The article studies the problems of the autonomy of the national regions of the south of Russia, examines various regional projects and, based on the actual material, identifies the features of solving this issue, as well as the interaction of central and local authorities. Special attention is paid to the role of the intelligentsia in the formation of national statehood. The aim of the work is to consider various approaches, primarily of the intelligentsia, to autonomy through comparative analysis in the national regions of the southern Russian region. While writing the paper the authors carried out historio-graphical and source analysis on the stated problem, and used various documents of legislative and executive authorities. The methodological basis was a comprehensive approach to the study of the problems of autonomy in the national regions of southern Russia. In particular, the historical-narrative method was used to reconstruct the historical past. To identify various projects on self-determination, the comparative-historical method and the method of retrospective analysis were used. The study made it possible to conclude that the problem of self-determination of peoples was closely related to the formation of the new state, and, accordingly, it was needed to preserve the integrity of the country. In national regions, the intelligentsia offered various options in its solution. But the comparative analysis demonstrates that national territories remained part of Russia and became part of the new Soviet state. The Southern Russian intelligentsia, which played a leading role in the process of autonomy, eventually became the regional political elite.
