History of the administrative division of Russia

The modern way Russia is divided into regions and areas has changed a lot over many centuries. It started with small kingdoms and grew as Russia expanded. Over time, leaders made new rules to organize the land better.

These changes happened because of new leaders, wars, and the country growing bigger. Each new way of dividing the land helped control and manage such a large country.

Today, Russia's regions are organized in a way that shows this long history of growth and change. Understanding this history helps us see how Russia became the big country it is today.

Early history

The Kievan Rus' began as a single realm under Yaroslav the Wise, but later split into separate regions like Galicia–Volhynia, the Novgorod Republic, and Vladimir-Suzdal.

After the Mongols arrived and created the Golden Horde in 1240, many parts of Kievan Rus' came under new rulers. Some areas joined the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, while others fell under the Crown of Poland. The Novgorod Republic was taken over by the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Over time, Moscow grew stronger, absorbing smaller duchies and becoming a major power. By the 15th century, Moscow was seen as the successor to the old Grand Duchy of Vladimir and had united many nearby regions.

In the early 1600s, Moscow expanded further, adding areas like the Pskov Republic and parts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Later, Russia continued to grow, reaching into Siberia and beyond, securing vast new lands.

Imperial Russia

Further information: List of governorates of the Russian Empire, Krais of the Russian Empire, Oblasts of the Russian Empire, List of uezds of the Russian Empire, and Okrugs of the Russian Empire

Administrative reforms by Peter the Great

Long ago, before Russia became an empire, Tsar Peter the Great made big changes to help manage the huge country. In 1708, he divided Russia into eight big areas called governorates. These replaced older smaller areas. Each governorate was run by a governor and had many cities and lands around them.

Later, in 1719, Peter changed things again. He split the big governorates into smaller parts called provinces, which were then split into even smaller areas called districts. This made it easier to manage everything.

Subsequent reforms

After Peter the Great died, more changes happened. In 1727, a new ruler, Catherine I, changed things back a bit. She brought back the old way of dividing the land into areas called uyezds. Soon after, territories were moved around between these areas.

Administrative reforms by Catherine the Great

By 1775, the way Russia was divided still wasn’t working well. This became clear during a big uprising led by Pugachev. Catherine the Great made new rules to fix this. She created a new job called viceroy to help manage the lands Russia had recently gained. These areas were later called general governments and had some special rules.

Reforms in the 19th century

After serfdom ended in 1861, new local groups called volosts were formed to help local people make decisions. But there were still rules set by officials to watch over them.

Reforms in the 20th century

By the 1910s, Russia had 104 main governorate units.

Soviet Russia

Main article: Subdivisions of the Soviet Union

Until 1989, the Russian SFSR had many different areas, including 16 autonomous republics, 5 autonomous oblasts, 10 autonomous okrugs, 6 krais, and 49 oblasts.

In the 1920s, the Soviet Union changed how they organized places by ending older units called uyezds and volosts. Today, raions are like the old uyezds, and selsoviets are similar to the old volosts.

Russian Federation

Main article: Subdivisions of Russia

In May 2000, a new way to organize parts of Russia was started by Vladimir Putin. This was part of a plan to strengthen control over the country. At first, Russia was divided into seven big areas, called federal districts. Later, in 2010, one of these areas was split, making the total number eight. In 2014, after Russia took over Crimea, a new area was made, but it was later joined back with another area. During the conflict in Ukraine, some areas of southern Ukraine were also taken over by Russia in 2022, but these are still considered part of Ukraine by most of the world.