Obwód is a term used in Polish to denote administrative districts in various countries, particularly as a translation of the Russian oblast

Oblast

Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...

. As administrative subdivisions of Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 itself, obwody existed as subdivisions of voivodeship

Voivodeship

Voivodship is a term denoting the position of, or more commonly the area administered by, a voivod. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and Serbia....

s (later gubernias) in the early part of the Congress Poland

Congress Poland

The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...

 period, from 1816 until 1842, when they were renamed powiat

Powiat

A powiat is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture in other countries. The term powiat is most often translated into English as "county", although other terms are also sometimes used...

s (the former powiats being renamed okręg

Okreg

Okręg is a term used in Polish to denote regions and jurisdictions of various types, including electoral constituencies. As historical administrative subdivisions of Poland, okręgi existed in the later part of the Congress Poland period, from 1842, when the name was applied to the former powiats...

i). See Administrative division of Congress Poland

Administrative division of Congress Poland

The administrative division of Congress Poland changed several times. Immediately after its creation, 1815-1816, the Congress Kingdom of Poland was divided into departments, a relic from the times of the French-dominated Duchy of Warsaw. In 1816 the administrative divisions were reformed into the...

.

Obwody were also created temporarily in 1945–46, in the areas annexed to Poland from Germany as a result of the Soviet military advance. An obwód was then a subdivision of an okręg

Okreg

Okręg is a term used in Polish to denote regions and jurisdictions of various types, including electoral constituencies. As historical administrative subdivisions of Poland, okręgi existed in the later part of the Congress Poland period, from 1842, when the name was applied to the former powiats...

. These obwody were later replaced by powiats, and the okręgi by voivodeships.