An Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR, ) was a type of administrative unit in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(USSR), created for certain

ethnic groups An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, rel ...

to be the

titular nation The titular nation is the single dominant ethnic group in a particular state, typically after which the state was named. The term was first used by Maurice Barrès in the late 19th century. Soviet Union The notion was used in the Soviet Union to ...

s of. The ASSRs had a status lower than the constituent

union republics In the Soviet Union, a Union Republic () or unofficially a Republic of the USSR was a Federated state, constituent federated political entity with a List of forms of government, system of government called a Soviet republic (system of governm ...

of the USSR, but higher than the autonomous oblasts and the autonomous okrugs. In 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 ...

, 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 Korenizatsiia (, ; ) was an early policy of the Soviet Union for the integration of non-Russian nationalities into the governments of their specific Soviet republics. In the 1920s, the policy promoted representatives of the titular nation, and ...

), the 1950s after the death of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

, and in the Brezhnev Era.Cornell, Svante E.
''Autonomy and Conflict: Ethnoterritoriality and Separatism in the South Caucasus – Case in Georgia''
. Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Report No. 61. p. 89-90. University of Uppsala, . 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 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.

Azerbaijan SSR

Georgian SSR

Russian SFSR

The 1978 Constitution of the RSFSR recognized sixteen autonomous republics within the RSFSR: Gorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast (now

Altai Republic The Altai Republic, also known as the Gorno-Altai Republic, is a republic of Russia located in southern Siberia. The republic borders Kemerovo Oblast to the north, Khakassia to the northeast, Tuva to the east, Altai Krai to the west, as well ...

Adyghe Autonomous Oblast Adyghe Autonomous Oblast () was an autonomous oblast within Krasnodar Krai, Soviet Union. It existed from 1922 to 1991. Cherkess (Adyghe) Autonomous Oblast was established within the Russian SFSR on July 27, 1922, on the territories of Kuban-Bl ...

(now Republic of Adygea), Karachay–Cherkess Autonomous Oblast (now Karachay–Cherkess Republic) and Khakassian Autonomous Oblast (now

Republic of Khakassia A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a state in which political power rests with the public (people), typically through their representatives—in contrast to a monarchy. Although a ...

) 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 The Jewish Autonomous Oblast (JAO) is a federal subject of Russia in the far east of the country, bordering Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast in Russia and Heilongjiang province in 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: Crimea Oblast was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR jurisdiction on 19 February 1954 and promoted to the ASSR status following a

held on January 20, 1991 (now the

Autonomous Republic of Crimea The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is a ''de jure'' administrative division of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea occupies most of the peninsula,Republic of Crimea, territory disputed between

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and 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 ...

Ukrainian SSR

The Crimean Oblast was granted ASSR status on 12 February 1991 following a

held in January 1991.

Uzbek SSR

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

Azerbaijan SSR

Georgian SSR

Russian SFSR

Ukrainian SSR

Uzbek SSR

ASSRs promoted to union republics

See also

Notes

References