The Historical Background of the Emergence of Autonomies in Russia

The author examines the historical evolution of the process of autonomization in Russia and the political mechanisms that contribute to the emergence of autonomies. It is noted that the process of forming autonomies in Russia has been developing for many centuries, it continued after the revolution of 1917, already in the system of cardinal transformation of the internal state structure, and with some changes it was preserved by the beginning of the 21th century. The study of the historical prerequisites for the emergence of autonomies is particularly in demand in the context of the need to unite the country, actively improve the forms of statehood and implement effective national policy.
The emergence of autonomies in Russia throughout its history is associated with the constant increment of state lands, with the intensive or extensive expansion of the state, with the diversity of national characteristics of their population. However, despite the fact that the autonomies in Russia in most cases were voluntarily attached to the Center and had some degree of independence, these territories did not violate the principle of unity of the vast empire due to their subordinate position. At the same time, granting partial autonomy to certain regions of the Russian Empire did not contradict the principle of the integrity and indivisibility of the country as a single political entity and was culturally, economically and politically expedient.

References

Bakhlov, I. V. Ot imperii k federatsii: istoriko-politologicheskii analiz transformatsii imperskikh sistem v federativnye. Saransk: Izdatel’stvo Mordovskogo universiteta, 2004.
Beloded, A. Iu. “Status territorial’nykh avtonomii v Rossiiskoi imperii,” Evraziiskii iuridicheskii zhurnal, No. 2, 2019, pp. 12–23.
Čelutka, S. The Autonomy of Politics as an Ethical Project. A Study of H. Arendt’s, M. Oakeshott’s and C. Schmitt’s Conceptions: Summary of Doctoral Dissertation Humanities, Philosophy. Vilnius, 2021. URL:https://epublications.vu.lt/object/elaba:80156695/index.html
Enoch, D. “Autonomy as Non Alienation and Autonomy as Sovereignty,” Journal of Political Philosophy, Vol. 30, No. 2, 2022, pp. 143–165.
Gessen, V. M. Avtonomiia, federatsiia i natsional’nyi vopros. St. Petersburg: Narod i svoboda, 1906.
Jansen, K., Vicol, M., and Nikol, L. “Autonomy and Repeasantization: Conceptual, Analytical, and Methodological Problems,” Journal of Agrarian Change, Vol. 22, No. 3, 2021, pp. 489–505.
Kokoshkin, F. F. Avtonomiia i federatsiia. Petrograd: Izd. Partii narodnoi svobody, 1917.
Kokoshkin, F. F. Oblastnaia avtonomiia i edinstvo Rossii. Moscow: Tip. G. Lissnera i D. Sovko, 1906.
Korkunov, N. M. Russkoe gosudarstvennoe parvo, Vol. 1: Vvedenie i obshchaia chast’. 5th ed. St. Petersburg: Tip. M.M. Stasiulevicha, 1904.
Krasil’nikov, S. V. “Formirovanie organov mestnogo samoupravleniia i sistema vyborov v Rossiiskoi imperii v 18 veke,” Istoriia gosudarstva i prava, No. 8, 2008, pp. 13–15.
Kutafin, O. E. Rossiiskaia avtonomiia. Moscow: Velbi, 2006.
Maksimov, K. N. Kalmykiia v natsional’noi politike, sisteme vlasti i upravleniia Rossii. Moscow: Nauka, 2002.
Migunova, T. L. “Osobennosti administrativnoi reformy Ekateriny II (po materialam ‘Uchrezhdeniia dlia upravleniia gubernii Vserossiiskoi imperii’ 1775 goda), ”Istoriia gosudarstva i prava, No. 16, 2008, pp. 22–25.
Timoshenko, V. P. “Evoliutsiia territorial’nogo ustroistva Rossii,” Chinovnik, No. 6, 2001, pp. 23–28.
Trauger, A. “Toward a Political Geography of Food Sovereignty: Transforming Territory, Exchange and Power in the Liberal Sovereign State,” The Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 41, No. 6, 2014, pp. 1131–1152.
Usiagin, A. V. Politicheskoe upravlenie i ego territorial’nye aspekty: rossiiskii opyt. Nizhnii Novgorod: Izdatel’stvo NNGU imeni N.I. Lobachevskogo, 2005.