Settlements and Localities of Kalmykia: Administrative-Territorial Changes and Renaming, 1990–1991

Abstract

Introduction. The period of perestroika was a time of active reform in all spheres of the Soviet state and society, which was reflected in changes in administrative and territorial structures throughout the country and its regions. Goals. The paper examines Kalmykia and provides an insight into administrative-territorial transformations across the republic in 1990–1991 that resulted from political democratization in the USSR and RSFSR, rehabilitation of repressed peoples, and economic reforms of perestroika. This process is studied from two perspectives: transformation of urban-type working settlements into rural ones, and renaming of localities to restore historical names. Materials and Methods. The work analyzes official (published and unpublished archival) documents of regional and federal authorities dealing with administrative and territorial reorganization, statistical data, scientific works of domestic researchers discussing Russia’s population geography and toponymy of Kalmykia. Results. The article considers the administrative and territorial structure of Kalmykia in the early 1990s focusing on changes in statuses of ‘working’ settlements, and reasons underlying their transformation back to ‘rural’ ones. The paper draws examples of respective processes in Kalmykia during 1990-1991. Conclusions. Since the early 1990s, Kalmykia — like the rest of Russia — initiated administrative ruralization, which manifested itself in transformation of urban-type settlements to rural ones due to socioeconomic reasons. Another trend of administrative -territorial changes was the active restoration of historical names explained by the de-ideologization of Soviet society and ethnocultural factors.