A krai or kray (; , , ''kraya'') is one of the types of federal subjects of modern Russia, and was a type of geographical

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and 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 ...

. 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 the term is often translated as "territory". , the administrative usage of the term is mostly traditional, as some

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

s also fit this description and there is no difference in constitutional legal status in Russia between the krais and the oblasts.

References

{{Use mdy dates, date=March 2016 Types of administrative division Political divisions of Russia Russian-language designations of territorial entities

See also

References