History of the administrative division of Russia in 1708–1744

This article covers the history of the administrative division of Russia from 1708 to 1744.

Administrative reform of 1708

Prior to the administrative division reform of 1708, the territory of Russia was subdivided into "uyezds" (districts, from Russian уезд) and "volosts" (small rural districts, from Russian волость). In 1708, in order to improve the manageability of the vast territory of the Russian Empire, Tsar Peter the Great issued an ukase (edict) dividing Russia into eight administrative divisions, called governorates ("guberniyas").

1710–1726

The reform of 1708 did not set the borders of the governorates. Instead, the governorates were defined as the sets of cities and the lands adjanced to those cities. Some older subdivision types also continued to be used. Between 1710 and 1713, all governorates were subdivided into lots (Russian: доли). In 1719, Peter enacted another administrative reform to fix the deficiencies of the original system, as the governorates were too big and unmanageable. This reform abolished the system of lots, dividing most of the governorates into "provinces" (провинции), which were further divided into "districts" (дистрикты).

During this time, territories were frequently reshuffled between the governorates, and new governorates were added to accommodate population growth and territorial expansion. These changes are summarized by the following table:

Administrative reform of 1727

In 1727, soon after Peter I's death, Catherine I enacted another reform, which cancelled a lot of previous reform's developments. The system of "districts" was abolished, and the old system of "uyezds" was restored. A total of 166 uyezds was re-established; together with the newly created uyezds, the Russian Empire had approximately 250.

The reform also reshuffled some territories. Narva Province was transferred from St. Petersburg Governorate to Revel Governorate; Solikamsk and Vyatka provinces were transferred from Siberian Governorate to Kazan Governorate; and Uglich and Yaroslav provinces were transferred from Saint Petersburg Governorate to Moscow Governorate. In addition, the Belgorod, Oryol, and Sevsk provinces of Kiev Governorate were reconstituted as Belgorod Governorate; and Belozersk, Novgorod, Pskov, Tver, and Velikiye Luki provinces of St. Petersburg Governorate were reconstituted as Novgorod Governorate.

1728–1744

The following years saw few changes. In 1728, Ufa Province was transferred from Kazan Governorate to Siberian Governorate, and in 1737, Simbirsk Province was created within Kazan Governorate.

External links

* [http://www.strana-oz.ru/?numid=7&article=294 "Administrative territorial division of Russia in the 18th-20th centuries" («Административно-территориальное деление России XVIII—XX веков»)] "Otechestvennye Zapiski", No.6, 2002.
* Тархов, Сергей, "Изменение административно-территориального деления России в XIII-XX в." ( [http://www.ruthenia.ru/logos/number/46/03.pdf pdf] ), "Логос", [http://www.ruthenia.ru/logos/number/2005_01_46.htm #1 2005 (46)] , ISSN|0869-5377