Raion
Araion(also speltrayon) is a type of administrative unit of severalpost-Soviet states.The term is used for both a type ofsubnational entityand a division of acity.The word is from the Frenchrayon(meaning 'honeycomb, department'),[1]and is commonly translated as "district"in English.[2]
A raion is a standardized administrative entity across most of the formerSoviet Unionand is usually a subdivision two steps below the national level, such as a subdivision of anoblast.However, in smaller USSR republics, it could be the primary level of administrative division. After thefall of the Soviet Union,some of the republics kept theraion(e.g.Azerbaijan,Belarus,Ukraine,Russia,Lithuania,Moldova,Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan) while others dropped it (e.g.Georgia,Uzbekistan,Estonia,Latvia,Armenia,Tajikistan,Turkmenistan).
In Bulgaria, 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 ofSofia municipalityasubdivision of that municipality.[3]
Etymology[edit]
The word "raion" (or "rayon" ) is often used in translated form:Azerbaijani:rayon;Belarusian:раён,romanized:rajon;Bulgarian:район;Georgian:რაიონი,romanized:raioni;Latvian:rajons;Lithuanian:rajonas;Polish:rejon;Romanian:raion;Russian:райо́нandUkrainian:райо́н,romanized:rayon.
List of countries with raion subdivisions[edit]
Fourteen countries have or had entities that were named "raion" or the local version of it.
| Country | From | Until | Local name | Comment | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abkhazia(partially recognised state) | (existing) | araion (араион) | inherited from theAbkhaz ASSR | Districts of Abkhazia | |
| Armenia | 1995 | inherited from theArmenian SSR | Districts of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic | ||
| Austria | ~ 1918 | Rayon, Rajon | Used only by thek.k. Gendarmerieto designate police districts ( "Behördenrayon", lit. authorities' raion). | ||
| Azerbaijan | (existing) | rayon, pl. rayonlar; | inherited from theAzerbaijan SSR | Districts of Azerbaijan | |
| Belarus | (existing) | Belarusian:раён, rajon | inherited from theByelorussian SSR | Districts of Belarus | |
| Bulgaria | (existing) | район, pl. райони (rayoni) | raions are subdivisions of three biggest cities:Sofia,PlovdivandVarna.Sofia is subdivided to 24 raions (Sofia districts), Plovdiv - 6, Varna - 5 raions | ||
| China | (existing) | Hành chính phân khu | restricted to theXin gian g Uygur Autonomous Regionas influenced by the USSR. The districts of Ürümqi City and Karamay City are calledرايون(SASM/GNC/SRCandULY:rayon) in Uyghur. | ||
| Crimea(Republic of Crimea - short lived Republic recognized by only a few UN member states) | 2014-03-16 | 2014-03-16 | inherited from Ukraine. The Republic is now split into thefederal subjects of RussianamedRepublic of CrimeaandSevastopol | ||
| Estonia | 1990 | Estonian:rajoon,pl.rajoonid | inherited from theEstonian SSR.In 1990 transformed into counties (Estonian:maakond) | Counties of Estonia | |
| Georgia | 2006 | Georgian:რაიონიraioni | inherited from theGeorgian SSR;2006 as first-level entities reorganized into municipalities. Araioniremains a territorial subdivision of Georgia's capital,Tbilisi. | List of municipalities in Georgia (country) | |
| Kazakhstan | (existing) | Russian:райо́н | inherited from theKazakh SSR | Districts of Kazakhstan | |
| Latvia | 2009-07-01 | rajons; pl. rajoni | inherited from theLatvian SSR | Districts of Latvia | |
| Lithuania | 1994 | Lithuanian:rajonas | inherited from theLithuanian SSR.In 1994 transformed into district municipalities (Lithuanian:rajono savivaldybė) | Municipalities of Lithuania | |
| Moldova | (existing) | Romanian:raion | introduced in administrative reform in 2003 | Districts of Moldova | |
| Romania | 1968-02-16 | Romanian:raion | one of theAdministrative divisions of the People's Republic of Romania | Districts of the People's Republic of Romania | |
| Russian Federation | (existing) | Russian:райо́н | inherited from theRussian SFSR | Districts of Russia | |
| South Ossetia-Alania(partially recognised state) | (existing) | inherited from theSouth Ossetian AO | Districts of South Ossetia | ||
| Soviet Union | 1991-12-26 (end of entity) | At various levels below the constituent republics. | |||
| Transnistria(breakaway territory; de jure part of Moldova) | (existing) | inherited from theMoldavian SSR | Raions of Transnistria | ||
| Ukraine | (existing) | Ukrainian:райо́н | 490 raions were inherited from theUkrainian SSR,which were replaced by 136 new raions in 2020.[4]Major Ukrainian cities are alsosubdivided into raions,constituting a total of 118 nationwide. | Raions of Ukraine |
History[edit]
Raions in the Soviet Union[edit]
In theSoviet Union,raions were administrative divisions created in the 1920s to reduce the number of territorial divisions inherited from theRussian Empireand to simplify their bureaucracies.[5]The process of conversion to the system of raions was calledraionirovanie( "regionalization" ). It was started in 1923 in theUrals,North Caucasus,andSiberiaas 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 oldvolostsanduyezds.[5]
The concept ofraionirovaniewas met with resistance in some republics, especially inUkraine,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 RussianPeople's Commissariat of Nationalities.[5]Nevertheless, eventually all of the territory of the Soviet Union was regionalized.
Soviet raions had self-governance in the form of an electeddistrict council(raysovet) and were headed by the local head of administration, who was either elected or appointed.
Raions outside the Soviet Union[edit]
Following the model of the Soviet Union raions have been introduced in Bulgaria, Romania. In China the term is used in Uyghur in the Xin gian g Uyghur Autonomous Region.
In Romania they have been later replaced.
Raions after the dissolution of the Soviet Union[edit]
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, raions as administrative units continue to be used inAzerbaijan,Belarus,Georgia,Latvia,Moldova,Russia,andUkraine.
They are also used in breakaway regions: Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria.
| Set | Quantity | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Districts of Abkhazia | 7 | first-level |
| Districts of Azerbaijan | 59 | first-level, 18 other entities at that level exist |
| Districts of Belarus | 118 | second-level below oblasts and Minsk City |
| Districts of Moldova | 32 | first-level, 5 other entities at that level exist |
| Districts of South Ossetia | 4 | first-level, 1 other entity at that level exists |
| Districts of Russia | 1731[nb 1] | second-level below federal subjects |
| Districts of Transnistria | 5 | first-level |
| Districts of Ukraine | 136 and 118 city raions | second-level, numbers as of 2020, including Sevastopol and Crimea |
In Georgia they exist as districts in Tbilisi.
Modern raions[edit]
Abkhazia[edit]
Abkhazia is divided into seven districts.
Azerbaijan[edit]
Belarus[edit]
InBelarus,raions (Belarusian:раён, rajon[6]) are administrative units subordinated tooblasts.See also:Category:Districts of Belarus.
Bulgaria[edit]
InBulgaria,raions are subdivisions of three biggest cities:Sofia,PlovdivandVarna.Sofia is subdivided to 24 raions (Sofia districts), Plovdiv - 6, Varna - 5 raions.
Moldova[edit]
South Ossetia[edit]
Transnistria[edit]
Russia[edit]
Ukraine[edit]
InUkraine,there are a total of 136 raions which are the administrative divisions ofoblasts(provinces) and theAutonomous Republic of Crimea.Major citiesof regional significance as well as the two nationalcities with special status(KyivandSevastopol) are alsosubdivided into raions(constituting a total of 118 nationwide).
Notes[edit]
- ^Including Crimea and Sevastopol.
References[edit]
- ^Merriam-Webster'sThird New International Dictionary(1961, repr. 1981), s.v.raion.
- ^Saunders, R.A., Strukov, V.Historical Dictionary of the Russian Federation."Scarecrow Press",2010,ISBN978-0-8108-5475-8,S. 477.
- ^"Lex.bg - Закони, правилници, конституция, кодекси, държавен вестник, правилници по прилагане"[Laws, regulations, constitution, codes, state gazette, implementing regulations].lex.bg.Archivedfrom the original on 16 August 2017.Retrieved8 May2018.
- ^"Україна з новим адмінтерустроєм: парламент створив 136 нових районів та ліквідував 490 старих"[Ukraine with a new administrative system: the parliament created 136 new districts and eliminated 490 old ones].Decentralization Reform(in Ukrainian). 17 July 2020.
"The council reduced the number of districts in Ukraine: 136 instead of 490".Ukrainska Pravda(in Ukrainian). 17 July 2020. - ^abcJames R. Millar.Encyclopedia of Russian History.Macmillan Reference USA. New York, 2004.ISBN0-02-865693-8
- ^According to theInstruction 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. 15Archived2015-09-24 at theWayback Machinerecommended for use by the Working Group onRomanization Systemsof the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) —"Archived copy"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2009-08-24.Retrieved2009-07-26.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link).See also:Instruction on transliteration of Belarusian geographical names with letters of Latin script;Romanization of Belarusian.
- 6 мая 2001 г. «Конституция Республики Тыва», в ред. Конституционного закона №1419 ВХ-2 от 10 июля 2009 г «О внесении изменений в статью 113 Конституции Республики Тыва». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Тувинская правда", 15 мая 2001 г.(May 6, 2001Constitution of the Tyva Republic,as amended by the Constitutional Law #1419 VKh-2 of July 10, 2009On Amending Article 113 of the Constitution of the Tyva Republic.Effective as of the official publication date.).
| Authority control databases:National |
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- Political divisions of Russia
- Administrative divisions of regions of Ukraine
- 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