Southern Federal District

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Southern Federal District (Russian: Ю́жный федера́льный о́круг; tr.: Yuzhny federalny okrug) is one of the seven federal districts of Russia. It is located in the extreme southwest, between Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Its northern portions are part of the Pontic-Caspian steppe, while the southern parts include the Forecaucasus and the Northern Caucasus. Its population was 22,907,141 in the 2002 census, living on an area of 589,200 km² (38.9/km²). The largest cities of the district are Rostov-on-Don and Volgograd with just above one million inhabitants each.

The current Envoy is Vladimir Ustinov, former Justice Minister of Russia.

Historically, the region was part of Scythia, comprising Scythia Sindica and the Maeotian marshes. Major rivers are the Don, the lower Volga, and the Kuban. It was also inhabited by the Khazars, and the city of Astrakhan was likely named for a Khazar general, Ras Tarkhan.