Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union

An Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) of the Soviet Union (Russian: автономная советская социалистическая республика, АССР) was a type of administrative unit in the Soviet Union created for certain nations. The ASSRs had a status lower than the union republics of the Soviet Union, but higher than the autonomous oblasts and the autonomous okrugs.

In the Russian SFSR, 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 did not have a right to disaffiliate themselves from the Union. 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 Leonid Brezhnev era.^[1]

Azerbaijan SSR

• Nakhichevan ASSR, now Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic

Georgian SSR

• Abkhaz ASSR, now Abkhazia
• Adjar ASSR, now Adjara

Russian SFSR

The 1978 Constitution of the RSFSR recognized sixteen autonomous republics within the RSFSR. Their current status (as of October 2007) within the Russian Federation is given in parentheses:

• Bashkir ASSR (now Republic of Bashkortostan)
• Buryat ASSR (now Republic of Buryatia)
• Chechen–Ingush ASSR (now Chechen Republic and Republic of Ingushetia)
• Chuvash ASSR (now Chuvash Republic)
• Dagestan ASSR (now Republic of Dagestan)
• Kabardino-Balkar ASSR (now Kabardino-Balkar Republic)
• Kalmyk ASSR (now Republic of Kalmykia)
• Karelian ASSR (now Republic of Karelia)
• Komi ASSR (now Komi Republic)
• Mari ASSR (now Mari El Republic)
• Mordovian ASSR (now Republic of Mordovia)
• North Ossetian ASSR (now Republic of North Ossetia–Alania)
• Tatar ASSR (now Republic of Tatarstan)
• Tuvan ASSR (now Tuva Republic)
• Udmurt ASSR (now Udmurt Republic)
• Yakut ASSR (now Sakha (Yakutia) 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:

• Crimean ASSR (October 18, 1921 – June 30, 1945; now the Republic of Crimea, territory disputed between Ukraine and the Russian Federation)
• Kazak ASSR (1925–1936, now the independent state of Kazakhstan)
• Kirghiz ASSR (1920–1925, became Kazak ASSR, now the independent state of Kazakhstan)
• Kirghiz ASSR (1926–1936, became Kirghiz SSR, now the independent state of Kyrgyzstan)
• Mountain ASSR (1922–1924, broken up into several smaller Northern Caucasus Republics)
• Turkestan ASSR (1918–1924, now part of the independent states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan)
• Volga German ASSR (1918–1941)

Ukrainian SSR

• Moldavian ASSR (1924–1940). In 1940, it was separated into Moldavian SSR (now the independent state of Moldova).
• Crimean ASSR (February 12, 1991 – 1992). Crimea Oblast was promoted to the ASSR status following a referendum held on January 20, 1991 (now the Republic of Crimea, territory disputed between Ukraine and the Russian Federation)

Uzbek SSR

• Karakalpak ASSR, now Karakalpakstan
• Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Tajikistan

See also

• Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union
• Autonomous okrugs of the Soviet Union
• Republics of Russia

References

Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
By name	Abkhaz Adjar Bashkir Buryat1 Chechen-Ingush Chuvash Crimean Dagestan Gorno-Altai Kabardin Kabardino-Balkar Kalmyk Karakalpak Karelian Kazak2 Kirghiz2 Kirghiz Komi Mari Moldavian Mordovian Mountain Nakhchivan North Ossetian Tajik Tatar Turkestan Tuva Udmurt Volga German Yakut
By year established	1918–1924  Turkestan 1918–1941  Volga German 1919–1990  Bashkir 1920–1925  Kirghiz2 1920–1990  Tatar 1921–1990  Adjar 1921–1945  Crimean 1921–1991  Dagestan 1921–1924  Mountain 1921–1990  Nakhchivan 1922–1991  Yakut 1923–1990  Buryat1 1923–1940  Karelian 1924–1940  Moldavian 1924–1929  Tajik 1925–1992  Chuvash 1925–1936  Kazak2 1926–1936  Kirghiz 1931–1991  Abkhaz 1932–1992  Karakalpak 1934–1990  Mordovian 1934–1990  Udmurt 1935–1943  Kalmyk 1936–1944  Chechen-Ingush 1936–1944  Kabardino-Balkar 1936–1990  Komi 1936–1990  Mari 1936–1990  North Ossetian 1944–1957  Kabardin 1956–1991  Karelian 1957–1990  Chechen-Ingush 1957–1991  Kabardino-Balkar 1958–1990  Kalmyk 1961–1992  Tuva 1990–1991  Gorno-Altai 1991–1992  Crimean
1 Buryat–Mongol until 1958. 2 Kazak ASSR was called Kirghiz ASSR until 1925.

Soviet Union topics
History	Index of Soviet Union-related articles Russian Revolution February October Russian Civil War Russian SFSR USSR creation treaty New Economic Policy Stalinism Great Purge Great Patriotic War (World War II) Cold War Khrushchev Thaw 1965 reform Stagnation Perestroika Glasnost Revolutions of 1989 Dissolution Nostalgia Post-Soviet states
Geography	Subdivisions Republics autonomous Oblasts autonomous Autonomous okrugs Closed cities list Regions Caspian Sea Caucasus Mountains European Russia North Caucasus Siberia Ural Mountains West Siberian Plain
Politics	General Constitution Elections Foreign relations Brezhnev Doctrine Government list Human rights LGBT Law Leaders Collective leadership Passport system State ideology Marxism–Leninism Leninism Stalinism Bodies Communist Party organisation Central Committee Politburo Secretariat Congress General Secretary Congress of Soviets (1922–1936) Supreme Soviet (1938–1991) Congress of People's Deputies (1989–1991) Supreme Court Offices Premier President Deputy Premier First Deputy Premier Security services Cheka GPU NKVD MVD MGB KGB Political repression Red Terror Collectivization Great Purge Population transfer Gulag list Holodomor Political abuse of psychiatry Ideological repression Religion Suppressed research Censorship Censorship of images
Economy	Agriculture Central Bank Energy policy Five-Year Plans Net material product Inventions Ruble (currency) Internet domain Transport
Science	Communist Academy Academy of Sciences Academy of Medical Sciences Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences Sharashkas Naukograds list
Society	Crime Demographics Soviet people working class 1989 census Languages Linguistics LGBT Culture Ballet Cinema Fashion Literature Music opera Propaganda Sports Stalinist architecture Opposition Soviet dissidents and their groups list Anthem republics Emblem republics Flag republics
Templates	Departments Russian Revolution 1917 Joseph Stalin Stagnation Era Fall of Communism
Book Category Commons Portal WikiProject