administrative division of the Russian Empire
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The modern administrative-territorial structure of Russia is a system of territorial organization which is a product of a centuries-long evolution and reforms.


Early history

The Kievan Rus' as it formed in the 10th century remained a more or less unified realm under the rule of Yaroslav the Wise (d. 1054), but in the later part of the 11th century, it disintegrated into a number of ''de facto'' independent and rivaling principalities, the most important of which were Grand Duchy of Galicia and Volhynia, Novgorod Republic, and Grand Duchy of Vladimir and Suzdal. With the advance of Mongols and establishing of Golden Horde in 1240, many parts of Kievan Rus came under a direct administration of Sarai, while others became its dependencies. The three previously mentioned main centers were established as successors of the Kievan Rus. Most of
Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia , conventional_long_name = Principality of Galicia–VolhyniaKingdom of Galicia–Volhynia , common_name = Galicia–Volhynia , status = Vassal state of the Golden Horde (from 1246) , era = Middle Ages , year_start = 1199 , year_end = 1349 , ...
however became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later gradually and completely coming under the direct administration of the Crown of Poland. Novgorod Republic was overran by the time well-established
Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...
. The grand duchies of Lithuania and Moscow practically divided the former territories of Kievan Rus between each other, both struggling to gain the seat of
Metropolitan of Kiev Metropolitan of Kyiv is an episcopal title that has been created with varying suffixes at multiple times in different Christian churches, though always maintaining the name of the metropolitan city — Kiev. The title takes its name from the city ...
. From the 13th century, the Russian principalities used an administrative subdivision into uyezds, with each such uyezd being subdivided into several volosts, some areas used division of pyatina. Voivodes were the officials appointed to administer and defend the uyezds. By the 15th century, the Grand Duchy of Moscow was recognized as a direct successor of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. It gradually incorporated all left out adjacent smaller duchies such as the Principality of Yaroslavl,
Principality of Rostov Vladimir-Suzdal (russian: Владимирско-Су́здальская, ''Vladimirsko-Suzdal'skaya''), also Vladimir-Suzdalian Rus', formally known as the Grand Duchy of Vladimir (1157–1331) (russian: Владимиро-Су́здальс ...
and successfully conquered the
Principality of Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal The Grand Duchy of Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal was an East Slavic principality formed in 1341. Its main towns were Nizhny Novgorod, Suzdal, Gorokhovets, Gorodets, and Kurmysh.''Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ...
, the Principality of Tver as well as the Novgorod Republic. Near the end of the 15th century the Golden Horde fell apart into several smaller khanates and Muscovy for the first time became a sovereign state. At the start of the 16th century, the Grand Duchy of Moscow managed to annex the Pskov Republic and conquer the
Grand Duchy of Ryazan The Grand Duchy of Ryazan (1078–1521) was a duchy with the capital in Old Ryazan (destroyed by the Mongol Empire in 1237), and then in Pereyaslavl Ryazansky, which later became the modern-day city of Ryazan. It originally split off from the Ch ...
as well as secure number of territories that belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania such as the Upper Oka Principalities and Sloboda Ukraine, thus extending its territory far south. In 1708, the Oka principalities and Sloboda Ukraine were incorporated into the first Kiev Governorate. During the second half of the 16th century, the Grand Duchy of Moscow managed to conquer number of West-Siberian and Volga duchies and khanates such as Kazan Khanate, Siberia Khanate, Astrakhan Khanate, Great Nogai Horde and many others. Some of the territorial acquisitions, however, were lost during the Time of Troubles. Soon after the Time of Troubles (
Treaty of Polyanovka The Treaty of Polyanovka ( pl, Polanów, also known as the ''Peace of Polyanovka / Polanów'') was a peace treaty signed on 14 June 1634 between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia in the village of Semlevo located near ...
), the Grand Duchy of Moscow was able to recover the Duchy of Smolensk (
Smolensk Voivodeship Smolensk Voivodeship ( la, Palatinatus smolencensis, be, Смале́нскае ваяво́дзтва, pl, Województwo smoleńskie, lt, Smolensko vaivadija) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Li ...
) and later annex territory of Left-bank Ukraine ( Truce of Andrusovo). Prior to the 18th century, the Tsardom of Russia was divided into a system of territorial units called ''
razryad 300px, Map of the Belgorod razriad in the 17th century A razriad, or razryad ( rus, разря́д) was a type of military administrative subdivision of the Tsardom of Russia from the 16th to the 17th centuries. Service class people living w ...
s'' (literally ''order of units'') as part of military reform of 1680. *
Moscow Razryad Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million re ...
* Sevsk Razryad *
Vladimir Razryad Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...
*
Novgorod Razryad Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the o ...
*
Kazan Razryad Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering ...
*
Smolensk Razryad Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...
*
Ryazan Razryad Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census ...
*
Belgorod Razryad Belgorod ( rus, Белгород, p=ˈbʲeɫɡərət) is a city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River north of the border with Ukraine. Population: Demographics The population of Be ...
, chartered in 1658 out of the Kiev Voivodeship *
Tambov Razryad Tambov (, ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers, about south-southeast of Moscow. Population: 280,161 ( 2010 Census); 293 ...
*
Tula Razryad Tula may refer to: Geography Antarctica * Tula Mountains * Tula Point India *Tulā, a solar month in the traditional Indian calendar Iran * Tula, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province Italy * Tula, Sardinia, municipality (''comune'') in the ...
*
Tobol Razryad The Tobol (russian: Тобол, kk, Тобыл ''Tobyl'') is a river in Western Siberia (in Kazakhstan and Russia) and the main (left) tributary of the Irtysh. Its length is , and the area of its drainage basin is . History The Tobol River was ...
, chartered no later than 1587 (first known Voivodeship) *
Tom Razryad Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...
*
Yenisei Razryad The Yenisey (russian: Енисе́й, ''Yeniséy''; mn, Горлог мөрөн, ''Gorlog mörön''; Buryat: Горлог мүрэн, ''Gorlog müren''; Tuvan: Улуг-Хем, ''Uluğ-Hem''; Khakas: Ким суғ, ''Kim suğ''; Ket: Ӄук ...
During the 1680s, the Tsardom of Russia acquired a substantial expansion in Transbaikal after signing the Treaty of Nerchinsk with China ( Qing dynasty). By this time (at the end of the 17th century), an extensive territory from Yenisei to the
Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...
was secured through colonization. The discovery of the Bering Strait in 1728 confirmed the eastern borders of modern Russia. The eastward advance through Siberia extended the
Tobol Razryad The Tobol (russian: Тобол, kk, Тобыл ''Tobyl'') is a river in Western Siberia (in Kazakhstan and Russia) and the main (left) tributary of the Irtysh. Its length is , and the area of its drainage basin is . History The Tobol River was ...
transforming it into overstretched territory that was initially in 1708 included into Siberia Governorate.


Imperial Russia


Administrative reforms by Peter the Great

Technically, the territorial-administrative reform started out in the Tsardom of Russia before the Imperial period. On , 1708, in order to improve the manageability of the vast territory of the state,
Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
issued an ukase (edict) dividing Russia into eight administrative divisions, called
governorate A governorate is an administrative division of a state. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either State (administrative division), states or province, provinces, the term ''govern ...
s ('' guberniyas''), which replaced the 166 uyezds and razryads which existed before the reform:Tarkhov, p. 65 *
Archangelgorod Governorate Archangelgorod Governorate (russian: Архангелогородская губерния, ''Arkhangelogorodskaya guberniya''), or the Government of Archangelgorod, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia and ...
* Azov Governorate *
Ingermanland Governorate Saint Petersburg Governorate (russian: Санкт-Петербу́ргская губе́рния, ''Sankt-Peterburgskaya guberniya''), or Government of Saint Petersburg, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia ...
* Kazan Governorate * Kiev Governorate *
Moscow Governorate Moscow Governorate (russian: Московская губерния; pre-reform Russian: ), or the Government of Moscow, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR, which ...
* Siberia Governorate * Smolensk Governorate The reform of 1708 established neither the borders of the governorates nor their internal divisions. The governorates were defined as the sets of cities and the lands adjacent to those cities. Some older subdivision types also continued to be used. Between 1710 and 1713, all governorates were subdivided into lots (russian: доли), each governed by a ''landrat'' (). Every governorate was administered by an appointed governor, who also headed a board of ''landrats''. The lots' primary purpose was fiscal, and each one was supposed to cover 5,536 homesteads.Pushkarev, p. 13 In 1719, Peter enacted another administrative reform to fix the deficiencies of the original system, as the governorates were too big and unmanageable. This reform abolished the system of lots, dividing most of the governorates into provinces (), which were further divided into districts (russian: дистрикты). During this time, territories were frequently reshuffled between the governorates, and new governorates were added to accommodate population growth and territorial expansion. in 1721 the Russian Empire possessed a multinational population of about 17.5 million population in all administrative districts. Out of the 13.5 million Russians, 5.5 million men were liable to the poll tax; 3 percent of them were townsmen and 97 percent peasants. Of the peasants, 25 percent cultivated church lands, 19 percent state lands, and the remainder worked the estates of some 100,000 families of secular landowners. Russia’s territory of about 4,633,200 square miles (12,000,000 square km) included some recent and valuable acquisitions.


Subsequent reforms

In 1727, soon after Peter the Great's death, Catherine I enacted another reform, which rolled back many of the previous reform's developments. The system of districts was abolished, and the old system of ''uyezds'' was restored. A total of 166 uyezds was re-established; together with the newly created uyezds, the Russian Empire had approximately 250. The reform also reshuffled some territories.
Narva Province Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru county, at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia international border. With 54 ...
was transferred from Saint Petersburg Governorate to
Revel Governorate The Governorate of Estonia, also known as the Governorate of Esthonia (Pre-reformed rus, Эстля́ндская губе́рнія, r=Estlyandskaya guberniya); et, Eestimaa kubermang was a governorate in the Baltic region, along with the ...
; Solikamsk and Vyatka Provinces were transferred from Siberia Governorate to Kazan Governorate; and Uglich and Yaroslavl Provinces were transferred from Saint Petersburg Governorate to
Moscow Governorate Moscow Governorate (russian: Московская губерния; pre-reform Russian: ), or the Government of Moscow, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR, which ...
. In addition, Belgorod,
Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, p=ɐˈrʲɵl, lit. ''eagle''), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast situated on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow. It is part of the Central Fed ...
, and
Sevsk Province Sevsk (russian: Севск) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Sevsk, Bryansk Oblast, a town in Sevsky District of Bryansk Oblast; ;Rural localities * Sevsk, Kemerovo Oblast, a settlement in Burlakovskaya R ...
s of Kiev Governorate were reconstituted as
Belgorod Governorate Belgorod ( rus, Белгород, p=ˈbʲeɫɡərət) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River north of the Russia–Ukraine border, bor ...
; and Belozersk,
Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...
,
Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...
, Tver, and Velikiye Luki Provinces of Saint Petersburg Governorate were reconstituted as Novgorod Governorate. The following years saw few changes. In 1728,
Ufa Province Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya and Ufa rivers, in the centre-north of Bashkortostan, on hills forming the ...
was transferred from Kazan Governorate to Siberia Governorate, and in 1737,
Simbirsk Province Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population: The city, founded as Simbirsk (), was the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin (born ...
was created within Kazan Governorate.


Administrative reforms by Catherine the Great

By 1775, the existing system of administrative divisions proved inefficient, which was further underlined by Pugachev's Rebellion, and
Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
issued a document known as ''Decree on the Governorates'' (russian: Учреждение о губерниях). The second part of the same decree was issued in 1780, which, however, contained very few significant changes with respect to the first part. A major administrative territorial restructuring of the Russian Empire after vast land acquisition from the Ottoman Empire and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the late 18th century. The reform saw introduction of the office of viceroy (gosudarev namestnik) which later were transformed into a general governor. Gosudarev namestnik literally means an imperial representative to the land. During the reform several already existing governments ( guberniya) were combined under the office of the Russian viceroy and were called namestnichestvo. Those namestnichestvo were introduced onto the expanded territory as well, the only exclusion were the governments of Moscow and Saint Petersburg. In 1796 all namestnichetvo were officially renamed into general governments. General governments exercised a small degree of autonomy as certain laws varied from general government to another.Tarkhov, S.A.
Changes to the administrative-territorial division of Russia in the past 300 years
'. "Pervoye sentyabrya". 2001.


Reforms in the 19th century

After the abolition of Russian serfdom in 1861, volosts became a unit of peasant's local self-rule. A number of
mirs Hot Mobile ( he, הוט מובייל, formerly known as Mirs Communications Ltd. until May 2012), is a wireless telecommunications company based in Israel and a subsidiary of Hot Telecommunication Systems Ltd. (HOT). Hot Mobile provides nationwid ...
were united into a typical volost, which had an assembly consisting of elected delegates from the mirs. The self-government of the mirs and volosts was tempered by the authority of the police commissaries (''stanovoy'') and by the power of general oversight given to the nominated "district committees for the affairs of the peasants".


Reforms in the 20th century

By the 1910s, 104 administrative governorate units existed.


Soviet Russia

The Russian SFSR comprised 16 autonomous republics, 5 autonomous oblasts, 10 autonomous okrugs, 6 krais, and 40 oblasts. Uyezds and volosts were abolished by the Soviet administrative reform of 1923–1929. Raions may be roughly called a modern equivalent of the uyezds, and
selsoviet Selsoviet ( be, сельсавет, r=sieĺsaviet, tr. ''sieĺsaviet''; rus, сельсовет, p=ˈsʲelʲsɐˈvʲɛt, r=selsovet; uk, сільрада, silrada) is a shortened name for a rural council and for the area governed by such a cou ...
s may be considered a modern equivalent of the volosts.


Russian Federation

The subdivision type of Federal District was created in May 2000 by Vladimir Putin as a part of a wider program designed to reassert federal authority. The original division was into seven federal districts, but in 2010 the North Caucasian Federal District was split off from the Southern Federal District, bringing the number to eight. In 2014, the annexation of Crimea resulted in the creation of a new
Crimean Federal District The Crimean Federal District (russian: Кры́мский федера́льный о́круг) was a federal district of Russia. It was established on March 21, 2014 after the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. The federal dist ...
, bringing the number to nine, but it was later merged into the Southern Federal District. Amidst the
invasion of Ukraine The territory of present-day Ukraine has been Invasion, invaded or Military occupation, occupied a number of times throughout History of Ukraine, its history. List See also *List of invasions *List of wars involving Ukraine References

...
, four southern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia would later be
annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
into Russia in 2022 but were not integrated into the Southern Federal District. All of the six regions that are under Russian occupation are internationally recognized as part of Ukraine.


References


Notes


Sources

*Сергей Тархов.
Изменение административно-территориального деления России в XIII-XX вв.
. "Логос", 2005, No.1. (Sergey Tarkhov. ''Changes of the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Russia in the 13th–20th centuries''). *Sergei G. Pushkarev. ''Dictionary of Russian Historical Terms from the Eleventh Century to 1917''. New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1970.


External links

*{{Commons category-inline, Maps of governorates of the Russian Empire 18th century in the Russian Empire