Volost

A Volost ( Russian Волость ) is a traditional administrative unit of the Rus about the size of a rural community .

history

In the early East Slavic history, “Volost” was the name of an area that was ruled by a prince  - either as absolute ruler or with varying degrees of autonomy from the Veliki Knjas ( Grand Duke ).

From the beginning of the 14th century, the term "Volost" stood for administrative units of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , Poland , the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Tsarist Republic of Russia , later in the Russian Empire as part of a Ujesd .

After the abolition of serfdom in Russia in 1861, Voloste became units of local peasant self-government. The Voloste were abolished by the Soviet administrative reform in the years 1923–1929. As a modern equivalent of Wolost and Ujesd, village soviets (or the areas and localities administered by them) and rajons ("districts") emerged.

Usage today

After the collapse of the Soviet Union , the term "Volost" was initially used again in the administrative system of Karelia in the Russian Federation , where a Vepsian National Wolost with the status of a Rajon was established in 1994 , but was dissolved again in 2005.

After the municipal reform in Russia, “rural communities” ( selskoje posselenije ) of different federation subjects are referred to as “Volost” and have an identical status as parts of Rajons: nationwide in the Pskov Oblast , as well as a single Volost in the Kaluga Oblast . In other areas, such as the Oblasts of Samara , Leningrad and Tula , the term introduced after 1990 was abolished as part of the reform.

source

• Wolost on dic.academic.ru (Russian)