1. Adygea 2. Altai 3. Bashkortostan 4. Buryatia 5. Dagestan 6. Ingushetia

7. Kabardino-Balkaria 8. Kalmykia 9. Karachay–Cherkessia 10. Karelia 11. Komi 12. Mari El

13. Mordovia 14. Sakha (Yakutia) 15. North Ossetia–Alania 16. Tatarstan 17. Tuva 18. Udmurtia

19. Khakassia 20. Chechnya 21. Chuvashia

The Russian Federation is divided into 83 federal subjects (constituent units), 21 of which are republics. The republics represent areas of non-Russian ethnicity. The indigenous ethnic group of a republic that gives it its name is referred to as the "titular nationality". Due to decades (in some cases centuries) of internal migration inside Russia, each nationality is not necessarily a majority of a republic's population.

Constitutional status [edit]

Republics differ from other federal subjects in that they have the right to establish their own official language^[1] and have their own constitution. Other federal subjects, such as krais (territories) and oblasts (provinces), are not explicitly given this right. The chief executives of many republics used to have the title of president, but in 2010 an amendment to the federal law was adopted that reserves such title exclusively for the head of the Russian state.^[2]

The level of actual autonomy granted to such political units varies but is generally quite extensive. The parliamentary assemblies of such republics have often enacted laws which are at odds with the federal constitution. The republics' executives tend to be very powerful. However, this autonomy was lessened considerably under Russian President Vladimir Putin who sought to impose the supremacy of the federal constitution.^{[citation needed]}

The establishment of seven large "federal districts" above the regions and republics of Russia, with presidentially appointed governors overseeing the republics' activities, has strengthened federal control, and respect for federal supremacy in the republics. In addition, Putin strengthened the position of the republics' legislatures while weakening the executives' power. The executive heads of republics are now appointed by the President of Russia himself. The President's nomination must be accepted by the republic's parliament.^[3]

There are secessionist movements in most republics, but these are generally not very strong. However, there was considerable support for secession among Tatars, Bashkirs, Yakuts, and Chechens after the break-up of Soviet Union, resulting in war in the case of Chechnya. The desire for secession in many republics is, however, greatly complicated by the extent to which other ethnic groups reside in their titular republics (Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Sakha). (As a result of the First and Second Chechen Wars, very few non-Chechens now reside in Chechnya.) Also, the majority of Tatars, unlike other titular ethnic groups, reside outside of Tatarstan.^{[citation needed]}

Former Autonomous Republics and Autonomous Oblasts [edit]

The Russian SFSR of the former Soviet Union included three types of ethnic constituent units, viz., in the order of decreasing "autonomy" level: Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics (or simply autonomous republics), autonomous oblasts, and autonomous okrugs.

After the dissolution of the USSR, each "autonomous republic" was succeeded by a republic with a similar name (or, in the case of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR, by two republics: Chechnya and Ingushetia). Several "autonomous oblasts" (Adygea, Altai, Karachay–Cherkessia, Khakassia) have become "republics" as well.

The expression "autonomous republic" is still sometimes used for the republics of Russia. Although they are autonomous and republics, the use of this term is not technically correct, since their official names, as per 1993 Russian Constitution and their own constitutions, are simply "republic", rather than "autonomous republic".

Demographics [edit]

Demographics trend [edit]

ethnic	titul (%)				russian (%)				other (%)
Republic	в 1979 г.	в 1989 г.	в 2002 г.	в 2010 г.[4]	в 1979 г.	в 1989 г.	в 2002 г.	в 2010 г.	в 1979 г.	в 1989 г.	в 2002 г.	в 2010 г.
Adygea	21,3	▲ 22,1	▲ 24,1	▲ 25,2	70,8	▼ 68,0	▼ 64,4	▼ 63,6
Altai	▲29,1	▲ 31,0	▲ 33,4	▲ 33,9	▲63,3	▼ 60,4	▼ 57,4	▼ 56,6		5,6	▲ 5,9[5]	▲ 6,2
Bashkortostan	24,3	▼ 21,9	▲ 29,7	▼ 29,5	40,3	▼ 39,2	▼ 36,3	▼ 36,1	24,5	▲ 28,4	▼ 24,1[6]	▲ 25,4
Buryatia	▲23,0	▲ 24,0	▲ 27,8	▲ 30	▼72,1	▼ 69,9	▼ 67,8	▼ 66,1
Dagestan	86,0				11,0	▼ 9,2	▼ 4,6	▼ 3,6
Ingushetia	▼11,7	▲ 12,9	▲ 77,2	▲ 94,1	▼31,7	▼ 23,1	▼ 1,1	▼ 0,8
Kabardino-Balkaria	45,6	▲ 52,2	▲ 55,3	▲ 57,2	35,1	▼ 31,9	▼ 25,1	▼ 22,5	9,0	▲ 9,4	▲ 11,6	▲ 12,7
Kalmykia	▲41,4	▲ 45,3	▲ 53,3	▲ 57,4	▼42,7	▼ 37,6	▼ 33,5	▼ 30,2
Karachay–Cherkessia	29,7	▲ 31,2	▲ 38,5	▲ 41	45,0	▼ 42,4	▼ 33,6	▼ 31,6	9,3	▲ 9,7	▲ 11,2	▲ 11,9
Karelia	▼11,1	▼ 10,0	▼ 9,2	▼ 7,4	▲71,3	▲ 73,6	▲ 76,6	▲ 82,2
Komi	▼25,3	▼ 23,3	▲ 25,1	▼ 23,7	▲56,7	▲ 57,7	▲ 59,5	▲ 65,1
Mari El	▼43,6	▼ 43,3	▼ 42,8	▲ 43,9	▼47,6	▼ 47,4	47,4	47,4
Mordovia	▼34,2	▼ 32,5	▼ 31,9	▲ 40	▲59,7	▲ 60,8	60,8	▼ 53,4
Sakha (Yakutia)	▲36,9	▼ 33,4	▲ 45,5	▲ 49,9	▲50,5	▼ 50,3	▼ 41,1	▼ 37,8
North Ossetia–Alania	▲50,5	▲ 52,9	▲ 62,7	▲ 65,1	▼34,0	▼ 29,9	▼ 23,1	▼ 20,8
Tatarstan	▼47,7	▲ 48,4	▲ 52,9	▲ 53,2	▲44,0	▼ 43,2	▼ 39,4	▲ 39,7
Tuva	▲60,4	▲ 64,3	▲ 77,0	▲ 82	▼36,2	▼ 32,0	▼ 20,1	▼ 16,3
Udmurtia	▼32,2	▼ 30,9	▼ 29,3	▼ 28	▲58,3	▲ 58,9	▲ 60,1	▲ 62,2
Khakassia	▼11,4	▼ 11,1	▲ 11,9	▲ 12,1	▲79,5	▼ 79,4	▲ 80,2	▲ 81,7
Chechnya	52,9	▲ 57,8	▲ 93,4	▲ 95,3	31,7	▼ 23,1	▼ 3,6	▼ 1,9
Chuvashia	▼68,4	▼ 67,7	▼ 67,6	▲ 67,7	▲26,0	▼ 26,6	▼ 26,5	▲ 26,9	٨|

Notice: В столбце «Другие» указаны народы, являющиеся вторыми по численности коренными народами в двусоставных республиках.

References [edit]

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