Republics of Russia

REPUBLICS OF RUSSIA
ADYGEA
Established: July 03, 1991 (official)

Capital: Maykop
Anthem: Anthem of the Republic of Adygea
Republic Day: July 03
Name of Origin:
- The name Adyghe (also transliterated as Adyga, Adyge, Adygei, Adyghe,
Attéghéi) is believed to derive from atté "height" to signify a mountaineer
or a highlander, and ghéi "sea", signifying "a people dwelling and
inhabiting a mountainous country near the sea coast", or "between two
seas".
ALTAI
Capital: Gorno-Altaysk
Anthem: National Anthem of the Altai Republic
Name of Origin:
- From the Mongolic and Turkic words for "Golden Mountain". Compare
Turkish altın (“gold”), dağ (“mountain”), and al (“red, colorful”) which altın
is likely related to.
BASHKORTOSTAN
Established: March 20, 1919 (official)
Capital: Ufa
Anthem: State Anthem of the Republic of Bashkortostan
Republic Day: October 11
Name of Origin:
- The name "Bashkortostan" derives from the name of the Bashkir ethnic
group. While the root of the name is Turkic (being a combination of 'baş',
which in Turkish can mean head, chief, main, principal and 'qort' meaning
wolf, one of the animals regarded as sacred to Turkic peoples); the suffix
-stan is Sanskrit, which means 'Land'.
BURYATIA
Established: May 30, 1927 (official)
Capital: Ulan-Ude
Anthem: Anthem of the Republic of Buryatia
Republic Day: May 30
Name of Origin:
- The origins of the Buriats and the exact time at which they arose are
unclear, but anthropological, linguistic, and archaeological evidence
suggests that the ancestors of the modern Buriats may have been formed
sometime during the Bronze Age (between 2500 and 1300 bc) along the
shores of Lake Baikal and the Selenga River from Mongol tribes who mixed
with native Siberian groups who spoke Turkic, Tungus, and perhaps
Samoyedic languages.
CHECHNYA
Established: January 10, 1993 (official)
Capital: Grozny
Anthem: Shatlak's Song
Republic Day: January 10
Name of Origin:
- The Russian ethnonym Chechen probably derives from the name of the
ancient village of Chechana or Chechen-aul. The village stands on the bank
of the Argun River, near Grozny. Another theory derives the name from
chechenit' sya, "to talk mincingly".
CHUVASHIA
Established: June 24, 1920 (official)
Capital: Cheboksary
Anthem: State Anthem of the Chuvash Republic
Republic Day: June 24
Name of Origin:
- There is no universally accepted etymology of the word Chuvash, but there
are two main theories. One suggests that the word Chuvash may be
derived from Common Turkic jăvaš ('friendly', 'peaceful'), as opposed to
şarmăs ('warlike').
CRIMEA*
Established: February 12, 1991 (official) (Ukraine, recognized)
March 18, 2014 (official) (Russia, unrecognized)
Annexation by Russia: February 20, 2014 (official)
Capital: Simferopol
Anthem: Your fields and mountains are magical, Motherland
Republic Day: March 18
Name of Origin:
- Modern Latin, from Greek Krimm, Krym, of uncertain origin. Suggested
connections include Greek kremos "steep bank," Mongolian (Tatar) kherem
"strength." Not an ancient name; in classical times it was Taurida, from a
native people’s name.
Disputed Status: (*)

- Russia and 17 UN member states officially recognize Crimea as part of the
Russian Federation by Treaty of Accession, while Ukraine and 114 other
UN member states do not. Though the Crimean economy and political
system have been fully integrated with Russia, Ukraine continues to claim
Crimea as an integral part of its territory as the Autonomous Republic of
Crimea, supported by most foreign governments, and various United
Nations General Assembly resolutions (68/262 and certain subsequent
resolutions).
DAGESTAN
Capital: Makhachkala
Anthem: State Anthem of the Republic of Dagestan
Name of Origin:
- The word Daghestan or Daghistan (Avar: Дагъистан; Arabic and Persian:
‫ )داغستان‬means "country of mountains"; it derives from the Turkic word dağ,
meaning "mountain" and the Persian suffix -stan meaning "land of". The
spelling Dagestan transliterates the Russian name, which lacks the voiced
velar fricative.
INGUSHETIA
Established: June 04, 1992 (official)
Capital: Magas
Anthem: State Anthem of Ingushetia
Republic Day: June 04
Name of Origin:
- The name Ingushetia is derived from the ancient village Angusht, which
was renamed into Tarskoye and transferred to North Ossetia in 1944 after
the deportation of 23 February 1944, a.k.a. operation "Lentil".
- The Ingush, a nationality group indigenous to the Caucasus, mostly
inhabits Ingushetia. They refer to themselves as Ghalghai (from Ingush:
Ghala ("fortress" or "town") and ghai ("inhabitants" or "citizens").
KABARDINO-BALKARIA
Capital: Nalchik
Anthem: State Anthem of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic
Name of Origin:
- The Kabardians (Highland Adyghe: Къэбэрдей адыгэхэр; Lowland
Adyghe: Къэбэртай адыгэхэр; Russian: Кабардинцы) or Kabardinians
are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the
twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circassian flag.
- The Balkars (Karachay-Balkar: Малкъарлыла, romanized: Malqarlıla or
таулула, romanized: tawlula, lit. 'Mountaineers') are a Turkic people of the
Caucasus region, one of the titular populations of Kabardino-Balkaria.
Russian, of Turkic origin; akin to Karachai balqar, Balkar bolqar, Old
Turkish bulgar mixed breed.
KALMYKIA
Capital: Elista
Anthem: Anthem of the Republic of Kalmykia
Republic Day:
Name of Origin:
- The name "Kalmyk" is a word of Turkic origin that means "remnant" or "to
remain". Turkic tribes may have used this name as early as the thirteenth
century. Arab geographer Ibn al-Wardi is documented as the first person to
use the term in referring to the Oirats in the fourteenth century.
- Mongolians name Kalmyks Halimag. It means "the people moving away".
The verb "Halih" in Mongolian means leakage, seepage, or overpour. So
the name "Halimag" is given because they were the people who leaked
from Mongolians and Mongolian land.
KARACHAY-CHERKESSIA
Capital: Cherkessk
Anthem: : State Anthem of Karachay-Cherkessia
Name of Origin:
- Karachai, a region on the northern slope of the western Caucasus
mountains, U.S.S.R.; Karachayevt from Russian Karachayevtsi (plural)
Karachai people, from Karachai. From Turkic, from kara, qara ‘black’ and
chai ‘brook’.
KARELIA
Established: June 27, 1923 (First formation) (official)
July 16, 1956 (Second formation) (official)
November 13, 1991 (Current) (official)
Capital: Petrozavodsk
Anthem: Anthem of the Republic of Karelia
Republic Day: November 13
Name of Origin:
- The region in Finland and Russia, so-called from the people's name, which
is perhaps from Finnish karja "herd" about herdsmen.
KHAKASSIA
Capital: Abakan
Anthem: State Anthem of the Republic of Khakassia
Name of Origin:
- The Khakas, or Khakass, are Turkic people, who live in Russia, in the
Republic of Khakassia in southern Siberia. They speak the Khakas
language. The origin of the Khakas people is disputed. Some scholars see
them as descendants of the Yenisei Kirghiz, while others believe that, at
the behest of the medieval Mongol Khans, the Yenisei Kirghiz migrated to
Central Asia.
KOMI
Established: December 05, 1936 (official)
Capital: Syktyvkar
Anthem: State Anthem of the Komi Republic
Republic Day: December 05
Name of Origin:
- The name Komi is the endonym for all groups of people. It was first
recorded by ethnographers in the 18th century.[16] It originates from the
Finno-Ugric word meaning "man, human": Komi Kom, Udmurt Kum, Mansi
Kom, kum, Khanty xum, Selkup qum, Hungarian hím "male".
MARI EL
Capital: Yoshkar-Ola
Anthem: National Anthem of the Mari El Republic
Name of Origin:
- The ethnic name Mari derives from the Proto-Indo-Iranian root *márya-,
meaning 'man', literally 'mortal, one who has to die', which indicates early
contacts between Finno-Ugric and Indo-Iranian peoples.
MORDOVIA
Established: December 20, 1934 (Official)
Capital: Saransk
Anthem: State Anthem of the Republic of Mordovia
Name of Origin:
- The name Mordva is thought to originate from an Iranian (Scythian) word,
mard, meaning "man". The Mordvin word mirde denoting a husband or
spouse is traced to the same origin. This word is also probably related to
the final syllable of "Udmurt", and also in Komi: mort and perhaps even in
Mari: marij.
NORTH OSSETIA-ALANIA
Capital: Vladikavkaz
Anthem: State Anthem of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania
Name of Origin:
- The Ossetians and Ossetia received their name from the Russians, who had adopted
the Georgian designations Osi (ოსი, pl. Osebi, ოსები) and Oseti ('the land of Osi',
ოსეთი), used since the Middle Ages for the single Iranian-speaking population of
the Central Caucasus and probably based on an old Alan self-designation As.
- The name Alania stems from the Old Iranian root *Aryāna-, a derivative
form of the Indo-Iranian root *Arya- ('Aryan'). It is cognate with the name of
Iran (Ērān), which stems from the Old Persian *Aryānām ('of the Aryans').
SAKHA / YAKUTIA
Established: April 27, 1922 (official)
Capital: Yakutsk
Anthem: National Anthem of the Sakha Republic
Republic Day: April 27
Name of Origin:
- The exonym Yakut comes from the Evenk term Yаkо (also yoqo, ñoqa, or
ñoka), which was the term the Evenks used to describe the Sakha. This
was in turn picked up by the Russians.
- The name Sakha, the name by which the Yakuts currently call themselves,
is probably of the same origin (*jaqa > Sakha following regular sound
changes in the course of development of the Yakut language) as the Evenk
and Yukaghir exonyms for the Yakuts and is pronounced as Haka by the
Dolgans, whose language is either a dialect or a close relative of the Yakut
language.
TATARSTAN
Established: May 27, 1920 (official)
Capital: Kazan
Anthem: State Anthem of the Republic of Tatarstan
Republic Day: May 27
Name of Origin:
- "Tatarstan" derives from the name of the ethnic group—the Tatars—and
the Persian suffix -stan (meaning "state" or "country" of, an ending
common to many Eurasian countries). Another version of the Russian
name is "Тата́рия" (Tatariya), which was official along with "Tatar ASSR"
during Soviet rule.
TUVA
Capital: Kyzyl
Anthem: I am a Tuvan
Republic Day: March 31
Name of Origin:
- The name "Uriankhai' means "uria" (motto, war motto) and khan (lord) in
Mongolian. The Mongols applied the name to all the forest peoples and,
later, to Tuvans. They were classified by the Mongols as Darligin Mongols.
- Tannu designates the Tannu-ola Mountains in the region. Uriankhai was the
Mongolian name for the Tuvans (and accordingly their realm), which meant
"the people living in the woods" (Chinese: 林中百姓 ; pinyin: Línzhōng
Bǎixìng).
UDMURTIA
Established: November 04, 1920 (official)
Capital: Izhevsk
Anthem: National Anthem of the Udmurt Republic
Republic Day: November 04
Name of Origin:
- The name Udmurt comes from *odo-mort 'meadow people,' where the first
part represents the Permic root *od(o) 'meadow, glade, turf, greenery'. This
is supported by a document dated 1557, in which the Udmurts are referred
to as lugovye lyudi 'meadow people', alongside the traditional Russian
name otyak.
OTHER SPECIAL FEDERAL SUBJECTS

MOSCOW
Founded: 1147 (official) Status: Capital and Federal City of Russia

Nicknames:
- Third Rome - The First Throne
- The Whitestone One - The Hero City
Motto: None
Anthem: My Moscow
Name of Origin: The name of the city is thought to be derived from the name of
the Moskva River. There have been proposed several theories of the origin of the
name of the river. Finno-Ugric Merya and Muroma people, who were among the
several pre-Slavic tribes which originally inhabited the area, called the river
supposedly Mustajoki, in English: Black river. The most linguistically well-
grounded and widely accepted is from the Proto-Balto-Slavic root *mŭzg-/muzg-
from the Proto-Indo-European *meu- "wet", so the name Moskva might signify a
river at a wetland or a marsh.
SAINT PETERSBURG
Founded: May 27, 1703 (official)
Status: Federal City
Nicknames:
- Cultural Capital of Russia - Venice of the North
- Northern Capital - Russian Venice
- The City of White Nights - Cradle of October Revolution
- Window to the West - Northern Palmyra
- Window to Europe
Motto: None
Anthem: Saint Petersburg Anthem
Name of Origin:
- Tsar Peter the Great founded the city on 27 May 1703 (in the Gregorian
calendar, 16 May in the Julian calendar) after he reconquered the Ingrian
land from Sweden, in the Great Northern War. He named the city after his
patron saint, the apostle Saint Peter.
SEVASTOPOL
Founded: 1783 (official)
Annexed by Russia: February 27, 2014 (unrecognized)
Status: Federal City
De jure status: Part of Ukraine (recognized by the international community)
Nicknames: Hero City
Motto: None
Anthem: Anthem of Sevastopol
Name of Origin: It is a compound of the Greek adjective, σεβαστός (sebastos,
'venerable', Byzantine Greek pronunciation: [se.vasˈtos]) and the noun πόλις
(pólis) ('city'). Σεβαστός is the traditional Greek equivalent (Sebastian) of the
Roman honorific Augustus, originally given to the first emperor of the Roman
Empire, Augustus, and later awarded as a title to his successors. Despite its
Greek origin, the name is not from Ancient Greek times. The city was probably
named after Empress ("Augusta") Catherine II of the Russian Empire who
founded Sevastopol in 1783. She visited the city in 1787, accompanied by Joseph
II, the Emperor of Austria, and other foreign dignitaries.
JEWISH AUTONOMOUS OBLAST / JEWISHIA

Founded: May 07, 1934 (official)
Nicknames:
- Jewishia
- Second Jewish Homeland
Motto: None
Anthem: Anthem of the Jewish Autonomous Region
Name of Origin:
- Birobidzhan Jewish National Raion.
CHUKOTKA AUTONOMOUS OKRUG

Capital: Anadyr
Anthem: Anthem of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Name of Origin:
- The Russian name "Chukchi" is derived from the Chukchi word Chauchu
("rich in reindeer"), which was used by the 'Reindeer Chukchi' to
distinguish themselves from the 'Maritime Chukchi,' called Anqallyt ("the
sea people"). Their name for a member of the Chukchi ethnic group as a
whole is Luoravetlan (literally “genuine person”).
- A peninsula in the northeastern extremity of Asia; Chukchi Peninsula.
KHANTY-MANSI AUTONOMOUS OKRUG

Capital: Khanty-Mansiysk
- Surgut (largest settlement)
Anthem: Anthem of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug
Name of Origin:
- The name comes from the Komi-Zyrian language jögra ('Khanty'). It is also
possible that they were first recorded by the English King Alfred the Great
(ca. 9th century), who located Fenland (wetland) to the east of the White
Sea in Western Siberia. The older Russian name Ostyak is from Khanty as-
kho 'person from the Ob (as) River,' with -yak after other ethnic terms like
Permyak.
- From maan's'i and maan's'i maahum, meaning 'people of the Mansi'. The
eastern tribes also use mäns. The language is called maan's'i latyng. The
original meaning of the self-designation is a human being or a man.
Previously the Mansi was better known by the name of Voguls, their name
in the Komi (and Khant) language.
NENETS AUTONOMOUS OKRUG

Capital: Naryan-Mar
Anthem: Anthem of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug
Name of Origin:
- The literal morphs Samo and yed in Russian convey the meaning "self-
eater", which is considered derogatory. Therefore, the name Samoyed
quickly went out of usage in the 20th century. The people are known as the
Nenets, which means "people".
YAMALO-NENETS AUTONOMOUS OKRUG

Capital: Salekhard
Anthem: Anthem of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug
Name of Origin:
- The Yamal Peninsula. "Yamal" means "End of the Land" in Nenets
language.
- The literal morphs “Samo” and “yed” in Russian convey the meaning "self-
eater", which is considered derogatory. Therefore, the name Samoyed
quickly went out of usage in the 20th century. The people are known as the
Nenets, which means "people".
KOMI-PERMYAK OKRUG
Established: February 26, 1925 (as Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug) (official)
December 01, 2005 (merging) (official)
Capital: Kudymkar
Status: Territory with special status within Perm Krai
Anthem: Anthem of the Komi-Permyak Okrug, Anthem of Perm Krai
Name of Origin: The name Komi is the endonym for all groups of people. It was
first recorded by ethnographers in the 18th century. It originates from the Finno-
Ugric word meaning "man, human": Komi Kom, Udmurt kum, Mansi Kom, kum,
Khanty xum, Selkup qum, Hungarian hím "male". The name Permyaks firstly
appeared in the 10th century in Russian sources and came from the ancient name
of the land between the Mezen River and Pechora River – Perm or "Great Perm"
(Russian: Пермь Великая). In Russian permyak also means "an inhabitant of
Perm or Perm Krai" independently from ethnicity.
BAIKONUR CITY
Founded: February 12, 1955 (official) (as Leninsk)
Incorporated: 1966 (as a city)
Renamed: December 20, 1995 (official)
Status: Part of Kazakhstan, currently administered by Russia.
Nicknames:
- Star City
Anthem: None
Name of Origin:
- Kazakh for "wealthy brown", i.e. "fertile land with many herbs".
KALININGRAD OBLAST
Established: April 07, 1946 (official)
Capital: Kaliningrad City
Nicknames:
- Koenigsberg / King’s Mountain
Motto: None
Anthem: None
Name of Origin:
- Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme
Soviet of the USSR.
TERRITORIES OF RUSSIA
ALTAI KRAI
Established: September 28, 1937 (official)

Capital: Barnaul
Motto: None
Anthem: Altai Krai Anthem
Name of Origin:
- The region is named after the Altai mountains. In Russian, Altai Krai means
the Altai region.
KAMCHATKA KRAI
Capital: Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Motto: None
Anthem: Kamchatka Krai Anthem
Name of Origin:
- Siberian peninsula, 1730, named for a native people, the Kamchadal, from
Koryak (Chukotko-Kamchatkan) konchachal, which is said to mean "men of
the far end".
KHABAROVSK KRAI
Established: October 20, 1938 (official)
Capital: Khabarovsk City
Motto: None
Anthem: Khabarovsk Krai Anthem
Name of Motto:
- Khabarovsk lies along the Amur River just below its confluence with the
Ussuri. The town was named after the Russian explorer E.P. Khabarov, who
made several expeditions to the Amur River basin in the mid-17th century.
KRASNODAR KRAI
Established: September 13, 1937 (official)
Capital: Krasnodar City
Motto: None
Anthem: Krasnodar Krai Anthem
Name of Origin:
- Krasnodar City was founded on January 12, 1794 (Gregorian calendar) as
Yekaterinodar (Екатеринода́р). The original name meant "Catherine's Gift",
recognizing both Catherine the Great's grant of land in the Kuban region to
the Black Sea Cossacks (created from former Zaporozhian Cossacks) and
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, who is considered to be the patron of the
city. City status was granted in 1867.
- On December 7, 1920, as a result of the October Revolution, Yekaterinodar
has renamed Krasnodar (Gift of the Reds). The new name consists of
Krasno- (Красно- – 'red', i.e. Communist, but also archaic/poetic form of
'beautiful'); and dar (дар – 'gift').
KRASNOYARSK KRAI
Capital: Krasnoyarsk City
Motto: None
Anthem: Krasnoyarsk Krai Anthem
Name of Origin:
- It was originally called Krasny Yar, meaning "Beautiful ("Krasny" used to
mean both red and beautiful, in this case, it means red) Steep Bank".
PERM KRAI
Capital: Perm City
Motto: None
Anthem: Perm Krai Anthem
Name of Origin:
- The name Perm is of Uralic etymology, likely of Finno-Ugric origin (Komi-
Permyak: Перем, Perem; Komi: Перым, Perym). Komi is a member of the
Permic group of Finno-Ugric languages, which is also named for Perm. In
Finnish and Vepsian perämaa means "far-away land"; similarly, in
Hungarian perem means "edge" or "verge". The geologic period of the
Permian takes its name from the toponym.
PRIMORSKY KRAI
Capital: Vladivostok
Motto: None
Anthem: Primorsky Krai Anthem
Name of Origin:
- The name of the krai is derived from the Russian words приморский
(Primorsky), meaning "littoral" or "coastal", and край (Kray), meaning
"region" or "area". It is informally known as Primorye (Приморье, IPA: [prʲɪ
ˈmorʲjɪ]) in Russian, and is occasionally translated as Maritime Territory in
English.
STAVROPOL KRAI
Capital: Stavropol City
Motto: None
Anthem: Stavropol Krai Anthem
Name of Origin:
- The name Stavropol (Russian: Ста́врополь) is a Russian rendering of the
Greek name, Stauropolis (Greek: Σταυρούπολις 'City of the Cross'.
According to legend, soldiers found a stone cross there while building the
fortress in the city's future location. It is unrelated to Byzantine
Stauroupolis (ancient Aphrodisias) in Asia Minor, nor to the city of
Stavropol-on-Volga (now called Tolyatti).
ZABAYKALSKY KRAI
Capital: Chita
Motto: None
Anthem: None
Name of Origin:
- Borrowed from Russian Забайка́льский край (Zabajkálʹskij Kraj, literally
“Trans-Baikal Krai”), in reference to its location on the far side of Lake
Baikal.

Republics of Russia

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Republics of Russia

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REPUBLICS OF RUSSIA

Established: July 03, 1991 (official)

Disputed Status: (*)

OTHER SPECIAL FEDERAL SUBJECTS

Founded: 1147 (official) Status: Capital and Federal City of Russia

JEWISH AUTONOMOUS OBLAST / JEWISHIA

CHUKOTKA AUTONOMOUS OKRUG

KHANTY-MANSI AUTONOMOUS OKRUG

NENETS AUTONOMOUS OKRUG

YAMALO-NENETS AUTONOMOUS OKRUG

Established: September 28, 1937 (official)

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