Zabaykalsky Krai Chita Siberian East Siberian 431,500 1,155,346 2008
41 Kamchatka Krai Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Far Eastern Far Eastern 472,300 358,801 2007
23 Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Southern North Caucasus 76,000 5,125,221 1937
24 Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Siberian East Siberian 2,339,700 2,966,042 1934
90 Perm Krai Perm Volga Ural 160,600 2,819,421 2005
25 Primorsky Krai Vladivostok Far Eastern Far Eastern 165,900 2,071,210 1938
26 Stavropol Krai Stavropol North Caucasian North Caucasus 66,500 2,735,139 1934
27 Khabarovsk Krai Khabarovsk Far Eastern Far Eastern 788,600 1,436,570 1938
28 Amur Oblast Blagoveshchensk Far Eastern Far Eastern 363,700 902,844 1932
29 Arkhangelsk Oblast Arkhangelsk Northwestern Northern 587,400 1,336,539 1937
30 Astrakhan Oblast Astrakhan Southern Volga 44,100 1,005,276 1943
31 Belgorod Oblast Belgorod Central Central Black Earth 27,100 1,511,620 1954
32 Bryansk Oblast Bryansk Central Central 34,900 1,378,941 1944
33 Vladimir Oblast Vladimir Central Central 29,000 1,523,990 1944
34 Volgograd Oblast Volgograd Southern Volga 113,900 2,699,223 1937
35 Vologda Oblast Vologda
(Largest city: Cherepovets)		 Northwestern Northern 145,700 1,269,568 1937
36 Voronezh Oblast Voronezh Central Central Black Earth 52,400 2,378,803 1934
37 Ivanovo Oblast Ivanovo Central Central 21,800 1,148,329 1936
38 Irkutsk Oblast Irkutsk Siberian East Siberian 767,900 2,581,705 1937
39 Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Northwestern Kaliningrad 15,100 955,281 1946
40 Kaluga Oblast Kaluga Central Central 29,900 1,041,641 1944
42 Kemerovo Oblast Kemerovo
(Largest city: Novokuznetsk)		 Siberian West Siberian 95,500 2,899,142 1943
43 Kirov Oblast Kirov Volga Volga-Vyatka 120,800 1,503,529 1934
44 Kostroma Oblast Kostroma Central Central 60,100 736,641 1944
45 Kurgan Oblast Kurgan Ural Ural 71,000 1,019,532 1943
46 Kursk Oblast Kursk Central Central Black Earth 29,800 1,235,091 1934
47 Leningrad Oblast Largest city: Gatchina[a] Northwestern Northwestern 84,500 1,669,205 1927
48 Lipetsk Oblast Lipetsk Central Central Black Earth 24,100 1,213,499 1954
49 Magadan Oblast Magadan Far Eastern Far Eastern 461,400 182,726 1953
50 Moscow Oblast Largest city: Balashikha[b] Central Central 45,900 6,618,538 1929
51 Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Northwestern Northern 144,900 892,534 1938
52 Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Nizhny Novgorod Volga Volga-Vyatka 76,900 3,524,028 1936
53 Novgorod Oblast Veliky Novgorod Northwestern Northwestern 55,300 694,355 1944
54 Novosibirsk Oblast Novosibirsk Siberian West Siberian 178,200 2,692,251 1937
55 Omsk Oblast Omsk Siberian West Siberian 139,700 2,079,220 1934
56 Orenburg Oblast Orenburg Volga Ural 124,000 2,179,551 1934
57 Oryol Oblast Oryol Central Central 24,700 860,262 1937
58 Penza Oblast Penza Volga Volga 43,200 1,452,941 1939
60 Pskov Oblast Pskov Northwestern Northwestern 55,300 760,810 1944
61 Rostov Oblast Rostov-on-Don Southern North Caucasus 100,800 4,404,013 1937
62 Ryazan Oblast Ryazan Central Central 39,600 1,227,910 1937
63 Samara Oblast Samara Volga Volga 53,600 3,239,737 1928
64 Saratov Oblast Saratov Volga Volga 100,200 2,668,310 1936
65 Sakhalin Oblast Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Far Eastern Far Eastern 87,100 546,695 1947
66 Sverdlovsk Oblast Yekaterinburg Ural Ural 194,800 4,486,214 1935
67 Smolensk Oblast Smolensk Central Central 49,800 1,049,574 1937
68 Tambov Oblast Tambov Central Central Black Earth 34,300 1,178,443 1937
69 Tver Oblast Tver Central Central 84,100 1,471,459 1935
70 Tomsk Oblast Tomsk Siberian West Siberian 316,900 1,046,039 1944
71 Tula Oblast Tula Central Central 25,700 1,675,758 1937
72 Tyumen Oblast Tyumen Ural West Siberian 1,435,200 3,264,841 1944
73 Ulyanovsk Oblast Ulyanovsk Volga Volga 37,300 1,382,811 1943
74 Chelyabinsk Oblast Chelyabinsk Ural Ural 87,900 3,603,339 1934
76 Yaroslavl Oblast Yaroslavl Central Central 36,400 1,367,398 1936
77 Moscow — Central Central 2,511 10,382,754
78 Saint Petersburg — Northwestern Northwestern 1,439 4,662,547
79 Jewish Autonomous Oblast Birobidzhan Far Eastern Far Eastern 36,000 190,915 1934
83 Nenets Autonomous Okrug Naryan-Mar Northwestern Northern 176,700 41,546 1929
86 Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk
(Largest city: Surgut)		 Ural West Siberian 523,100 1,432,817 1930
87 Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Anadyr Far Eastern Far Eastern 737,700 53,824 1930
89 Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Salekhard
(Largest city: Novy Urengoy)		 Ural West Siberian 750,300 507,006 1930
82 Crimea, Republic of[c] Simferopol Crimean[16] — 26,964[17] 1,966,801[18] 2014
92 Sevastopol[c] — Crimean[16] — 864[19] 379,200[19] 2014

a. ^ According to Article 13 of the Charter of Leningrad Oblast, the government bodies of the oblast are located in the city of St. Petersburg. However, St. Petersburg is not officially named to be the administrative center of the oblast.

b. ^ According to Article 24 of the Charter of Moscow Oblast, the government bodies of the oblast are located in the city of Moscow and throughout the territory of Moscow Oblast. However, Moscow is not officially named to be the administrative center of the oblast.

c. ^ Not recognized internationally as a part of Russia.

Lists of federal subjects

Mergers

Federal subjects of Russia

Starting in 2005, some of the federal subjects were merged into larger territories. The merging process was finished on March 1, 2008. No new mergers have been planned since March 2008.

Date of referendum Date of merger Original entities Original codes New code Original entities New entity
2003-12-07 2005-12-01 1, 1a 59 (1), 81 (1a) 90 Perm Oblast (1) + Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug (1a) Perm Krai
2005-04-17 2007-01-01 2, 2a, 2b 24 (2), 88 (2a), 84 (2b) 24 Krasnoyarsk Krai (2) + Evenk Autonomous Okrug (2a) + Taymyr Autonomous Okrug (2b) Krasnoyarsk Krai
2005-10-23 2007-07-01 3, 3a 41 (3), 82 (3a) 91 Kamchatka Oblast (3) + Koryak Autonomous Okrug (3a) Kamchatka Krai
2006-04-16 2008-01-01 4, 4a 38 (4), 85 (4a) 38 Irkutsk Oblast (4) + Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug (4a) Irkutsk Oblast
2007-03-11 2008-03-01 5, 5a 75 (5), 80 (5a) 92 Chita Oblast (5) + Agin-Buryat Autonomous Okrug (5a) Zabaykalsky Krai

Further proposals for mergers

The following merger proposals have been made in recent years; most have since become inactive.

Proposals Federal subjects Map
6, 6a Arkhangelsk Oblast + Nenets Autonomous Okrug = Pomorsky Krai
7, 7a, 7b Khabarovsk Krai + Jewish Autonomous Oblast + Amur Oblast = Amur Krai
8, 8a Magadan Oblast + Chukotka Autonomous Okrug = Magadan Krai
9, 9a, 9b Irkutsk Oblast + Buryat Republic + Zabaykalsky Krai = Baykalsky Krai
10, 10a, 10b Tyumen Oblast + Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug + Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug = Tyumen Krai
11, 11a, 11b Novosibirsk Oblast + Omsk Oblast + Tomsk Oblast = Novosibirsk Krai
12, 12a, 12b Kemerovo Oblast + Altai Republic + Altai Krai = Altai Krai
13 St. Petersburg + Leningrad Oblast = St. Petersburg Oblast
14 Moscow + Moscow Oblast = Moscow Oblast
15, 15a Yaroslavl Oblast + Kostroma Oblast = Yaroslavl Krai
16, 16a Novgorod Oblast + Pskov Oblast = Novgorod Krai
17, 17a Krasnodar Krai + Republic of Adygea = Krasnodar Krai
18, 18a Republic of Ingushetia + Chechen Republic = Checheno-Ingushetia

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Constitution of the Russian Federation: Chapter 3, The Federal Structure". Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  2. ↑ "Constitution of the Russian Federation". Russian Presidential Executive Office. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  3. ↑ Kremlin.ru. Договор между Российской Федерацией и Республикой Крым о принятии в Российскую Федерацию Республики Крым и образовании в составе Российской Федерации новых субъектов (Treaty Between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Crimea on Ascension to the Russian Federation of the Republic of Crimea and on Establishment of New Subjects Within the Russian Federation) (Russian)
  4. ↑ Putin signs Crimea treaty, will not seize other Ukraine regions
  5. ↑ http://www.constitution.ru/en/10003000-02.htm
  6. ↑ http://eng.constitution.kremlin.ru/#article-5
  7. ↑ Chapter 1. The Fundamentals of the Constitutional System | The Constitution of the Russian Federation. Constitution.ru. Retrieved on 2013-08-20.
  8. ↑ this treaty consisted of three treaties, see also Concluding and Transitional Provisions:
  9. ↑ http://archive.government.ru/eng/gov/base/54.html (accessed="2014-10-17")
  10. 1 2 http://www.constitution.ru/en/10003000-04.htm
  11. ↑ SlavFile Archive | Slavic Languages Division. Ata-divisions.org. Retrieved on 2013-08-20.
  12. ↑ http://eulita.eu/sites/default/files/Tammy_presentation.pdf
  13. ↑ http://archive.government.ru/eng/gov/base/54.html
  14. ↑ Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Территория, число районов, населённых пунктов и сельских администраций по субъектам Российской Федерации (Territory, Number of Districts, Inhabited Localities, and Rural Administration by Federal Subjects of the Russian Federation)". Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
  15. ↑ Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек (Population of Russia, its federal districts, federal subjects, districts, urban localities, rural localities—administrative centers, and rural localities with population of over 3,000)". Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
  16. 1 2 "В России создан Крымский федеральный округ". RBC. March 21, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Autonomous Republic of Crimea". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
  18. ↑ "Population as of February 1, 2014. Average annual populations January 2014". ukrstat.gov.ua. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  19. 1 2 "A General data of the region". Sevastopol City State Administration. Retrieved 2014-04-07.

Sources

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