Republics of the Soviet Union (TheodoresTomfooleries)

Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Map of the Republics of the Soviet Union
Location	Soviet Union
Created by	Treaty on the Creation of the USSR
Created	December 30, 1922 (1922-12-30)
Number	15 (as of 2023)
Populations	Smallest: 1,914,0641,565,662 (Estonian SSR) Largest: 182,133,772 (Russian SFSR)
Areas	Smallest: 29,800 km2 (11,500 sq mi) (Armenian SSR) Largest: 17,075,400 km2 (6,592,800 sq mi) (Russian SFSR)
Government	One-party socialist republics
Subdivisions	Autonomous SSRs, oblasts, Autonomous oblasts

The Republics of the Soviet Union- also officially the Union Republics for short, are the first-level administrative divisions of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. They are constitutionally co-equal socialist republics based on national and ethnic boundaries. The system was created when the Treaty of Creation became effective on 30 December, 1922; the first Union Republics were Russia, Ukraine, Byelorussia, and the Transcaucasian SFSR. Currently, there are 15 Soviet Republics, a number which has remained consistent since the establishment of the Baltic republics as soviet republics and the "promotion" of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic to a full union republic. From 1940 to 1956, as a result of the Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland, the Karelo-Finnish ASSR was also a full Union Republic: it was unilaterally downgraded back to an ASSR in 1956. To this day, it is the only time that a Soviet republic has been downgraded back to a lower level administrative division.

The Union Republics hold the constitutional right to secede from the Union; a pleasure not shared by the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics. While the Union Republics represent the major ethnic groups of the Soviet Union, the Autonomous Republics are intended to represent ethnic minorities. Most of the Autonomous Republics are located within the Russian SFSR- the only republic with a federal based government.

Union Republics of the Soviet Union

Map of the Union Republics as numbered by the Soviet Constitution: 1. Russia, 2. Ukraine, 3. Byelorussia, 4. Uzbekistan, 5. Kazakhstan, 6. Kartvelia, 7. Azerbaijan, 8. Lithuania, 9. Moldavia, 10. Latvia, 11. Kirghizia, 12. Tadzhikistan, 13. Armenia, 14. Turkmenia, 15. Estonia

Currently, the number of union republics in the Soviet Union is 15, with the Karelian ASSR previously being its own union republic from 1940-1956. The Soviet Union does not list its republics in alphabetical order, instead choosing to list them in the order of which they appeared in the constitution.

Emblem	Name	Flag	Capital	Official languages	Established	Joined	Population (2019)	Pop. %	Area (km2) (2023)	Area %	№
	Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic		Yerevan	Armenian, Russian	2 December 1920	30 December 1922	7006353392500000000♠3,533,925	6999910000000000000♠0.91	7004298000000000000♠29,800	6999130000000000000♠0.13	13
	Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic		Baku	Azerbaijani, Russian	28 April 1920	30 December 1922	7007117405270000000♠11,740,527	7000304000000000000♠3.04	7004866000000000000♠86,600	6999390000000000000♠0.39	7
	Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic		Minsk	Byelorussian, Russian	31 July 1920	30 December 1922	7007125482620000000♠12,548,262	7000325000000000000♠3.25	7005207600000000000♠207,600	6999930000000000000♠0.93	3
	Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic		Tallinn	Estonian, Russian	21 July 1940	6 August 1940	7006191406400000000♠1,914,064	6999490000000000000♠0.49	7004452260000000000♠45,226	6999200000000000000♠0.20	15
	Kartvelian Soviet Socialist Republic		Tbilisi	Kartuli, Russian	25 February 1921	30 December 1922	7006646590500000000♠6,465,905	7000167000000000000♠1.67	7004697000000000000♠69,700	6999310000000000000♠0.31	6
	Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic		Alma-Ata	Kazakh, Russian	5 December 1936		7007216183880000000♠21,618,388	7000560000000099999♠5.6	7006271730000000000♠2,717,300	7001122400000000000♠12.24	5
	Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic		Frunze	Kirghiz, Russian	5 December 1936		7006807639500000000♠8,076,395	7000209009999900000♠2.09	7005198500000000000♠198,500	6999890000000000000♠0.89	11
	Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic		Riga	Latvian, Russian	21 July 1940	3 August 1940	7006324806100000000♠3,248,061	6999840000000000000♠0.84	7004645890000000000♠64,589	6999289990000000000♠0.29	10
	Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic		Vilnius	Lithuanian, Russian	21 July 1940	5 August 1940	7006469640800000000♠4,696,408	7000121000000000000♠1.21	7004652000000000000♠65,200	6999289990000000000♠0.29	8
	Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic		Kishinev	Moldavian, Russian	2 August 1940		7006574963100000000♠5,749,631	7000149000000000000♠1.49	7004338430000000000♠33,843	6999150000000000000♠0.15	9
	Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic		Moscow	Russian	7 November 1917	30 December 1922	7008182133772000000♠182,133,772	7001472500000000000♠47.25	7007170754000000000♠17,075,400	7001766200000000000♠76.62	1
	Tadzhik Soviet Socialist Republic	Flag of the Tadzhik SSR	Dushanbe	Tadzhik, Russian	5 December 1929		7007122422930000000♠12,242,293	7000317000000000000♠3.17	7005143100000000000♠143,100	6999640000000000000♠0.64	12
	Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic		Ashkhabad	Turkmen, Russian	13 May 1925		7006732185100000000♠7,321,851	7000123000000000000♠1.23	7005491210000000000♠491,210	7000189000000000000♠1.89	14
	Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic		Kiev	Ukrainian, Russian	10 March 1919	30 December 1922	7007580880610000000♠58,088,061	7001150700000000000♠15.07	7005603700000000000♠603,700	7000271000000000000♠2.71	2
	Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic		Tashkent	Uzbek, Russian	5 December 1924		7007440408640000000♠44,040,864	7001114200000000000♠11.42	7005447400000000000♠447,400	7000200999999999999♠2.01	4