Federal districts of Russia

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The federal districts of Russia should not be confused with the federal subjects of Russia.

Russia is divided into seven large federal districts (Russian: федера́льные округа́, sing. федера́льный о́круг; tr.: federalnyye okruga, sing. federalny okrug) (four in Europe, three in Asia).

The federal districts are a level of administration for the convenience of the federal government. They are not constituent units of the Russian Federation. The constituent units of the Russian Federation are called federal subjects.

Each district includes several federal subjects. Each federal district has a presidential envoy, whose official title is Plenipotentiary Representative. The official task of the Plenipotentiary Representative is simply to oversee the work of federal agencies in the regions, although in practice this oversight is extensive and of considerable consequence.

1 Creation of the federal districts
2 Role and functioning of the federal districts
3 Map of the federal districts
4 List of federal districts by federal subjects included within their boundaries

[edit] Creation of the federal districts

The federal districts were created in May 2000 by Vladimir Putin as a part of a wider program designed to reassert federal authority. This wider program of reform included the Federation Council becoming indirectly elected, the scrutinizing of republican constitutions and regional charters, and the President gaining the right to dissolve subjects' parliaments and dismiss subjects' governments if they disobey federal law.

[edit] Role and functioning of the federal districts

The Plenipotentiary Representatives and their staff ascertain the extent of a subjects' violation of federal laws and norms. They also oversee the process of correction at a closer level than can the federal institutions in Moscow. They are therefore central to Putin's reassertion of federal authority. The creation of the federal districts has assisted in restricting laws and practices of the subjects which contravene federal law, for instance, the curtailment of citizens rights, the authoritarian practices of subjects' governors (or, in case of republics, their presidents), the manipulation of police and the control of the judiciary by subjects' governments, the strict control of journalism, and the manipulation of elections.

Federal agencies, particularly in the justice system, had been "captured" by subjects' governments during the segmented federalism of the Yeltsin period. This process is being forestalled as Plenipotentiary Representatives ensure that agencies do the work for which they are intended rather than being brought under the influence of powerful local elites with vested interests.

The Plenipotentiary Representatives are overseeing a system of rotation of federal employees throughout the regions in order to avoid them becoming dependent on local leaders.

The federal districts coincide exactly with the Interior Ministry forces' military regions, and coincide closely with the Defense Ministry regions. This allows the Plenipotentiary Representatives to have direct access to the command structure of the military and security apparatus. This sends a clear message to the subjects that they must cooperate with the federal government, and is very useful for the Plenipotentiary Representatives. Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of the Plenipotentiary Representatives are selected from the military or other security backgrounds (e.g., the FSB).

[edit] Map of the federal districts

Map legend

[edit] List of federal districts by federal subjects included within their boundaries

[edit] Central Federal District

Russian: Центральный федеральный округ
Romanization: Tsentralny federalny okrug
Administrative center: Moscow
Presidential Envoy: Georgy Poltavchenko
Includes:

[edit] Southern Federal District

[edit] Northwestern Federal District

Северо-Западный федеральный округ
Romanization: Severo-Zapadny federalny okrug
Administrative center: St. Petersburg
Presidential Envoy: Ilya Klebanov
Includes:
- Arkhangelsk Oblast
  - Nenets Autonomous Okrug
- Kaliningrad Oblast
- Leningrad Oblast
- Republic of Karelia
- Komi Republic
- Murmansk Oblast
- Novgorod Oblast
- Pskov Oblast
- St. Petersburg (federal city)
- Vologda Oblast

[edit] Far Eastern Federal District

Дальневосточный федеральный округ
Romanization: Dalnevostochny federalny okrug
Administrative center: Khabarovsk
Presidential Envoy: Kamil Iskhakov
Includes:

[edit] Siberian Federal District

Сибирский федеральный округ
Romanization: Sibirsky federalny okrug
Administrative center: Novosibirsk
Presidential Envoy: Anatoly Kvashnin
Includes:

[edit] Urals Federal District

Уральский федеральный округ
Romanization: Uralsky federalny okrug
Administrative center: Yekaterinburg
Presidential Envoy: Pyotr Latyshev
Includes:

[edit] Volga Federal District

Приволжский федеральный округ
Romanization: Privolzhsky federalny okrug
Administrative center: Nizhny Novgorod
Presidential Envoy: Alexander Konovalov
Includes:

Administrative divisions of Russia

Federal subjects

Republics	Adygea \| Altai \| Bashkortostan \| Buryatia \| Chechnya \| Chuvashia \| Dagestan \| Ingushetia \| Kabardino-Balkaria \| Karelia \| Khakassia \| Komi \| Kalmykia \| Karachay-Cherkessia \| Mari El \| Mordovia \| North Ossetia-Alania \| Sakha \| Tatarstan \| Tuva \| Udmurtia
Krais	Altai \| Khabarovsk \| Krasnodar \| Krasnoyarsk¹ \| Perm \| Primorsky \| Stavropol
Oblasts	Amur \| Arkhangelsk \| Astrakhan \| Belgorod \| Bryansk \| Chelyabinsk \| Chita \| Irkutsk² \| Ivanovo \| Kaliningrad \| Kaluga \| Kamchatka³ \| Kemerovo \| Kirov \| Kostroma \| Kurgan \| Kursk \| Leningrad \| Lipetsk \| Magadan \| Moscow \| Murmansk \| Nizhny Novgorod \| Novgorod \| Novosibirsk \| Omsk \| Orenburg \| Oryol \| Penza \| Pskov \| Rostov \| Ryazan \| Sakhalin \| Samara \| Saratov \| Smolensk \| Sverdlovsk \| Tambov \| Tomsk \| Tula \| Tver \| Tyumen \| Ulyanovsk \| Vladimir \| Volgograd \| Vologda \| Voronezh \| Yaroslavl
Federal cities	Moscow \| St. Petersburg
Autonomous oblast	Jewish
Autonomous okrugs	Aga Buryatia \| Chukotka \| Evenkia¹ \| Khantia-Mansia \| Koryakia³ \| Nenetsia \| Taymyria¹ \| Ust-Orda Buryatia² \| Yamalia