Administrative divisions of Belarus
Encyclopedia
At the top level of administration, the Eastern Europe
an country of Belarus
is divided into six voblasts (meaning "provinces" or "regions") and the city of Minsk
, which has a special status being the capital of Belarus. Minsk is also the capital of Minsk Region.
At the second level, the voblasts are divided into raion
s ("districts").
The layout and extent of the voblasts were set in 1960 when Belarus (then Byelorussian SSR
) was a part of the Soviet Union
.
were still being defined. The amount of territory that was called Belarus contained the entire Minsk Governorate
and Mogilev Governorate
, the majority of Hrodna Governorate, parts of Vitebsk Governorate and the parts of Vilna Governorate
(the latter is now in Lithuania
).
Under Soviet occupation, new administrative units, called voblast (a barbarised version of the Russian
word область) were introduced.
At different times, the following voblasts did exist:
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an country of Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
is divided into six voblasts (meaning "provinces" or "regions") and the city of Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, which has a special status being the capital of Belarus. Minsk is also the capital of Minsk Region.
At the second level, the voblasts are divided into raion
Raion
A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
s ("districts").
The layout and extent of the voblasts were set in 1960 when Belarus (then Byelorussian SSR
Byelorussian SSR
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was one of fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union. It was one of the four original founding members of the Soviet Union in 1922, together with the Ukrainian SSR, the Transcaucasian SFSR and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
) was a part of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Map
| No. | Subdivision | Capital | Belarusian | Population (01.01.2009 est.) |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minsk Minsk - Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened... (capital) |
Мiнск | 1,829,100 | ||
| 2 | Brest Region | Brest Brest, Belarus Brest , formerly also Brest-on-the-Bug and Brest-Litovsk , is a city in Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the city of Terespol, where the Bug River and Mukhavets rivers meet... |
Брэсцкая вобласць | 1,433,100 | |
| 3 | Gomel Region | Gomel | Гомельская вобласць | 1,464,500 | |
| 4 | Grodno Region | Hrodna Hrodna Grodno or Hrodna , is a city in Belarus. It is located on the Neman River , close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania . It has 327,540 inhabitants... |
Гродзенская вобласць | 1,102,800 | |
| 5 | Mogilev Region | Mogilev Mogilev Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants... |
Магілёўская вобласць | 1,123,100 | |
| 6 | Minsk Region | Minsk Minsk - Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened... |
Мiнская вобласць | 1,454,000 | |
| 7 | Vitebsk Region | Vitebsk Vitebsk Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city... |
Вiцебская вобласць | 1,265,300 |
History
At the start of the 20th century, the boundaries of the Belarusian lands within the Russian EmpireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
were still being defined. The amount of territory that was called Belarus contained the entire Minsk Governorate
Minsk Governorate
The Minsk Governorate or Government of Minsk was a governorate of the Russian Empire. The seat was in Minsk. It was created in 1793 from the land acquired in the partitions of Poland, and lasted until 1921.- Administrative structure :...
and Mogilev Governorate
Mogilev Governorate
The Mogilev Governorate or Government of Mogilev was a governorate of the Russian Empire in the territory of the present day Belarus. Its capital was in Mogilev....
, the majority of Hrodna Governorate, parts of Vitebsk Governorate and the parts of Vilna Governorate
Vilna Governorate
The Vilna Governorate or Government of Vilna was a governorate of the Russian Empire created after the Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795...
(the latter is now in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
).
Under Soviet occupation, new administrative units, called voblast (a barbarised version of the Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
word область) were introduced.
At different times, the following voblasts did exist:
- Babruysk VoblastBabruysk VoblastBabruysk Voblast, created on September 20, 1944, was an administrative division in Belarus with its administrative centre at Babruysk. On January 8, 1954 the voblast was liquidated and became part of Mahilyow Voblasts.-External links:*...
- Baranavichy VoblastBaranavichy VoblastBaranavichy Oblast was a territorial unit in the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic created after the annexation of West Belarus into the BSSR in November 1939. The administrative centre of the province was the city of Baranavichy....
- Belastok VoblastBelastok VoblastBelastok Voblast or Belostok Oblast was a territorial unit in the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic from September 1939 to August 1945.- Administrative units :The administrative center of the voblast was the city of Belastok ....
- Maladzyechna VoblastMaladzyechna VoblastMaladzyechna Voblast or Molodechno Oblast was a Voblast of the Byelorussian SSR. Initially the Voblast was formed on December 4, 1939 following the annexation of West Belarus into the BSSR from the Second Polish Republic as the Vileyka Voblast...
- Navahrudak VoblastNavahrudak VoblastNavahrudak Voblast or Novogrudak Oblast was a Voblast of the Byelorussian SSR following the annexation of West Belarus into the BSSR in 1939. The Voblast was formed on November 2, 1939, out of parts of the former Nowogródek Voivodeship in the Second Polish Republic.The Sovietisation of the...
- Pinsk VoblastPinsk VoblastPinsk Voblast was a territorial unit in the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic created after the annexation of West Belarus into the BSSR in November 1939...
- Polatsk VoblastPolatsk VoblastPolatsk Voblast or Polotsk Oblast was an administrative division in Soviet Belarus. It was created on September 20, 1944. It included territories of eastern Polesia and consisted of 15 raions. The administrative centre was Polatsk....
- Polesia VoblastPolesia VoblastPolesia Voblast was an administrative division in Soviet Belarus. It was created on January 15, 1938. It included territories of eastern Polesia and consisted of 15 raions. Center of Polesia Voblast was town of Mozyr....
- Vileyka VoblastVileyka VoblastVileyka Voblast was a territorial unit in the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic created out of the eastern powiats of the Wilno Voivodeship after the annexation of West Belarus into the BSSR in November 1939. The administrative centre of the province was the city of Vileyka. The Voblast...