Historical Background
Cherkess (Adyghe) Autonomous Oblast was established within the Russian SFSR on July 27, 1922 from Krasnodar and Maykop Departments of Kuban-Black Sea Oblast, and remained in jurisdiction of Kuban-Black Sea Oblast. Within a month, on August 24, 1922, it was renamed "Adyghe (Cherkess) Autonomous Oblast", before becoming "Adyghe Autonomous Oblast" on August 3, 1928. Initially, the autonomous oblast consisted of three okrugs: Farssky, Psekupsky, and Shirvansky, which were further subdivided into the total of forty-two volosts. As the territory the autonomous oblast encompassed was wholly rural, it had no administrative center, so its government was located in nearby Krasnodar. On October 24, 1923, Shirvansky Okrug was dissolved and divided between Farssky and Psekupsky Okrugs, and the total number of volosts was reduced from forty-two to nineteen. On August 5, 1924, both okrugs and all volosts were abolished, and the autonomous oblast was re-organized into five districts, which were officially recognized on September 2, 1924 along with thirty-two new selsoviets into which the districts were divided.
On June 2, 1924, when Kuban-Black Sea Oblast was abolished, the autonomous oblast was first subordinated to South-Eastern Krai and later, on October 16, 1924—to North Caucasus Krai. No other significant changes occurred until February 7, 1929, when the five districts were re-organized into three (Krasnogvardeysky, Psekupsky, and Shovgenovsky). When North Caucasus Krai was split on January 10, 1934, Adyghe Autonomous Oblast was subordinated to the newly-created Azov-Black Sea Krai. On December 28, 1934, the three districts of the autonomous oblast were once again re-organized into five (Koshekhablsky, Krasnogvardeysky, Ponezhukaysky, Shovgenovsky, and Takhtamukaysky), due to the directive to downsize the districts in Azov-Black Sea Krai.
During the 1930s, as part of the changing Soviet policy towards its ethnic territories, a decision was made to increase the proportion of ethnic Russians in the autonomous oblast. On April 10, 1936, the predominantly Russian city of Maykop, Giaginsky District, and Khansky Selsoviet of Maykopsky District became a part of the autonomous oblast (the selsoviet was incorporated into Giaginsky District). At the same time, the administrative center of the autonomous oblast was moved from Krasnodar to Maykop. Tuapse, a port on the Black Sea, was considered for the role of the administrative center, but the idea was rejected as it would give the native population access to the sea.
On September 13, 1937, Azov-Black Sea Krai was split into Krasnodar Krai and Rostov Oblast, and Adyghe Autonomous Oblast was subordinated to the former. Maykopsky District was formed on February 21, 1940, into which Tulsky District of Krasnodar Krai was merged on April 28, 1962. Since then, Adygea's external borders remained unchanged.
On July 15, 1940, Ponezhukaysky District was renamed Teuchezhsky after Adyghe poet Tsuga Teuchezh. On December 7, 1956, the districts of the autonomous oblast were enlarged: the territory of Shovgenovsky District was divided among Giaginsky, Koshekhablsky, and Krasnogvardeysky Districts, while Techezhsky District was merged into Takhtamukaysky District. This enlargement, however, did not prove successful, so on August 5, 1957 Takhtamukaysky District was split back into Takhtamukaysky and Teuchezhsky Districts within their old borders. At the same time, Takhtamukaysky District was renamed Oktyabrsky. Shovgenovsky District was restored in old borders on March 21, 1958. On February 1, 1963, changes in administrative and territorial structure of the autonomous oblast led to the abolition of Koshekhablsky, Maykopsky, and Oktyabrsky Districts: Koshekhablsky District was merged into Shovgenovsky, Maykopsky District—into Giaginsky, and Oktyabrsky—into Teuchezhsky. This change, however, was reverted in 1965, when, after several changes, the autonomous oblast became divided into six districts (Giaginsky, Koshekhablsky, Krasnogvardeysky, Maykopsky, Shovgenovsky, and Teuchezhsky). On April 25, 1983, new Oktyabrsky District was formed on part of the territory of Teuchezhsky District.
On June 28, 1991, a few months before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the autonomous oblast declared its sovereignty and separated from Krasnodar Krai. It was subsequently recognized as the Republic of Adygea within the Russian SFSR and retained its status of a republic within the Russian Federation after the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. Between 2004 and 2006, an attempt was made to merge the republic with Krasnodar Krai, but the proposal met with strong resistance from the native Adyghe population and was eventually put to rest. The results of a 2011 opinion poll showed that 83% of the population of Adygea and over 90% of the population of Krasnodar Krai regard a potential merger in an unfavorable light.
Read more about this topic: List Of Administrative And Municipal Divisions Of The Republic Of Adygea
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