Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union
Autonomous oblasts of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were administrative units created for a number of smaller nations, which were given autonomy within the fifteen republics of the USSR.
According to the constitution of the USSR, in case of a union republic voting on leaving the Soviet Union, autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts and autonomous okrugs had the right, by means of a referendum, to independently resolve whether they will stay in the USSR or leave with the seceding union republic, as well as to raise the issue of their state-legal status.
Russian SFSR
While the 1978 Constitution of the RSFSR specified that the autonomous oblasts are subordinated to the krais, this clause was removed in the December 15, 1990, revision, when it was specified that the autonomous oblasts were to be directly subordinated to the Russian SFSR. In June 1991, five autonomous oblasts existed within the RSFSR, four of which were elevated to the status of republic on July 3, 1991:| Name | Capital | Established | Krai | ||||||||||
| Adyghe Autonomous Oblast | Maykop | 1922 | Krasnodar Krai |  AdygeaNowrap|Gorno-AltayskOther union republicsThe two autonomous oblasts in the South Caucasus region both became self-declared break-away states during the dissolution of the Soviet Union:
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Tajik SSR