Oblast
An oblast (/ˈɒblæst/, UK also /ˈɒblɑːst/; plural oblasts, oblasti, or rarely oblasty;[1] Russian and Ukrainian: область, romanized: oblast'; Belarusian: вобласць, romanized: voblasc'; Bulgarian: област, romanized: oblast; Kazakh: облыс, romanized: oblys; Kyrgyz: облус, romanized: oblus) 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 into English as region or province.[2][3] In some countries, oblasts are also known by cognates of the Russian term.
Etymology
The English term oblast is
History
Russian Empire
In the
Soviet Union
In the
The names of oblasts did not usually correspond to the names of the respective historical regions, as they were created as purely administrative units. With a few exceptions, Soviet oblasts were named after their administrative centers.
Yugoslavia
In 1922, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was divided into 33 administrative divisions also called oblasts. In 1929, oblasts were replaced with larger administrative units known as banovinas.
During the Yugoslav Wars, several Serb Autonomous Oblasts were formed in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. These oblasts were later merged into the Republic of Serbian Krajina and the Republika Srpska.
Modern oblasts
Bulgaria
Since 1999, Bulgaria has been divided into 28 oblasts, usually translated as "provinces". Before, the country was divided into just nine units, also called oblasts.
Post-Soviet states
| Territorial entity | Local term | English term | Details | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armenia | marz | province or region[6] | see: marz (country subdivision) | Oblast in the Russian version of a 1995 law.[7] |
| Belarus | voblasts (voblasc) / oblast | region[8] | see: regions of Belarus | Belarusian and Russian are both state languages. |
| Kazakhstan | oblys | region | see: regions of Kazakhstan | |
| Kyrgyzstan | oblus / oblast | region | see: regions of Kyrgyzstan | Kyrgyz and Russian are both official languages |
| Russia | oblast | oblast or region[9] | see: oblasts of Russia | According to the Federation Council .
|
| Tajikistan | viloyat | region | see: regions of Tajikistan | |
| Turkmenistan | welaýat | region[10] | see: regions of Turkmenistan | |
| Ukraine | oblast | oblast or region[11][12] | see: oblasts of Ukraine | In Ukraine, an oblast (Ukrainian: область [ˈɔblɐsʲtʲ] ⓘ; in English called a province or region) refers to one of the country's 24 primary administrative units. Since Ukraine is a unitary state, the provinces (or regions) do not have much legal scope of competence other than that which is established in the Ukrainian Constitution and by law. Articles 140–146 of Chapter XI of the constitution deal directly with local authorities and their competency.
Oblasts are further subdivided into raions (districts), ranging in number from 3 to 10 per entity. |
| Uzbekistan | viloyat | region[13] | see: regions of Uzbekistan |
Viloyat and welaýat are derived from the Turkish language term vilayet, itself derived from the Arabic language term wilāya (ولاية).
See also
- Autonomous oblast
- Guberniya, an administrative unit, comparable to an oblast, of the Russian Empire, early Russian SFSR, and the Soviet Union
- Raion, district or sub-division of an oblast
- Krai
- Okrug
- Political divisions of Russia
- Chránená krajinná oblasť Horná Orava (the Horná Orava Protected Landscape Area) in Slovakia
References
- ^ , retrieved 2023-12-01
- ^ a b "Oblast definition and meaning", Collins English Dictionary, retrieved 25 December 2022
- ^ "What Is An Oblast?", World Atlas, 2017, retrieved 25 December 2022
- ^ Фасмера, Макса (2006). "область". Этимологический онлайн-словарь русского (in Russian) (4th ed.). Retrieved May 1, 2023.
- ^ Ekonomicheskoe raionirovanie Rossii, Gosplan, Moscow 1921
- ^ "Government - Regions - The Government of Armenia". gov.am.
- ^ "Legislation: National Assembly of RA". parliament.am.
- ^ "Geography, Belarus - Belarus.by". belarus.by.
- ^ "Chapter 3. The Federal Structure - The Constitution of the Russian Federation". constitution.ru. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2014-10-16.
- ^ "Microsoft Word - Newsletter II-2 2010-06-30.doc" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-03-07.
- ^ "Regions of Ukraine - MFA of Ukraine". mfa.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 2014-10-08. Retrieved 2014-10-16.
- ^ "Ukraine's Snap Parliamentary Elections". Ria Novosti. Archived from the original on 2014-10-31. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
- ^ "The Governmental portal of the Republic of Uzbekistan - Local authority". Archived from the original on 2014-10-19. Retrieved 2014-10-16.
External links
Media related to Oblasts at Wikimedia Commons