Southern Russia



Southern Russia or the South of Russia (Юг России) is a colloquial term for the southernmost geographic portion of European Russia generally covering the Southern Federal District and the North Caucasian Federal District.

The term does not conform to any official areas of the Russian Federation as designated by the Russian Classification on Objects of Administrative Division (OKATO).

History
The Caucasus has been inhabited for millennia. Eastern Slavic tribes, like the Antes, inhabited Southern Russia at least from the 3rd century. Southern Russia played an important role in the influence of Byzantine culture on Russia. Persian culture has also left its traces in Southern Russia. At the beginning of the second millennium, between Volga and Don, Turkic tribes established in the South of Russia Tatar states. According to historical sources, the Russian lands in Southern Russia adopted the Islamic faith after contact with the Mongols.

During the Russian Civil War (1917–1922), a territory called South Russia briefly existed from 1919 to 1920, which spanned the southern parts of the Russian Empire, including portions of Ukraine. In Soviet historiography, it also was referred to as "White South" in reference to the White Army that fought the Bolsheviks there along with the Armed Forces of South Russia and the Volunteer Army.

General area
Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the area of Southern Russia spans two of the nine federal districts of Russia containing 19 federal constituent entities, six of which are disputed with Ukraine:


 * Southern Federal District:
 * Flag of Adygea.svg Republic of Adygea
 * Flag of Astrakhan Oblast.svg Astrakhan Oblast
 * Flag of Crimea.svg Republic of Crimea
 * Flag of Kalmykia.svg Republic of Kalmykia
 * Flag of Krasnodar Krai.svg Krasnodar Krai
 * Flag of Rostov Oblast.svg Rostov Oblast
 * Flag of Sevastopol.svg Federal city of Sevastopol
 * Flag of Volgograd Oblast.svg Volgograd Oblast


 * Divisions annexed by Russia in 2022:
 * Flag_of_Donetsk_People's_Republic.svg Donetsk People's Republic
 * Flag of Kherson Oblast (Russia).svg Kherson Region
 * Flag_of_Luhansk_People's_Republic.svg Luhansk People's Republic
 * Flag_of_the_Russian_administered_Zaporizhzhia_Oblast.svg Zaporozhye Oblast


 * North Caucasian Federal District:
 * Flag of Dagestan.svg Republic of Dagestan
 * Flag of Ingushetia.svg Republic of Ingushetia
 * Flag of Kabardino-Balkaria.svg Kabardino-Balkar Republic
 * Flag of Karachay-Cherkessia.svg Karachay-Cherkess Republic
 * Flag of North Ossetia.svg Republic of North Ossetia-Alania
 * Flag of Stavropol Krai.svg Stavropol Krai
 * Flag of Chechen Republic since 2004.svg Chechen Republic

In relation to the official economic regions of Russia, most of Southern Russia is included in the North Caucasus economic region, with the exception of the Astrakhan Oblast, the Republic of Kalmykia and the Volgograd Oblast, which are part of the Volga economic region. References to "Southern Russia" can be found in media or news portals devoted to the area. Newspapers and websites like Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Vedomosti have sections or tags for the area.