This federal district is situated in the south
of the European part of the Russian Federation. On January 19, 2010 President
Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree which split the district in two and formed the
new North Caucasus Federal District with a capital in Pyatigorsk. On July 28,
2016 President Vladimir Putin signed a decree which merged the Crimean Federal
District into the Southern Federal District. The district’s capital is Rostov-on-Don.