An oblast (/ˈɒblæst/ or /ˈɒblɑːst/) 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'. In some countries, oblasts are also known by cognates of the Russian term.
Etymology
The term oblast is borrowed from Russian область (pronounced [ˈobɫəsʲtʲ]), where it is inherited from Old East Slavic, in turn borrowed from Church Slavonic область oblastĭ 'power, empire', formed from the prefix oб- (cognate with Classical Latin ob 'towards, against' and Ancient Greek ἐπί/ἔπι epi 'in power, in charge') and the stem власть vlastǐ 'power, rule'. In Old East Slavic, it was used alongside оболость obolostǐ—the equivalent of об- 'against' and волость 'territory, state, power' (cognate with English 'wield'; see volost).
History
Russian Empire
In the Russian Empire, oblasts were considered to be administrative units and were included as parts of Governorates General or krais. The majority of then-existing oblasts were on the periphery of the country (e.g. Kars Oblast or Transcaspian Oblast) or covered the areas where Cossacks lived.
Soviet Union
In the Soviet Union, oblasts were one of the types of administrative divisions of the union republics. As any administrative units of this level, oblasts were composed of districts (raions) and cities/towns directly under oblasts' jurisdiction. Some oblasts also included autonomous entities called autonomous okrugs. Because of the Soviet Union electrification program under the GOELRO plan, Ivan Alexandrov, as director of the Regionalisation Committee of Gosplan, divided the Soviet Union into thirteen European and eight Asiatic oblasts, using rational economic planning rather than "the vestiges of lost sovereign rights".
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 | see: marz (country subdivision) | Oblast in the Russian version of a 1995 law. |
| Belarus | voblasts (voblasc) / oblast | region | 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 | see: oblasts of Russia | According to the Constitution of Russia, oblasts are considered to be subjects of the Federation, which is a higher status than that of administrative units they had within the Russian SFSR before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The federal subject status gives the oblasts some degree of autonomy and gives them representation in the Federation Council. |
| Tajikistan | viloyat | region | see: regions of Tajikistan | |
| Turkmenistan | welaýat | region | see: regions of Turkmenistan | |
| Ukraine | oblast | oblast or region | 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 | 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
Notes
- Plural: oblasts, oblasti (from Russian области), or rarely oblasty.
- Russian: область [ˈobɫəsʲtʲ]; Ukrainian: область [ˈɔbɫɐsʲtʲ]; Belarusian: вобласць, romanized: vobłaść [ˈvobɫɐsʲtɕʲ]; Polish: obwód [ˈɔbvut]; Serbian: област / oblast [ôbɫaːst]; Bulgarian and Macedonian: област / oblast [ˈɔbɫɐst]; Kazakh: облыс / oblys [ˈwobɫɤs]; Kyrgyz: облус / oblus [ˈɔbɫʊs]; Bashkir and Tatar: өлкә / ölkä [øʎˈcɛ]; Ossetian: облæст / oblæst [ˈobɫɐstʰ]; Tajik and Uzbek: вилоят / viloyat [ʋɪlɔˈjætʰ]
References
- "oblast, n.", Oxford English Dictionary, July 2023, doi:10.1093/OED/6423855087, retrieved 2023-12-01
- "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
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Media related to Oblasts at Wikimedia Commons
An oblast ˈ ɒ b l ae s t or ˈ ɒ b l ɑː s t 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 In some countries oblasts are also known by cognates of the Russian term EtymologyThe term oblast is borrowed from Russian oblast pronounced ˈobɫesʲtʲ where it is inherited from Old East Slavic in turn borrowed from Church Slavonic oblast oblastĭ power empire formed from the prefix ob cognate with Classical Latin ob towards against and Ancient Greek ἐpi ἔpi epi in power in charge and the stem vlast vlastǐ power rule In Old East Slavic it was used alongside obolost obolostǐ the equivalent of ob against and volost territory state power cognate with English wield see volost HistoryRussian Empire In the Russian Empire oblasts were considered to be administrative units and were included as parts of Governorates General or krais The majority of then existing oblasts were on the periphery of the country e g Kars Oblast or Transcaspian Oblast or covered the areas where Cossacks lived Soviet Union In the Soviet Union oblasts were one of the types of administrative divisions of the union republics As any administrative units of this level oblasts were composed of districts raions and cities towns directly under oblasts jurisdiction Some oblasts also included autonomous entities called autonomous okrugs Because of the Soviet Union electrification program under the GOELRO plan Ivan Alexandrov as director of the Regionalisation Committee of Gosplan divided the Soviet Union into thirteen European and eight Asiatic oblasts using rational economic planning rather than the vestiges of lost sovereign rights 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 oblastsBulgaria 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 CommentArmenia marz province or region see marz country subdivision Oblast in the Russian version of a 1995 law Belarus voblasts voblasc oblast region see regions of Belarus Belarusian and Russian are both state languages Kazakhstan oblys region see regions of KazakhstanKyrgyzstan oblus oblast region see regions of Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyz and Russian are both official languagesRussia oblast oblast or region see oblasts of Russia According to the Constitution of Russia oblasts are considered to be subjects of the Federation which is a higher status than that of administrative units they had within the Russian SFSR before the dissolution of the Soviet Union The federal subject status gives the oblasts some degree of autonomy and gives them representation in the Federation Council Tajikistan viloyat region see regions of TajikistanTurkmenistan welayat region see regions of TurkmenistanUkraine oblast oblast or region see oblasts of Ukraine In Ukraine an oblast Ukrainian oblast 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 see regions of Uzbekistan Viloyat and welayat are derived from the Turkish language term vilayet itself derived from the Arabic language term wilaya ولاية See alsoLook up Oblast in Wiktionary the free dictionary 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 Chranena krajinna oblast Horna Orava the Horna Orava Protected Landscape Area in SlovakiaNotesPlural oblasts oblasti from Russian oblasti or rarely oblasty Russian oblast ˈobɫesʲtʲ Ukrainian oblast ˈɔbɫɐsʲtʲ Belarusian voblasc romanized voblasc ˈvobɫɐsʲtɕʲ Polish obwod ˈɔbvut Serbian oblast oblast obɫaːst Bulgarian and Macedonian oblast oblast ˈɔbɫɐst Kazakh oblys oblys ˈwobɫɤs Kyrgyz oblus oblus ˈɔbɫʊs Bashkir and Tatar olkә olka oʎˈcɛ Ossetian oblaest oblaest ˈobɫɐstʰ Tajik and Uzbek viloyat viloyat ʋɪlɔˈjaetʰ References oblast n Oxford English Dictionary July 2023 doi 10 1093 OED 6423855087 retrieved 2023 12 01 Oblast definition and meaning Collins English Dictionary retrieved 25 December 2022 What Is An Oblast World Atlas 2017 retrieved 25 December 2022 Fasmera Maksa 2006 oblast Etimologicheskij onlajn slovar russkogo 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 linksMedia related to Oblasts at Wikimedia Commons
