Republics of the Soviet Union

The Soviet Union was made up of several areas called Union Republics. These were like states within a bigger country. Each Union Republic had its own government, but they all worked together as part of the Soviet Union. They could make their own decisions in some areas and had the right to talk to other countries, even though they were part of the bigger union.

The Soviet Union started in 1922 when several republics, including Byelorussia, Russian SFSR (RSFSR), Transcaucasian Federation, and Ukraine, joined together. For most of its time, the Soviet Union was led by one party, the Communist Party, and most decisions came from Moscow, the capital. But near the end, leader Mikhail Gorbachev tried to make things more open and flexible. These changes, along with the end of the Cold War, helped lead to the Soviet Union breaking apart in 1991.

One Union Republic, the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic, lost its status in 1956. This happened because most people there were Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians, and the government decided to make changes to save money. This decision was made without asking the people living there.

Overview

See also: National delimitation in the Soviet Union, Korenizatsiya, and Religion in the Soviet Union

Chapter 8 of the 1977 Soviet Constitution explained that the Soviet Union was built on the idea of "socialist federalism." This meant that different groups of people could decide to join together freely. Article 71 listed the fifteen union republics that made up the Soviet Union.

Article 76 said that each union republic was like a sovereign state that had joined with others to form the USSR. Article 78 stated that a republic's land could not be changed without its agreement. Article 81 said that the rights of each republic were protected by the USSR.

In the last years of the Soviet Union, there were fifteen Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs). Except for the Russian SFSR, each had its own local party groups linked to the All-Union Communist Party.

In 1944, changes to the All-Union Constitution allowed each Soviet Republic to have its own army branches and departments for foreign affairs and defense. This meant they could act like independent countries in some ways. Because of this, Ukraine and Byelorussia, along with the USSR, joined the United Nations General Assembly in 1945.

All the former Republics of the Union are now independent countries. Ten of them joined together in a group called the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Baltic states — Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian SSRs — say they were illegally added to the Soviet Union in 1940 and consider themselves to have stayed independent. Many countries agree with this view.

The Soviet Union was set up as a federation, meaning each republic had the right to leave. This right was used in December 1991 when Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus left, ending the Soviet Union. Even though the Soviet Union was meant to be a union of equal parts, it acted more like a single country controlled by the Russian republic.

From its start in 1922 until the mid-1980s, the Soviet Union was very centralized. Changes started by Mikhail Gorbachev led to less control from the center and finally the end of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was controlled by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in Moscow within the Russian SFSR.

Each republic had its own flag, coat of arms, and, except for Russia until 1990, an anthem. Every republic also received the Order of Lenin.

A hall in [Bishkek](/wiki/Bishkek)'s Soviet-era Lenin Museum decorated with the flags of [Soviet Republics](/wiki/Soviet_republic_\(system_of_government\))

Poster of the unity of the Soviet republics in the late 1930s. All republics are shown with their respective traditional clothes, while Russian shown in modern clothes.

Poster of the unity of the Soviet republics in 1946. Note that the map also points out the [Karelo-Finnish SSR](/wiki/Karelo-Finnish_Soviet_Socialist_Republic) capital, [Petrozavodsk](/wiki/Petrozavodsk).

Union Republics of the Soviet Union

See also: Emblem of the Soviet Union

The number of republics in the Soviet Union changed over time, ranging from 4 to 16. From 1956 until the Soviet Union ended in 1991, it included 15 republics. In 1956, the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic, created in 1940, was merged into the larger Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. The republics were not listed in alphabetical order but in a special order that reflected their importance when they were formed. By the later years of the Soviet Union, this order no longer matched their population or economic strength.

Short-lived Union Republics of the Soviet Union

Non-union Soviet republics

The Turkestan Soviet Federative Republic was announced in 1918 but did not last long and became part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. The Crimean Soviet Socialist Republic was also announced in 1918 but was made an autonomous part of the Russian republic instead. When the Tuvan People's Republic joined the Soviet Union in 1944, it became an autonomous part of the Russian republic, not a full union republic.

In 1944, some Mongolian leaders talked about joining the Soviet Union, but their main leader at the time did not support it. Later, another leader supported the idea, but nothing happened. The leader of Bulgaria suggested his country join as a union republic in the 1960s and 1970s, but the Soviet leaders turned down the idea. During the Soviet–Afghan War, a person who left the Soviet Union claimed that the Soviet Union wanted to add part of northern Afghanistan as its 16th republic, calling it the "Afghan Soviet Socialist Republic."

Other defunct Soviet states

• Ukrainian People's Republic of Soviets (1917–1918) → Ukrainian Soviet Republic (1918)
• Bessarabian Soviet Socialist Republic (1919)
• Socialist Soviet Republic of Lithuania and Belorussia (1919–1920)
• Galician Soviet Socialist Republic (1920)

Emblem	Name	Flag	Capital	Official languages	Established	Union Republic status	Sovereignty	Independence	Population (1989)	Area (km2) (1991)	Population density (km−2)	Post-Soviet and de facto states	No.
	Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic		Yerevan	Armenian, Russian	2 December 1920	5 December 1936	23 August 1990	21 September 1991	3,287,700	29,800	110.326	Armenia	13
	Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic		Baku	Azerbaijani, Russian	28 April 1920		23 September 1989	18 October 1991	7,037,900	86,600	81.269	Azerbaijan	8
	Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic		Minsk	Byelorussian, Russian	31 July 1920	30 December 1922	27 July 1990	25 August 1991	10,151,806	207,600	48.901	Belarus	3
	Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic		Tallinn	Estonian, Russian	21 July 1940	6 August 1940	16 November 1988	8 May 1990	1,565,662	45,226	34.619	Estonia	15
	Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic		Tbilisi	Georgian, Russian	25 February 1921	5 December 1936	18 November 1989	9 April 1991	5,400,841	69,700	77.487	Georgia Abkhazia South Ossetia	6
	Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic		Alma-Ata	Kazakh, Russian	26 August 1920		25 October 1990	16 December 1991	16,711,900	2,717,300	6.150	Kazakhstan	5
	Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic		Frunze	Kirghiz, Russian	11 February 1926		15 December 1990	31 August 1991	4,257,800	198,500	21.450	Kyrgyzstan	7
	Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic		Riga	Latvian, Russian	21 July 1940	5 August 1940	28 July 1989	4 May 1990	2,666,567	64,589	41.285	Latvia	11
	Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic		Vilnius	Lithuanian, Russian		3 August 1940	18 May 1989	11 March 1990	3,689,779	65,200	56.592	Lithuania	9
	Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic		Kishinev	Moldavian, Russian	12 October 1924	2 August 1940	23 June 1990	27 August 1991	4,337,600	33,843	128.168	Moldova Transnistria	10
	Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic		Moscow	Russian	7 November 1917	30 December 1922	12 June 1990	12 December 1991	147,386,000	17,075,400	8.631	Russia	1
	Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic		Dushanbe	Tajik, Russian	14 October 1924	5 December 1929	24 August 1990	9 September 1991	5,112,000	143,100	35.723	Tajikistan	12
	Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic		Ashkhabad	Turkmen, Russian	13 May 1925		27 August 1990	27 October 1991	3,522,700	488,100	7.217	Turkmenistan	14
	Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic		Kiev	Ukrainian, Russian	10 March 1919	30 December 1922	16 July 1990	24 August 1991	51,706,746	603,700	85.650	Ukraine	2
	Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic		Tashkent	Uzbek, Russian	5 December 1924		20 June 1990	1 September 1991	19,906,000	447,400	44.493	Uzbekistan	4

Emblem	Name	Flag	Capital	Titular nationality	Established	Union Republic status	Abolished	Population	Area (km2)	Soviet successor
	Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic		Petrozavodsk	Karelians, Finns	25 July 1923	31 March 1940	16 July 1956	651,300 (1959)	172,400	Russian SFSR ( Karelian ASSR)
	Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic		Tiflis	Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Georgians	12 March 1922	30 December 1922	5 December 1936	5,861,600 (1926)	186,100	Armenian SSR Azerbaijan SSR Georgian SSR

Emblem	Name	Flag	Capital	Created	Defunct	Population	Area (km2)	Soviet successor
	Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhaziaa		Sukhumi	1921	1931	201,016	8,600	Georgian SSR ( Abkhaz ASSR)
	Bukharan People's Soviet Republic		Bukhara	1920	1924	2,000,000	182,193	Uzbek SSR
	Khorezm People's Soviet Republic		Khiva	1920	1924	800,000	62,200	Turkmen SSR Uzbek SSR
	Far Eastern Republic		Verkhneudinsk Chita	1920	1922			Russian SFSR
	Tuvan People's Republic		Kyzyl	1921	1944			Russian SFSR ( Tuvan ASSR)
a Abkhazia's status in relation to the Georgian SSR as a "treaty republic" was never clear or well-defined, making its status as a separate non-union republic disputed.

Autonomous Republics of the Soviet Union

See also: Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics

Some of the big parts of the Soviet Union, like Russia, were split into smaller areas called Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics (ASSRs). Even though these smaller areas were part of the bigger ones, they were created to honor different cultures and groups of people.

If a big part of the Soviet Union decided to leave, the smaller areas like autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts, and autonomous okrugs could choose by voting whether to stay or go with the bigger part. They could also decide about their own status.

Russian SFSR

Autonomous republics

Most autonomous republics started as autonomous oblasts before becoming republics.

Autonomous oblasts

Early divisions

Other autonomous republics existed in the past within the RSFSR:

These autonomous oblasts existed in the past before joining together:

Ukrainian SSR

Crimea Oblast was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR on 19 February 1954 and later became an ASSR after a referendum on January 20, 1991 (now the Autonomous Republic of Crimea / Republic of Crimea, a area disputed between Ukraine and the Russian Federation).

Moldavian Autonomous Oblast was created in 1924 under Ukrainian SSR and quickly became an autonomous republic (Moldavian ASSR), then a union republic (Moldavian SSR) in 1940, and is now the independent country Moldova. However, de facto, most of its original area is controlled by Ukraine or Transnistria.

South Caucasus

One autonomous republic and two autonomous oblasts in the South Caucasus region declared themselves separate states when the Soviet Union broke apart.

Central Asia

Divisions promoted to union republics

Some areas were once smaller parts but later became full union republics of the Soviet Union.

Karelian ASSR became the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic in 1940 but went back to being an ASSR in 1956.

Autonomous oblast name	Autonomous oblast established	Emblem	Autonomous republic name	Flag	Capital	Official languages	Autonomous republic established	Area (km2)	Post-Soviet republics of Russia
—N/a			Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Ufa	Bashkir, Russian	1919	143,600	Bashkortostan
—N/a			Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Ulan-Ude	Buryat, Russian	1923	69,857	Buryatia
Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Oblast	1934		Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Grozny	Chechen, Ingush, Russian	1936 1957	19,300	Chechnya Ingushetia
Chuvash Autonomous Oblast	1920		Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Cheboksary	Chuvash, Russian	1925	18,300	Chuvashia
—N/a			Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Makhachkala	Aghul, Avar, Azerbaijani, Chechen, Kumyk, Lezgian, Lak, Nogai, Tabasaran, Tat, Russian	1921	50,300	Dagestan
Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Oblast	1921		Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Nalchik	Kabardian, Karachay-Balkar, Russian	1936	12,500	Kabardino-Balkaria
Kalmyk Autonomous Oblast	1920 1957		Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Elista	Kalmyk Oirat, Russian	1935 1958	76,100	Kalmykia
Karelian Labor Commune	1920		Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Petrozavodsk	Finnish (1956-1980s), Russian	1923	147,000	Karelia
Komi (Zyryan) Autonomous Oblast	1923		Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Syktyvkar	Komi, Russian	1936	415,900	Komi Republic
Mari Autonomous Oblast	1920		Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Yoshkar-Ola	Mari (Meadow and Hill variants), Russian	1936	23,200	Mari El
Mordovian Autonomous Oblast	1930		Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Saransk	Erzya, Moksha, Russian	1934	26,200	Mordovia
North Ossetian Autonomous Oblast	1924		North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Ordzhonikidze	Ossetian, Russian	1936	8,000	North Ossetia
—N/a			Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Kazan	Tatar, Russian	1920	68,000	Tatarstan
Tuvan Autonomous Oblast	1944		Tuvan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Kyzyl	Tuvan, Russian	1961	170,500	Tuva
Udmurt Autonomous Oblast	1920		Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Izhevsk	Udmurt, Russian	1934	42,100	Udmurtia
—N/a			Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Yakutsk	Yakut, Russian	1922	3,083,523	Sakha Republic

Name	Capital	Established	Krai	Post-Soviet federal subjects of Russia
Adyghe Autonomous Oblast	Maykop	1922	Krasnodar Krai	Adygea
Gorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast	Gorno-Altaysk	1922	Altai Krai	Altai
Jewish Autonomous Oblast	Birobidzhan	1934	Khabarovsk Krai	Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Oblast	Cherkessk	1922	Stavropol Krai	Karachay-Cherkessia
Khakas Autonomous Oblast	Abakan	1930	Krasnoyarsk Krai	Khakassia

Predecessor name	Predecessor established	Emblem	Autonomous republic name	Flag	Capital	Titular nationality	Autonomous republic established	Dissolved	Area (km2)	Soviet successors
—N/a			Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Simferopol	Crimean Tatars	1921	1945	26,860	Crimean Oblast
—N/a			Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Vladikavkaz	Balkars, Chechens, Ingush, Kabardians, Karachays, Ossetians, Terek Cossacks	1921	1924	74,000	Karachay-Cherkess AO Kabardino-Balkarian AO Chechen AO North Ossetian AO Ingush AO
Turkestan Soviet Federative Republic	1918		Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Tashkent	Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tajiks, Turkmens	1920	1924		Uzbek SSR Turkmen SSR Tajik ASSR Kara-Kirghiz AO Karakalpak AO
Labour Commune of Volga Germans	1918		Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Engels	Soviet Germans	1923	1941	27,400	Saratov Oblast Stalingrad Oblast

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

Emblem	Name	Flag	Capital	Official languages	Established	Independence	Area (km2)	Soviet Socialist Republic	Post-Soviet subjects
	Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Sukhumi	Abkhazian, Georgian, Russian	1931	1992	8,600	Georgian SSR	Abkhazia
	Adjarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Batumi	Georgian, Russian	1921	-	2,880		Adjara ( Georgia)
-	Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast	-	Stepanakert		1923	1991		Azerbaijan SSR	Artsakh
	Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Nakhichevan	Azerbaijani, Russian	1921	1990	5,500		Nakhchivan ( Azerbaijan)
-	South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast	-	Tskhinvali		1922	1990		Georgian SSR	South Ossetia

Autonomous oblast name	Emblem	Autonomous republic name	Flag	Capital	Official languages	Autonomous oblast established	Autonomous republic established	Area (km2)	Soviet Socialist Republic	Post-Soviet subjects
Karakalpak Autonomous Oblast		Karakalpak Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Nukus	Karakalpak (1956-1980s), Russian	1925	1932	165,000	Kazakh ASSR (1925-1930) Russian SFSR (1930-1936) Uzbek SSR (1936-1991)	Karakalpakstan ( Uzbekistan)
Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast	—N/a			Khorog		1925	—N/a		Tajik SSR	Gorno-Badakhshan ( Tajikistan)

Autonomous oblast name	Autonomous oblast established	Emblem	Autonomous republic name	Flag	Capital	Titular nationality	Autonomous republic established	Union Republics status	Population	Area (km2)	Soviet Socialist Republic	Soviet successor
—N/a			Kazakh Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic		Alma-Ata	Kazakhs	1920	1936	6,503,000 (1926)	2,960,000	Russian SFSR	Kazakh SSR
Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast	1924		Kirghiz Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic		Frunze	Kyrgyz	1926	1936	993,000 (1926)	196,129		Kirghiz SSR
Moldavian Autonomous Oblast	1924		Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Tiraspol	Moldovans	1924	1940	599,150 (1939)	8,288	Ukrainian SSR	Moldavian SSR
—N/a			Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic		Dushanbe	Tajiks	1924	1929	740,000 (1924)		Uzbek SSR	Tajik SSR

Dissolution of the Soviet Union

Further information: Dissolution of the Soviet Union

In the late 1980s, leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced reforms to make the Soviet Union stronger and more open. These changes, however, led to unexpected problems. People in the different parts of the Soviet Union began to want more freedom and to express their own national identities. Political parties lost their strong control, making it hard to govern.

As the situation grew more complicated, the Soviet government tried to create a new agreement to give more power to the republics. However, this did not work, and many republics started to leave the Union. By September 1991, three republics — Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania — had already become independent. In December 1991, the leaders of the remaining republics signed an agreement to end the Soviet Union and form a new group of independent countries. Soon after, Gorbachev stepped down, and the Soviet Union officially ended. The former republics became independent countries, each shaping their own governments.

Republics not recognized by the Soviet Union

Main article: Parade of sovereignties

Emblem	Name	Flag	Capital	Official languages	Proclaimed	Sovereignty	Population	Area (km2)	Post-Soviet subject
	Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic		Tiraspol	Russian, Ukrainian, Moldovan	2 September 1990	8 December 1990	680,000 (1989)	4,163 (1989)	Transnistria
	South Ossetian Soviet Democratic Republic		Tskhinvali	Ossetian, Russian	20 September 1990		99,102 (1989)	3,900 (1989)	South Ossetia