Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 12, 2026

Autonomous oblast

An autonomous oblast is an autonomous form of an oblast in the USSR. Of the post-Soviet states, autonomous oblasts currently exist only in Russia and Tajikistan.

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An autonomous oblast (Russian: Автономная область (АО)) is an autonomous form of an oblast (administrative-territorial structure) in the USSR. Of the post-Soviet states, autonomous oblasts currently exist only in Russia (the Jewish Autonomous Oblast) and Tajikistan (the Gorno-Badakhshan).

There were autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union and later some federal subjects of Russia were autonomous oblasts: the one remaining is the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. Eastern Rumelia was an autonomous province (oblast in Bulgarian, one of its official languages) of the Ottoman Empire. Serb Autonomous Regions are known as oblasts.