Okrug
Encyclopedia
Okrug is an administrative division
of some Slavic
states. The word "okrug" is a loanword
in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area
", "district
", or "region
".
In meaning, the word is similar to the German
term Bezirk
("district
") and the French word Arrondissement
; all of which refer to something "encircled" or "surrounded".
, okrugs are the abolished primary unit of the administrative division and implied "districts" or "counties". They existed in the post-War Bulgaria between 1946 and 1987 and corresponded approximately to today's oblast
s.
s and selected governorates
in Imperial Russia
. Until 1920s, okrugs were administrative districts in Cossack host
s such as the Don's Cossacks.
s, krai
s, and others. For sometime in 1920s they also served as the primary unit upon the abolishment of guberniya
s and were divided into raion
s. On July 30, 1930 most of the okrugs were abolished. The remaining okrugs were phased away in the Russian SFSR during 1930–1946, although they were retained in Zakarpattia Oblast
of the Ukrainian SSR
in status equivalent to that of a raion.
National okrugs were first created in the Mountain ASSR of the Russian SFSR in 1921 as units of the Soviet autonomy and additional national okrugs were created in the Russian SFSR for the peoples of the north and Caucasus region. In 1977, all national okrugs were renamed autonomous okrugs.
, the term "okrug" is either translated as "district" or rendered directly as "okrug", and is used to describe the following types of divisions:
After the series of mergers in 2005–2008, several autonomous okrugs of Russia lost their federal subject status and are now considered to be administrative territories within the federal subjects they had been merged into:
"Okrug" is also used to describe the administrative divisions of the two "federal cities
" in Russia:
Furthermore, the designation "okrug" denotes several selsoviet
-level administrative divisions:
In some cities, the term "okrug" is used to refer to the administrative divisions of those cities. "Administrative okrugs" are such divisions in the cities of Murmansk
, Omsk
, and Tyumen
; "city okrugs" are used in Krasnodar
; "municipal okrugs" are the divisions of Nazran
; "okrugs" exist in Belgorod
, Kaluga
, Kursk
, and Novorossiysk
; and "territorial okrugs" are the divisions of Arkhangelsk
and Lipetsk
.
The term "okrug" is also used to describe a type of a municipal formation, the "municipal urban okrug"—a municipal urban settlement not incorporated into a municipal district.
is divided into twenty-nine okrugs as well as the City of Belgrade
. The term okrug in Serbia is often translated as either "district" or "county".
Administrative division
An administrative division, subnational entity, or country subdivision is a portion of a country or other political division, established for the purpose of government. Administrative divisions are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and are required to manage themselves through their own...
of some Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
states. The word "okrug" is a loanword
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area
Area
Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...
", "district
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
", or "region
Region
Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...
".
In meaning, the word is similar to the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
term Bezirk
Bezirk
Bezirk means "district" in German and can refer to:* The primary Subdivisions of East Germany from 1952* The districts of Austria* Some of the Districts of Switzerland...
("district
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
") and the French word Arrondissement
Arrondissement
Arrondissement is any of various administrative divisions of France, certain other Francophone countries, and the Netherlands.-France:The 101 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. The capital of an arrondissement is called a...
; all of which refer to something "encircled" or "surrounded".
Bulgaria
In BulgariaBulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, okrugs are the abolished primary unit of the administrative division and implied "districts" or "counties". They existed in the post-War Bulgaria between 1946 and 1987 and corresponded approximately to today's 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"...
s.
Imperial Russia
Okrugs were one of the several types of administrative division for oblastOblast
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"...
s and selected governorates
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 ,...
in Imperial Russia
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...
. Until 1920s, okrugs were administrative districts in Cossack host
Cossack host
A Cossack host or Cossack viysko was an administrative subdivision of Cossacks in Imperial Russia...
s such as the Don's Cossacks.
Soviet Union
Inherited from the Imperial Russia, in the 1920s, okrugs were administrative divisions of several other primary divisions such as oblastOblast
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"...
s, krai
Krai
Krai or kray was a type of an administrative division in the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR, and is one of the types of the federal subjects of modern Russia ....
s, and others. For sometime in 1920s they also served as the primary unit upon the abolishment of 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 and were divided into raion
Raion
A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
s. On July 30, 1930 most of the okrugs were abolished. The remaining okrugs were phased away in the Russian SFSR during 1930–1946, although they were retained in Zakarpattia Oblast
Zakarpattia Oblast
The Zakarpattia Oblast is an administrative oblast located in southwestern Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Uzhhorod...
of the Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
in status equivalent to that of a raion.
National okrugs were first created in the Mountain ASSR of the Russian SFSR in 1921 as units of the Soviet autonomy and additional national okrugs were created in the Russian SFSR for the peoples of the north and Caucasus region. In 1977, all national okrugs were renamed autonomous okrugs.
Russian Federation
In the present-day Russian FederationRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, the term "okrug" is either translated as "district" or rendered directly as "okrug", and is used to describe the following types of divisions:
- Federal DistrictsFederal districts of RussiaThe federal districts are a level of administration for the convenience of the federal government of the Russian Federation. They are not the constituent units of Russia . Each district includes several federal subjects and each federal district has a presidential envoy...
(federalny okrug), such as the Siberian Federal DistrictSiberian Federal DistrictSiberian Federal District is one of the eight federal districts of Russia. Its population was 19,254,300 according to the 2010 Census, living on an area of...
; - Autonomous okrugsAutonomous okrugs of RussiaAutonomous okrug is a type of federal subject of Russia and simultaneously a type of administrative division of some federal subjects. As of 2008, the Russian Federation is divided into 83 federal subjects, of which four are avtonomnyye okruga Autonomous okrug (district, area, region) is a...
(avtonomny okrug), such as Chukotka Autonomous OkrugChukotka Autonomous OkrugChukotka Autonomous Okrug , or Chukotka , is a federal subject of Russia located in the Russian Far East.Chukotka has a population of 53,824 according to the 2002 Census, and a surface area of . The principal town and the administrative center is Anadyr...
.
After the series of mergers in 2005–2008, several autonomous okrugs of Russia lost their federal subject status and are now considered to be administrative territories within the federal subjects they had been merged into:
- Agin-Buryat Okrug, a territory with special status within Zabaykalsky Krai;
- Komi-Permyak OkrugKomi-Permyak OkrugKomi-Permyak Okrug , or Permyakia is a territory with special status within Perm Krai, Russia. Population: It was a federal subject of Russia until December 1, 2005. It was called Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug at that time.-History:Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug was established on February...
, a territory with special status within Perm KraiPerm KraiPerm Krai is a federal subject of Russia that came into existence on December 1, 2005 as a result of the 2004 referendum on the merger of Perm Oblast and Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug. The city of Perm became the administrative center of the new federal subject...
; - Koryak Okrug, a territory with special status within Kamchatka Krai;
- Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug, a territory with special status within Irkutsk OblastIrkutsk OblastIrkutsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of Angara River, Lena, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers. The administrative center is the city of Irkutsk. Population: -History:...
.
"Okrug" is also used to describe the administrative divisions of the two "federal cities
Federal cities of Russia
The Russian Federation is divided into 83 federal subjects, two of which are federal cities....
" in Russia:
- the administrative okrugsAdministrative divisions of MoscowThe federal city of Moscow, Russia is divided into ten administrative okrugs, which are in turn subdivided into districts . The city does not have a downtown area; the urban core is scattered across the city. Prominent business areas include Tverskoy, Arbat, and Presnensky Districts to the east...
of MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
are an upper-level administrative division. - the municipal okrugsAdministrative divisions of Saint PetersburgThe federal city of Saint Petersburg, Russia, is divided into eighteen city districts , which are in turn subdivided into municipal okrugs, municipal towns, and municipal settlements.-Admiralteysky District:...
of St. PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
are a lower-level administrative division.
Furthermore, the designation "okrug" denotes several selsoviet
Selsoviet
Selsoviet is a shortened name for a rural council. The full names for the term are, in , , . Selsoviets were the lowest level of administrative division in rural areas in the Soviet Union...
-level administrative divisions:
- okrugs, such as okrugs of Samara OblastAdministrative divisions of Samara Oblast*Cities and towns under the oblast's jurisdiction:**Samara ***city districts:****Kirovsky ****Krasnoglinsky ****Kuybyshevsky ****Leninsky ****Oktyabrsky...
. - rural okrugs (selsky okrug), such as the rural okrugs of Belgorod OblastAdministrative divisions of Belgorod Oblast*Cities and towns under the oblast's jurisdiction:**Belgorod ***city okrugs:****Vostochny ****Zapadny **Alexeyevka **Gubkin **Shebekino...
. - rural territorial okrugs (selsky territorialny okrug), such as the rural territorial okrugs of Murmansk OblastAdministrative divisions of Murmansk OblastMurmansk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia, which is located in the northwestern part of the country, occupying mostly the Kola Peninsula. The oblast itself was established on May 28, 1938, but some kind of administrative organization of the territory existed here since at least the 13th...
. - stanitsa okrugs (stanichny okrug), such as the stanitsa okrugs of Krasnodar KraiAdministrative divisions of Krasnodar Krai- Cities and towns under the krai's jurisdiction :*Krasnodar **city okrugs:***Karasunsky ****with 2 rural okrugs under the city okrug's jurisdiction.***Prikubansky...
.
In some cities, the term "okrug" is used to refer to the administrative divisions of those cities. "Administrative okrugs" are such divisions in the cities of Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
, Omsk
Omsk
-History:The wooden fort of Omsk was erected in 1716 to protect the expanding Russian frontier along the Ishim and the Irtysh rivers against the Kyrgyz nomads of the Steppes...
, and Tyumen
Tyumen
Tyumen is the largest city and the administrative center of Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located on the Tura River east of Moscow. Population: Tyumen is the oldest Russian settlement in Siberia. Founded in 16th century to support Russia's eastward expansion, the city has remained one of the most...
; "city okrugs" are used in Krasnodar
Krasnodar
Krasnodar is a city in Southern Russia, located on the Kuban River about northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai . Population: -Name:...
; "municipal okrugs" are the divisions of Nazran
Nazran
Nazran is a town in the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia. It served as the republic's capital in 1991–2000, until the town of Magas was specially built as the new capital. Nazran is the largest city of the republic: -General:...
; "okrugs" exist in Belgorod
Belgorod
-Twin towns/sister cities:Belgorod is twinned with: Wakefield, England, United Kingdom Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia Opole, Poland Vyshhorod, Ukraine Kharkiv, Ukraine-External links:...
, Kaluga
Kaluga
Kaluga is a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population: It is served by Grabtsevo Airport.-History:...
, Kursk
Kursk
Kursk is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym Rivers. The area around Kursk was site of a turning point in the Russian-German struggle during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in history...
, and Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is the country's main port on the Black Sea and the leading Russian port for importing grain. It is one of the few cities honored with the title of the Hero City. Population: -History:...
; and "territorial okrugs" are the divisions of Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk , formerly known as Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river...
and Lipetsk
Lipetsk
Lipetsk is a city and the administrative center of Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, located on the banks of the Voronezh River in the Don basin, southeast of Moscow.-History:...
.
The term "okrug" is also used to describe a type of a municipal formation, the "municipal urban okrug"—a municipal urban settlement not incorporated into a municipal district.
Serbia
The Republic of SerbiaSerbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
is divided into twenty-nine okrugs as well as the City of Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. The term okrug in Serbia is often translated as either "district" or "county".
External links
- Okruha in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine