The name of the RSFSR first appeared in 1918, it was used as the name for the world's first proletarian state, formed after the October Revolution in 1917. It lasted until the end of December 1991, when it was decided to rename the country to the Russian Federation. So how did the formation of the RSFSR happen, how is this abbreviation deciphered, and what are the most significant events that took place on its territory? All this is important to know, if only because forecasting the future of any country is possible only on the basis of knowledge about its history.
The formation of a new state in the territory of the former Russian Empire
As a result of the October Revolution, which some historians are inclined to consider a coup, the Republic was proclaimed, and in January 1918 the Third Congress of Soviets approved an important document - the Declaration, which proclaimed the rights of the “working and exploited people”. In the same document, it was announced that the new state was federal, and after some time they began to use the abbreviation RSFSR for its designation, the decoding of which sounded like the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. However, at that time, the country still had neither official symbols, nor a strong government capable of controlling its entire vast territory.
History (before joining the USSR)
Between February and March 1918, Soviet power was established in a significant part of the provinces of the former Russian Empire, and Moscow was proclaimed the capital instead of Petrograd. In order to strengthen their influence and to bury forever the hopes of the monarchists for the revival of autocracy in the country, in July in Yekaterinburg the Bolsheviks shot the family of Nicholas II. Interestingly, almost the day after this, the first Constitution of the RSFSR entered into force. This event marked the end of the period of uncertainty, when the borders of the subjects of the federation literally drew on the cards “by eye”, and two or even three councils, as they were called then, “workers”, “soldiers”, or “could act simultaneously on the same territory” peasant ”deputies. Thus, at that time there was only one right answer to the question of what the RSFSR was - the first state in the world of the exploited people where they were going to build communism.
Civil War
From the moment of the formation of the RSFSR (the decoding of this abbreviation is already known to you) and until 1923 it was in a state of civil war and was subject to intervention from the Entente. In addition, the new government had to suppress the rebellion of the whites and prevent the occupation of the Far East. Through tremendous efforts and hundreds of thousands of victims, the State of workers and peasants was able to suppress all hotbeds of resistance, and by the middle of the summer of 1923, peace reigned in the country.
RSFSR in the first years after the formation of the USSR
Although there were several points of view in the Bolshevik party on the question of what principles a unified multinational state should be built on, the group that supported V. I. Lenin won as a result of the discussions. Thus, on December 29, 1922, the USSR was formed, all the republics of which were considered equal and could freely leave the union. Moreover, the RSFSR at that time included the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (formed in 1919), the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1920), the Mountain, Crimean and Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics (1921), the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1922), the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and others . At the same time, in 1923, administrative-territorial reform began, which led to a significant reduction in the area of the Russian SFSR.
RSFSR: the territory of the country before the start of World War II
During the years of its existence, Soviet Russia has repeatedly changed its borders. In particular, in 1923, the village of Lugansk in the Don region, which is part of the RSFSR, became the center of the newly formed district of the Lugansk district of the Ukrainian SSR. More serious transformations occurred in the autumn of 1924, when the southern regions of the Turkestan ASSR were divided between the Uzbek SSR, which included the Tajik ASSR, and the Turkmen SSR. In total, at the beginning of 1930, the RSFSR had eleven republics with a high degree of autonomy. Moreover, such freedom to resolve issues on the ground was only a declaration on paper and could not be realized in any way.
The following redrawing of the borders of the RSFSR as part of the USSR was indicated in the new constitution of the Soviet Union, adopted in 1936, according to which the Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Karakalpak Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics were removed from the federal republic, and in 1940 the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. By the way, this document is still considered one of the most democratic major laws adopted in the world at the moment.
Territorial transformations after the end of World War II
In 1945, in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement, the Koenigsberg Special Military District was transferred to the USSR and the RSFSR. This was one of the most important parts of the historical region of East Prussia, which was later transformed and renamed the Kaliningrad region. Thus, the country's borders have advanced significantly to the west.
However, the most important territorial loss occurred in 1954, when the Crimean region of the RSFSR was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR. This happened without indicating the status of Sevastopol, which at that time was a city of republican subordination to Soviet Russia. In addition, in July 1956, the Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which was part of another national-territorial entity, was restored as part of the RSFSR .
Composition of the RSFSR at the time of the formation of the Russian Federation
By December 25, 1993, the RSFSR consisted of the Ingush, Chechen, Karachay-Cherkess, Chuvash, Udmurt, Kabardino-Balkarian republics, as well as the republics of Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Dagestan, Kalmykia, Karelia, Mari El, Tatarstan, Sakha (Yakutia), Tuva Adygea, Gorny Altai, Khakassia, Komi and others. Thus, the answer to the question of what the RSFSR is and what entities it consisted of at the time of the collapse of the USSR, sounds like this: it is a federal state consisting of a large number of regions, territories and republics having equal rights and status.
At the end of December 1991, a declaration was adopted in Moscow proclaiming the termination of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the Russian Federation (at that time the RSFSR) was recognized as the legal successor of the entire former USSR and took its place in international organizations.
Now you know that the RSFSR is an abbreviation that was used to designate first the world's first “state of victorious socialism”, and later one of the republics that are part of the USSR, the successor of which is our country today.