autonomous okrug

Noun

autonomous okrug (plural autonomous okrugs or autonomous okruga)

1. In the Soviet Union and Russia, a territorial and administrative division of a krai or oblast, which grants a degree of administrative autonomy to an ethnic minority, usually located in large, remote areas with sparse populations.
   • The largest Republic by far, the RSFSR, thus contains within its boundaries no less than sixteen Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics, five Autonomous oblasti (Regions) and ten Autonomous okruga (Districts), while the other SSRs include four additional A SSRs and five further Autonomous Regions.1984, Peter Worsley, “Pluralism: Internationalism and Multinationalism”, in The Three Worlds: Culture and World Development, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, →ISBN, section IV (Ethnicity and...
   • The soviet network in 1985 was made up of the USSR Supreme Soviet, fifteen supreme soviets of the union republics, twenty supreme soviets of autonomous republics, 129 krai and oblast soviets, eight soviets of autonomous oblasti, ten soviets of autonomous okruga, 3,113 raion, 2,137 city, 645...1989, Richard Sakwa, “Local soviets and administration”, in Soviet Politics: An Introduction, London; New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, chapter 8 (Local politics and participation), page 152

   Synonyms:

   AO