Types of inhabited localities in Russia

The classification system of the types of inhabited localities in Russia, the former Soviet Union, and some other post-Soviet states has certain peculiarities compared to the classification systems in other countries.

Modern classification in Russia

During the Soviet times, each of the republics of the Soviet Union, including the Russian SFSR, had its own legislative documents dealing with classification of inhabited localities. [In the Russian SFSR, the issues of the administrative and territorial division, including the system of classification of the inhabited localities, was regulated by the Statute "On Procedure of Resolving the Issues of the Administrative-Territorial Structure of the RSFSR", approved by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR on August 17, 1982 ( _ru. Положение "О порядке решения вопросос административно-территориального устройства РСФСР", утверждённое Указом Президиума Верховного Совета РСФСР от 17 августа 1982 г.)] After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the task of developing and maintaning such classification in Russia was delegated to the federal subjects. [Articles 71 and 72 of the Constitution of Russia do not name issues of the administrative and territorial structure among the tasks handled on the federal level or jointly with the governments of the federal subjects] While currently there are certain peculiarities to classifications used in many federal subjects, they are all still largely based on the system used in the RSFSR. In all federal subjects, the inhabited localities are classified into two major categories: urban and rural. Further divisions of these categories vary slightly from one federal subject to another, but they all follow common trends described below.

Urban localities

*Cities and towns ( _ru. город, "gorod"; pl. _ru. города, "goroda"). Cities and towns are classified by their level of jurisdiction (district/federal subject/federal). While the Russian language has no separate words for "town" and "city" (" _ru. город" is used for both), in translation, the word "city" is traditionally applied to the urban localities with a population of at least 100,000.

*Urban-type settlements ( _ru. посёлок городского типа, "posyolok gorodskogo tipa"; pl. _ru. посёлки городского типа) is a type of smaller urban locality. This type of urban locality was first introduced in the Soviet Union in 1924, with the following subcategories: [ _ru. Постановление ВЦИК и СНК РСФСР от 15 сентября 1924 г. "Общее положение о городских и сельских поселениях и посёлках" (Resolution of the All-Union Executive Committee and the Soviet of People's Commissars of September 15, 1924 "General Statute on Urban and Rural Settlements")]
**Urban-type settlement proper—mostly urban population of 3,000–12,000.
***Work settlement ( _ru. рабочий посёлок)—mostly urban population occupied in industrial manufacture.
***Suburban (dacha) settlement ( _ru. дачный посёлок)—typically, a suburban settlement with summer dachas.
***Resort settlement ( _ru. курортный посёлок)—mostly urban population occupied in beach services.In 1957, the procedures for categorizing urban-type settlements were further refined. [ _ru. Указ Президиума ВС РСФСР от 12 сентября 1957 г. "О порядке отнесения населённых пунктов к категории городов, рабочих и курортных посёлков" (Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR of September 12, 1957 "On Procedures of Categorizing the Inhabited Localities as Cities, Work and Resort Settlements)]

Rural localities

Multiple types of rural localities exist, some common through the whole territory of Russia, some specific to certain federal subjects. The most common types include:
*Villages ( _ru. деревня, "derevnya"; pl. _ru. деревни, "derevni")
*Selos ( _ru. село, "selo"; pl. _ru. сёла, "syola")
*(Rural-type) settlements ( _ru. посёлок (сельского типа), "posyolok (selskogo tipa)"; pl. _ru. посёлки (сельского типа)). The "rural-type" ( _ru. сельского типа) designation is added to the settlements the population of which is mostly occupied in agriculture, while "posyolok" ( _ru. посёлок) proper indicates a mix of population working in agriculture and industry.
*Stanitsas ( _ru. станица, "stanitsa"; pl. _ru. станицы, "stanitsy")—historically, a Cossack rural locality. The name is still currently in use, with the basic meaning of "village".
*Slobodas ( _ru. слобода, "sloboda"; pl. _ru. слободы, "slobody")—historically, a settlement freed from taxes and levies for various reasons. The name is still currently in use with the basic meaning of "village".
*Khutors ( _ru. хутор, "khutor"; pl. _ru. хутора, "khutora")—translated as "hamlet", "farmstead", or "village".
*Pochinoks _ru. починок, "pochinok"; pl. _ru. починки, "pochinki")—a newly formed rural locality of one or several families. Pochinoks are established as new settlements and usually grow into larger villages as they develop.
*In some federal subjects, national terminology is used in the Russian language. Such locality types include _ru. аул ("aul"), _ru. аал ("aal"), and _ru. кишлак ("kishlak").

Historical terms

*Krepost ( _ru. крепость, a fort), a fortified settlement. A Kremlin, Russian citadel, is a major "krepost" usually including a castle and surrounded by posad. "Ostrog", on the other hand, was a more primitive kind of "krepost" which could be put up quickly within rough walls of debarked pointed timber.
*Posad ( _ru. посад), a medieval suburban settlement.
*Mestechko ( _ru. местечко, from _pl. miasteczko; _yi. shtetl), a small town in Western Krai annexed during the Partitions of Poland; typically with Jewish majority.

ee also

*Subdivisions of Russia
*List of terms for country subdivisions

References and notes