autonomous oblast

• Hyphenation: au‧to‧no‧mous‧ob‧last

autonomous oblast (plural autonomous oblasts)

1. One of the administrative divisions of the former Soviet Union created for certain “smaller” nations and characterized by following features: they were given an autonomy within a union republic or, in the RSFSR, within a krai; had a status lower than an autonomous republic; had a different titulary nation from that of their union republic/krai. Abbreviated as AO.
   • 1989, Daily report: Soviet Union, Issues 181-186, p. 75

     Unlike the Armenians in the NKAO they are deprived even of those opportunities represented by autonomous oblast status.

   • 1992, Rachel Denber, Robert K. Goldman, Helsinki Watch, Bloodshed in the Caucasus: escalation of the armed conflict in Nagorno Karabakh, p. vii

     During the early Soviet period the territory [Nagorno Karabakh] was placed under control of Soviet Azerbaijan and given the status of autonomous oblast.

   • 1992, Draft Constitution of the Russian Federation, Article 81

     The autonomous oblast has the rights and bears the obligations of a kray and oblast. The legal status of the autonomous oblast is determined by federal law enacted by the Russian Federation Supreme Soviet in accordance with a representation of the autonomous oblast.

Currently there is only one autonomous oblast surviving in Russia, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast.

• autonomous republic
• autonomous okrug

• autonomous oblast on Wikipedia.Wikipedia