Federal subjects of Russia

Terminology

An official government translation of the Constitution of Russia from Russian to English uses the term "constituent entities of the Russian Federation". For example, Article 5 reads: "The Russian Federation shall consist of republics, krais, oblasts, cities of federal significance, an autonomous oblast, and autonomous okrugs, which shall have equal rights as constituent entities of the Russian Federation." A translation provided by Garant-Internet instead uses the term "subjects of the Russian Federation".

Tom Fennell, a translator, told the 2008 American Translators Association conference that "constituent entity of the Russian Federation" is a better translation than "subject". This was supported by Tamara Nekrasova, Head of Translation Department at Goltsblat BLP, who said in a 2011 presentation at a translators conference that "constituent entity of the Russian Federation is more appropriate than subject of the Russian Federation (subject would be OK for a monarchy)".

Types

Each federal subject belongs to one of the following types:

List

List of subject capitals

Notes

| The largest city is also listed when it is different from the capital/administrative centre. | According to Article 13 of the Charter of Leningrad Oblast, the governing bodies of the oblast are located in the city of Saint Petersburg. However, Saint Petersburg is not officially the administrative centre of the oblast. | According to Article 24 of the Charter of Moscow Oblast, the governing bodies of the oblast are located in the city of Moscow and throughout the territory of Moscow Oblast. However, Moscow is not officially the administrative centre of the oblast. | Internationally recognized as part of Ukraine. | In February 2000, the former code of 20 for the Chechen Republic was cancelled and replaced with code 95. License plate production was suspended due to the Chechen Wars, causing numerous issues, which in turn forced the region to use a new code. | Claimed, but only partially controlled by Russia. | As Russia only partially controls the region, this is a claimed figure.

Statistics of federal subjects

• List of federal subjects of Russia by GRP
• Armorial of Russia (Coat of arms of Russian federal subjects)
• List of federal subjects of Russia by incidence of substance abuse
• List of federal subjects of Russia by GDP per capita
• List of federal subjects of Russia by murder rate
• List of federal subjects of Russia by life expectancy
• List of federal subjects of Russia by population
• List of federal subjects of Russia by total fertility rate
• List of federal subjects of Russia by Human Development Index
• List of federal subjects of Russia by unemployment rate
• Regional parliaments of Russia
• List of current heads of federal subjects of Russia
• Forest cover by federal subject in Russia
• ISO 3166-2:RU

Mergers, splits and internal territorial changes {{anchor|Mergers}}

Starting in 2005, some of the federal subjects were merged into larger territories. In this process, six very sparsely populated subjects (comprising in total 0.3% of the population of Russia) were integrated into more populated subjects, with the hope that the economic development of those territories would benefit from the much larger means of their neighbours. The merging process was finished on 1 March 2008. No new mergers have been planned since March 2008. The six territories became "administrative-territorial regions with special status". They have large proportions of minorities, with Russians being a majority only in three of them. Four of those territories have a second official language in addition to Russian: Buryat (in two of the merged territories), Komi-Permian, Koryak. This is an exception: all the other official languages of Russia (other than Russian) are set by the Constitutions of its constituent Republics (Mordovia, Chechnya, Dagestan etc.). The status of the "administrative-territorial regions with special status" has been a subject of criticism because it does not appear in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

In addition to those six territories that entirely ceased to be subjects of the Russian Federation and were downgraded to territories with special status, another three subjects have a status of subject but are simultaneously part of a more populated subject:

• Nenets Autonomous Okrug (2010 population of 42,090) has been a subject since 1993, but is also, according to its Constitution, part of Arkhangelsk Oblast
• Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug obtained autonomy in 1977, but is also part of Tyumen Oblast
• Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug obtained the status of subject in 1992 (after obtaining autonomy in 1977), but is also part of Tyumen Oblast.

With an estimated population of 49,348 as of 2018, Chukotka is currently the least populated subject of Russia that is not part of a more populated subject. It was separated from Magadan Oblast in 1993. Chukotka is one of the richest subjects of Russia (with a gross regional product [GRP] per capita equivalent to that of Australia) and therefore does not fit in the pattern of merging a subject to benefit from the economic dynamism of the neighbour.

In 1992, Ingushetia separated from Chechnya to stay away from the growing violence in Chechnya. Those two Muslim republics, populated in vast majority (95%+) by closely related Vainakh people, speaking Vainakhish languages, remain the two poorest subjects of Russia, with the GRP per capita of Ingushetia being equivalent to that of Iraq. According to 2016 statistics, however, they are also the safest regions of Russia, and also have the lowest alcohol consumption, with alcohol poisoning at least 40 times lower than the federal average.

Until 1994, Sokolsky District, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast was part of Ivanovo Oblast.

In 2011–2012, the territory of Moscow increased by 140% (to 2511 km2) by acquiring part of Moscow Oblast.

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 process was scrapped on 2 July due to its unpopularity among the population.

References

Notes

Sources

References

1. This treaty consisted of three treaties, see also Concluding and Transitional Provisions: [http://eng.constitution.kremlin.ru/#conclusion-1-4] [http://www.constitution.ru/en/10003000-10.htm#2222]
2. (2023). "The Territories of the Russian Federation 2023". [[Routledge]].
3. Steve Gutterman and Pavel Polityuk. (March 18, 2014). "Putin signs Crimea treaty as Ukraine serviceman dies in attack". Reuters.
4. (September 29, 2022). "Putin to annex seized Ukrainian land, U.N. Warns of 'dangerous escalation'". Reuters.
5. "Constitution of the Russian Federation". Government of the Russian Federation.
6. "The Constitution of the Russian Federation". Garant-Internet.
7. Knizhnik, Irina. (2009). "On legal terminology, the jury is still out". Slavic Languages Division, [[American Translators Association]].
8. Nekrasova, Tamara. (2011). "Traps & Mishaps in Legal Translation". Eulita.
9. (2022). "The Territories of the Russian Federation 2022". [[Routledge]].
10. (2012). "The Territories of the Russian Federation 2012". Taylor & Francis.
11. Saunders, Robert A.. (2019). "Historical Dictionary of the Russian Federation". Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
12. link. [[Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography]]
13. "Предварительная оценка численности постоянного населения на 1 января 2025 года". [[Federal State Statistics Service (Russia).
14. link. [[Federal State Statistics Service (Russia). Federal State Statistics Service]]
15. "Crimea becomes part of vast Southern federal district of Russia".
16. link. RBC. (March 21, 2014)
17. "Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1". [[State Statistics Service of Ukraine]].
18. link
19. link
20. link. (November 27, 2017)
21. Quinn, Eilís. (2020-05-14). "'Catastrophic' economic situation prompts merger talks for Nenets AO and Arkhangelsk Oblast".
22. (2020-05-13). "Russian Regions to Become Single Federal Subject in Decade-First".
23. Antonova, Elizaveta. (2 July 2020). "The head of the Nenets Autonomous District declared refusal to unite with the Arkhangelsk region".