The classification system of inhabited localities in Russia and some other

post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

has certain peculiarities compared with those in other countries.

Classes

During the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

time, each of the

republics of the Soviet Union In the Soviet Union, a Union Republic () or unofficially a Republic of the USSR was a Federated state, constituent federated political entity with a List of forms of government, system of government called a Soviet republic (system of governm ...

, including the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

, had its own legislative documents dealing with classification of inhabited localities. After the

Dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, the task of developing and maintaining such classification in Russia was delegated to the federal subjects.Articles 71 and 72 of the

Constitution of Russia The Constitution of the Russian Federation () was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993 and enacted on 25 December 1993. The latest significant reform occurred in 2020, marked by extensive amendments that altered various sections ...

do not name issues of the administrative and territorial structure among the tasks handled on the federal level or jointly with the governments of the federal subjects. As such, all federal subjects pass their own laws establishing the system of the administrative-territorial divisions on their territories. While currently there are certain peculiarities to classifications used in many federal subjects, they are all still largely based on the system used in the RSFSR. In all federal subjects, the inhabited localities are classified into two major categories: urban and rural.See, for example, th
results of the 2002 population Census
/ref> Further divisions of these categories vary slightly from one federal subject to another, but they all follow common trends described below.

Urban

Cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

s (, ''gorod''; pl. , ''goroda''). Cities and towns are classified by their level of jurisdiction (

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

/federal subject/federal). The

Russian language Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...

has no separate words for "town" and "city" ("" is used for both). *

Urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

s (, ''posyolok gorodskogo tipa''; pl. ) is a type of smaller urban locality. This type of urban locality was first introduced in the Soviet Union in 1924, with the following subcategories: **Urban-type settlement proper—mostly urban population of 3,000–12,000. *** Workers' settlement (, ''rabochy posyolok'')—mostly urban population occupied in industrial manufacture. ***Suburban (dacha) settlement (, ''dachny posyolok'')—typically, a suburban settlement with summer

dacha A dacha (Belarusian, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of former Soviet Union, post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ...

s. ***

Resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

settlement (, ''kurortny posyolok'')—mostly urban population occupied in services to holidaymakers (on the seaside or a mineral water spa, or in the mountains for walks and alpine skiing). *** Shift settlements for shift method work. In 1957, the procedures for categorizing urban-type settlements were further refined. (Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR of September 12, 1957 ''On Procedures of Categorizing the Inhabited Localities as Cities, Work and Resort Settlements)

Rural

Multiple types of rural localities exist, some common through the whole territory of Russia, some specific to certain federal subjects. The most common types include: * Derevnyas (, ''derevnya''; pl. , ''derevni''), hamlets * Selos (, ''selo''; pl. , ''syola''), villages (historically, ones with an Orthodox church). *

Stanitsa A stanitsa or stanitza ( ; ), also spelled stanycia ( ) or stanica ( ), was a historical administrative unit of a Cossack host, a type of Cossack polity that existed in the Russian Empire. Etymology The Russian word is the diminutive of the word ...

s (, ''stanitsa''; pl. , ''stanitsy''), villages (historically,

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

rural settlements) *

Khutor A khutor ( ; rus, хутор, p=ˈxutər) or khutir (, ) is a type of rural locality in some countries of Eastern Europe; in the past the term mostly referred to a single- homestead settlement.Sloboda A sloboda was a type of settlement in the history of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. The name is derived from the early Slavic word for 'freedom' and may be loosely translated as 'free settlement'.

s (, ''sloboda''; pl. , ''slobody''), villages (historically, settlements freed from taxes and levies) *(Rural-type) settlements (, ''posyolok (selskogo tipa)''; pl. ). The "rural-type" () designation is added to the settlements the population of which is mostly occupied in agriculture, while ''posyolok'' () proper indicates a mix of population working in agriculture and industry.

Historical

*Krepost (, a

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

), a fortified settlement **A

kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...

(, citadel), a major ''krepost'', usually including a castle and surrounded by a posad **An ostrog, a more primitive kind of ''krepost'' which could be put up quickly within rough walls of debarked pointed timber * Posad (), a medieval suburban settlement *Mestechko (, from ), a small town in the Western Krai annexed during the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

; typically a mestechko would have a

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish majority and such towns are referred to in English by the

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

term

shtetl or ( ; , ; Grammatical number#Overview, pl. ''shtetelekh'') is a Yiddish term for small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish populations which Eastern European Jewry, existed in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. The t ...

* Pogost * Seltso, a type of rural locality in the Russian Empire and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth *Pochinok (, ''pochinok''; pl. , ''pochinki''), a newly formed rural locality of one or several families. Pochinoks were established as new settlements and usually grow into larger villages as they developed.

References

External links