Belostok Oblast was an administrative division in the Russian Empire

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

. The region had a capital in Belostok (modern Białystok).

History

The oblast

Oblast

Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...

 was created from former Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

n Białystok Department, gained in 1807 by Russia in the Treaties of Tilsit

Treaties of Tilsit

The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by Napoleon I of France in the town of Tilsit in July, 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Napoleon I of France, when they met on a raft in the middle of the Neman...

.

The oblast was abolished in 1842 when it was included into Grodno Governorate

Grodno Governorate

The Grodno Governorate, was a governorate of the Russian Empire.-Overview:Grodno: a western province or government of Europe lying between 52 and 54 N lat 23 and E long and bounded N by Vilna E by Minsk S Volhynia and W by the former kingdom of Poland The country was a wide plain in parts very...

.

Administrative divisions

In the 19th century, some of the oblasts were administrative divisions which had a status roughly equal to that of the guberniya

Guberniya

A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...

s; i.e., they existed independently from the guberniyas, not as their parts as it used to be the case in the 18th century.

In 1808, the Oblast

Oblast

Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...

 was divided into four uyezd

Uyezd

Uyezd or uezd was an administrative subdivision of Rus', Muscovy, Russian Empire, and the early Russian SFSR which was in use from the 13th century. Uyezds for most of the history in Russia were a secondary-level of administrative division...

s (districts):

• Belostok
• Bielsk
  Bielsk County
  Bielsk County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Bielsk Podlaski, which...
  
  
• Sokółka
• Drohiczyń
  Drohiczyn
  Drohiczyn is a small historic town in Siemiatycze County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland. The town with population 2,110 is situated on a bank of the Bug River.- History :...
  
  

In 1842 the number of districts was reduced to three when Drohiczyń District was merged into Bielsk

Bielsk County

Bielsk County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Podlaskie Voivodeship, north-eastern Poland. It came into being on 1 January 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Bielsk Podlaski, which...

District.