A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several

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 ...

. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a

city 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 ...

. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is commonly translated as ' district' in English. A raion is a standardized administrative entity across most of the former

Soviet Union 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 ...

and is usually a subdivision two steps below the national level, such as a subdivision of an

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 ...

. However, in smaller USSR republics, it could be the primary level of administrative division. After the

fall 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 Nationalities, Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. :s: ...

, some of the republics kept the ''raion'' (e.g.

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, Moldova,

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

) while others dropped it (e.g. Georgia, Uzbekistan,

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

, Turkmenistan). In

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, it refers to an internal administrative subdivision of a city not related to the administrative division of the country as a whole, or, in the case of Sofia municipality a subdivision of that municipality.

Etymology

The word ''raion'' is derived from French ''rayon'', which is itself derived from Frankish *''hrātu'' 'honeycomb'. It is used in many languages spanning

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

and Siberia. For instance, ; ; ; ka, რაიონი, tr; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and .

List of countries with raion subdivisions

Fourteen countries have or had entities that were named "raion" or the local version of it. } ''raioni'' , inherited from the Georgian SSR; 2006 as first-level entities reorganized into municipalities. A ''raioni'' remains a territorial subdivision of Georgia's capital, Tbilisi. , List of municipalities in Georgia (country) , - ,

, , (existing) , , inherited from the Kazakh SSR , Districts of Kazakhstan , - ,

, , 2009-07-01 , rajons; pl. rajoni , inherited from the Latvian SSR , Districts of Latvia , - ,

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, , 1994 , , inherited from the Lithuanian SSR. In 1994 transformed into district municipalities () , Municipalities of Lithuania , - , Moldova , , (existing) , Romanian: raion , introduced in administrative reform in 2003 , Districts of Moldova , - ,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, , 1968-02-16 , , one of the Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of Romania , Districts of the People's Republic of Romania , - , Russian Federation , , (existing) , , inherited from the Russian SFSR , Districts of Russia , - , South Ossetia-Alania (partially recognised state) , , (existing) , , inherited from the South Ossetian AO , , Districts of South Ossetia , - ,

, , 1991-12-26 (end of entity) , , At various levels below the constituent republics. , , - ,

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

(breakaway territory; de jure part of Moldova) , , (existing) , , inherited from the Moldavian SSR , Raions of Transnistria , - ,

, , (existing) , , 490 raions were inherited from the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

, which were replaced by 136 new raions in 2020. Major Ukrainian cities are also subdivided into raions, constituting a total of 118 nationwide. ,

Raions of Ukraine A raion (; ), often translated as district, is the second-level Administrative divisions of Ukraine, administrative division in Ukraine. Raions were created in a 1922 administrative reform of the Soviet Union, to which Ukraine, as the Ukrainian ...

History

Raions in the Soviet Union

In the

, raions were administrative divisions created in the 1920s to reduce the number of territorial divisions inherited from 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 to simplify their bureaucracies.James R. Millar. ''Encyclopedia of Russian History''. Macmillan Reference USA. New York, 2004. The process of conversion to the system of raions was called ''raionirovanie'' ("regionalization"). It was started in 1923 in the Urals, North Caucasus, and Siberia as a part of the Soviet administrative reform and continued through 1929, by which time the majority of the country's territory was divided into raions instead of the old volosts and uyezds. The concept of ''raionirovanie'' was met with resistance in some republics, especially in

, where local leaders objected to the concept of raions as being too centralized in nature and ignoring the local customs. This point of view was backed by the Soviet Russian People's Commissariat of Nationalities. Nevertheless, eventually all of the territory of the Soviet Union was regionalized. Soviet raions had self-governance in the form of an elected district council (''raysovet'') and were headed by the local head of administration, who was either elected or appointed.

Raions outside the Soviet Union

Following the model of the Soviet Union, raions were introduced in Bulgaria and Romania. In China the term is used in Uyghur in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. In Romania they have been later replaced.

Raions after the dissolution of the Soviet Union

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, raions as administrative units continue to be used in

, Moldova,

, and

. They are also used in breakaway regions: Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria. In Georgia they exist as districts in Tbilisi.

Modern raions

Abkhazia

Abkhazia is divided into seven districts.

Azerbaijan

Belarus

, raions (According to th
Instruction on Latin Transliteration of Geographical Names of the Republic of Belarus, Decree of the State Committee on Land Resources, Surveying and Cartography of the Republic of Belarus dated 23.11.2000 No. 15
recommended for use by the Working Group on Romanization Systems of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) — . See also: Instruction on transliteration of Belarusian geographical names with letters of Latin script; Romanization of Belarusian.) are administrative units subordinated to

s. See also: :Districts of Belarus.

Bulgaria

, raions are subdivisions of three biggest cities:

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

and Varna. Sofia is subdivided to 24 raions ( Sofia districts), Plovdiv - 6, Varna - 5 raions.

Moldova

* Administrative divisions of Moldova

South Ossetia

Transnistria

Russia

Ukraine

, there are a total of 136 raions which are the administrative divisions of oblasts (provinces) and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Major cities as well as the two national cities with special status (

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

and Sevastopol) are also subdivided into raions (constituting a total of 118 nationwide).

Notes

References

* {{Authority control Political divisions of Russia +Raion Subdivisions of Belarus Types of administrative division Former subdivisions of the Socialist Republic of Romania Russian-language designations of territorial entities Subdivisions of Georgia (country) Administrative divisions of Ukraine