This article is about the political group of regions by a presidential decree. For geographical region, see Southern Russia.
This article is about the North Caucasian Federal District created in 2000 and renamed. For the district created in 2010, see North Caucasian Federal District.
Map showing location of Russia's Southern Federal District, in southwestern Russia. (Crimea, whose annexation by Russia from Ukraine is mostly unrecognized internationally, is shown in orange.)
The Southern Federal District was originally called the North Caucasian Federal District when it was founded on 13 May 2000, but was renamed for political reasons on 21 June 2000. On 19 January 2010, the Southern Federal District was split in two, with its former southern territories forming a new North Caucasian Federal District.[7]
An official government translation of the constitution of Russia from Russian to English uses the term "constituent entities of the Russian Federation". For example, Article 5 reads: "The Russian Federation shall consist of republics, krays, oblasts, cities of federal significance, an autonomous oblast and autonomous okrugs, which shall have equal rights as constituent entities of the Russian Federation."[12] A translation provided by Garant-Internet instead uses the term "subjects of the Russian Federation".[13]
Tom Fennell, a translator, told the 2008 American Translators Association conference that "constituent entity of the Russian Federation" is a better translation than "subject".[14] This was supported by Tamara Nekrasova, Head of Translation Department at Goltsblat BLP, saying in a 2011 presentation at a translators conference that "constituent entity of the Russian Federation is more appropriate than subject of the Russian Federation (subject would be OK for a monarchy)".[15]
^Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", №20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000 On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000.).