Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics

An Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR, Russian: автономная советская социалистическая республика, АССР, romanized: avtonomnaya sovetskaya sotsialisticheskaya respublika) was a type of administrative unit in the Soviet Union (USSR), created for certain ethnic groups to be the titular nations of. The ASSRs had a status lower than the constituent union republics of the USSR, but higher than the autonomous oblasts and the autonomous okrugs.

Map of the types of the subdivisions as of 1983, with ASSRs shown in orange.

In the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), 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 only had the right to disaffiliate themselves from the Union when the union republic containing them did so, as well as to choose to stay with the Union separately from them. 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 Brezhnev Era.^[1]

According to the constitution of the USSR, 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, 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.^[2]

Azerbaijan SSR

Emblem	Name	Flag	Years of membership	Capital	Official languages	Area (km2)	Post-Soviet subjects
	Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1921–1990	Nakhichevan	Azerbaijani, Russian	5,500	Nakhchivan

Georgian SSR

Emblem	Name	Flag	Years of membership	Capital	Official languages	Area (km2)	Post-Soviet subjects
	Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1931–1992[a]	Sukhumi	Abkhazian, Georgian, Russian	8,600	Abkhazia
	Adjarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1921–1990	Batumi	Georgian, Russian	2,880	Adjara

Russian SFSR

The 1978 Constitution of the RSFSR recognized sixteen autonomous republics within the RSFSR:

Emblem	Name	Flag	Years of membership	Capital	Official languages	Area (km2)	Post-Soviet republics of Russia
	Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1919–1991	Ufa	Bashkir, Russian	143,600	Bashkortostan
	Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1923–1990	Ulan-Ude	Buryat, Russian	69,857	Buryatia
	Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1936–1944 1957–1991	Grozny	Chechen, Ingush, Russian	19,300	Chechnya Ingushetia
	Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1925–1992	Cheboksary	Chuvash, Russian	18,300	Chuvashia
	Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1921–1991	Makhachkala	Aghul, Avar, Azerbaijani, Chechen, Kumyk, Lezgian, Lak, Nogai, Tabasaran, Tat, Russian	50,300	Dagestan
	Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1936–1991[b]	Nalchik	Kabardian, Karachay-Balkar, Russian	12,500	Kabardino-Balkaria
	Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1935–1943 1958–1991	Elista	Kalmyk Oirat, Russian	76,100	Kalmykia
	Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1923–1940 1956–1991	Petrozavodsk	Finnish (1956-1980s), Russian	147,000	Karelia
	Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1936–1990	Syktyvkar	Komi, Russian	415,900	Komi Republic
	Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic			Yoshkar-Ola	Mari (Meadow and Hill variants), Russian	23,200	Mari El
	Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1934–1990	Saransk	Erzya, Moksha, Russian	26,200	Mordovia
	North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1936–1993	Ordzhonikidze	Ossetian, Russian	8,000	North Ossetia
	Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1920–1990	Kazan	Tatar, Russian	68,000	Tatarstan
	Tuvan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1961–1992	Kyzyl	Tuvan, Russian	170,500	Tuva
	Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1934–1990	Izhevsk	Udmurt, Russian	42,100	Udmurtia
	Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1922–1991	Yakutsk	Yakut, Russian	3,083,523	Sakha Republic

Gorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast (now Altai Republic), Adyghe Autonomous Oblast (now Republic of Adygea), Karachay–Cherkess Autonomous Oblast (now Karachay–Cherkess Republic) 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:

Emblem	Name	Flag	Capital	Titular nationality	Years of membership	Population	Area (km2)	Soviet successors
	Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Simferopol	Crimean Tatars	1921–1945	1,126,000 (1939)	26,860	Crimean Oblast
	Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Vladikavkaz	Balkars, Chechens, Ingush, Kabardians, Karachays, Ossetians, Terek Cossacks	1921–1924	1,286,000 (1921)	74,000	Karachay-Cherkess AO Kabardino-Balkarian AO Chechen AO North Ossetian AO Ingush AO
	Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Tashkent	Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tajiks, Turkmens	1918–1924	5,221,963 (1920)		Uzbek SSR Turkmen SSR Tajik ASSR Kara-Kirghiz AO Karakalpak AO
	Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Engels	Soviet Germans	1923–1941	606,532 (1939)	27,400	Saratov Oblast Stalingrad Oblast

Crimea Oblast was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR jurisdiction on 19 February 1954 and promoted to the ASSR status following a referendum held on January 20, 1991 (now the Autonomous Republic of Crimea / Republic of Crimea, territory disputed between Ukraine and the Russian Federation).

Ukrainian SSR

Emblem	Name	Flag	Years of membership	Capital	Titular nationality	Area (km2)	Post-Soviet successors
	Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1991	Simferopol	Crimean Tatars	26,860	Autonomous Republic of Crimea

The Crimean Oblast was granted ASSR status on 12 February 1991 following a referendum held in January 1991.

Uzbek SSR

Emblem	Name	Flag	Years of membership	Capital	Official languages	Area (km2)	Post-Soviet subjects
	Karakalpak Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		1932–1991[c]	Nukus	Karakalpak (1956-1980s), Russian	165,000	Karakalpakstan

ASSRs promoted to union republics

Some ASSRs existed at earlier points of the Soviet history were promoted into full union republics of the Soviet Union.

Emblem	Name	Flag	Capital	Titular nationality	Years of membership	Population	Area (km2)	Soviet Socialist Republic	Soviet successor
	Kazakh Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic		Alma-Ata	Kazakhs	1920–1936[d]	6,503,000 (1926)	2,960,000	Russian SFSR	Kazakh SSR
	Kirghiz Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic		Frunze	Kyrgyz	1926–1936	993,000 (1926)	196,129		Kirghiz SSR
	Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Tiraspol	Moldovans	1924–1940	599,150 (1939)	8,288	Ukrainian SSR	Moldavian SSR
	Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Dushanbe	Tajiks	1924–1929	740,000 (1924)		Uzbek SSR	Tajik SSR

Karelian ASSR was promoted to Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic in 1940 but demoted back in 1956.

See also

• Emblems of the Autonomous Soviet Republics
• Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union
• Autonomous okrugs of the Soviet Union
• National delimitation in the Soviet Union
• Republics of Russia
• Subdivisions of the Soviet Union
• Autonomous regions of China

Notes

1. 1921-1931: SSR Abkhazia
2. 1944-1957: Kabardin ASSR
3. Under Russian SFSR until 1936.
4. 1920-1925: Kirghiz ASSR