This map describes the administrative structure of the Soviet Union. The fifteen Soviet federative socialist republic provided one division along national lines, yet this map also demonstrates how each region was further divided into territorial units. In some cases, these lines were based on ethnic divisions. As this map indicates, national identity in the Soviet Union was an administrative as well as a personal, social, and cultural matter.

To see the associated Teaching Module on Nationalities in the USSR, click here.

Central Intelligence Agency, "Soviet Union - Administrative Divisions," (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1989), University of Texas (accessed May 7, 2008).