A krai or kray (; russian:
край, , ''kraya'') is one of the types of
federal subjects of
modern Russia, and was a type of geographical
administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
in the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
and the
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
.
Etymologically, the word is related to the verb "" (''kroit
'''), "to cut". Historically, krais were vast territories located along the periphery of the Russian state, since the word ''krai'' also means ''border'' or ''edge'', i.e., ''a place of the cut-off''. In
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
the term is often translated as "territory". , the administrative usage of the term is mostly traditional, as some
oblast
An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdo ...
s also fit this description and there is no difference in constitutional legal status in Russia between the krais and the oblasts.
[
]
See also
*
Krais of the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire at various times included the subdivisions known as ''krais'', either formally or informally. Some of these krais were:
* Caucasus Krai
*Turkestan Krai
*Privislinsky Krai
* Uriankhaisky Krai
*Western Krai
**Northwestern Krai
* ...
*
Krais of Russia
A krai ( rus, край, r=kray, p=kraj, t=edge) is a type of federal subject of the Russian Federation. The country is divided into 89 federal subjects, of which nine are krais. Oblasts, another type of federal subject, are legally identic ...
*
Governorate-General (Russian Empire)
Governorates-General (russian: генерал-губернаторство; ''general-gubernatorstvo'') were a type of administrative-territorial division in the Russian Empire from 1775–1917. Governorates-General usually comprised a set of ...
, a general term for Krais, Oblasts, and special city municipalities in the Russian Empire
*
Oblast
An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdo ...
;Foreign terms (in relation to the Russian "Krai") with similar designation
*
Kraj
A kraj ( ''kraje'') is the highest-level administrative unit in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. For lack of other English expressions, the Slavic term is often translated as "province", "region", or "territory", although it approxi ...
, an equivalent term used in the Czech Republic and Slovakia
*
Krajina
*
Marches (Mark, in German) compare to Denmark (literally ''the borderland of
Danes
Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural.
Danes generally regard t ...
'').
*
Name of Ukraine
The name ''Ukraine'' ( uk, Україна, translit=Ukraina , ) was first used in reference to a part of the territory of Kyivan Rus' in the 12th century. The name has been used in a variety of ways since the 12th century, referring to numer ...
References
{{Use mdy dates, date=March 2016
Types of administrative division
Political divisions of Russia
Russian-language designations of territorial entities