Anokrug[a] is a type ofadministrative division in someSlavic-speaking states. The wordokrug is aloanword in English,[1] alternatively translated asarea,district,county, orregion.
Etymologically,okrug literally means 'circuit', derived from Proto-Slavic*okrǫgъ, in turn from*ob- "around" +*krǫgъ "circle". In meaning, the word is similar to theGerman termBezirk orKreis ('district') and the French wordarrondissement; all of which refer to something "encircled" or "surrounded".
InKazakhstan, anokrug (округ) refers to an administrative-territorial unit that operates below thedistrict (raion) level. The term is most commonly used in the form of rural district (ауылдық округ), which encompasses one or several rural settlements (aul) administered collectively under a single local government.
Each rural okrug has an elected or appointedakim (executive head) who manages administrative affairs on behalf of the district authorities. The okrug serves as an intermediary administrative level between the district and individual auls, often responsible for local public services, infrastructure maintenance, and basic civil registration.
The use of the term "okrug" differs from other former Soviet countries where it may refer to larger administrative units; in Kazakhstan, it specifically denotes these small local government areas.
TheRepublic of Serbia is divided into twenty-nineokrug (pl. okruzi) as well as theCity of Belgrade. The termokrug in Serbia is often translated as eitherdistrict orcounty. The usage ofokrug dates back to the early 19th century.
In 1833 sixnahiya that had been part of theFirst Serbian Uprising (1804–13), but remained outside Serbia following theSecond Serbian Uprising (1815), were transferred to Serbia by SultanMahmud II.[2] In 1834 the former Ottoman administrative units in Serbia were abolished, replaced with fiveserdarstvo, 19okrug and 61kapetanija (renamedsrez in 1835).[3]
In 1890, Serbia was divided into 15okrug (pl. okruzi) which were further divided into counties,srez (pl. srezovi). Cities ofBelgrade andNiš had special administrative status. The districts were:Valjevo,Vranje,Kragujevac,Krajina,Kruševac,Morava,Pirot,Podrinje,Podunavlje,Požarevac,Rudnik,Timok,Toplica,Užice andCrna Reka. In 1900 thePodunavlje district was divided into the districts ofBelgrade andSmederevo and in 1902 the district ofČačak was separated fromRudnik district.
In 1912 and 1913 Serbia enlarged its territory after victoriousFirst Balkan War. In August 1913, 11 new districts were formed in the newly liberated areas:Bitola,Debar,Kavadarci,Novi Pazar,Kumanovo,Pljevlja,Prizren,Priština,Skopje,Tetovo andŠtip. Few months later,Pljevlja andDebar districts were abolished and the newPrijepolje andOhrid districts formed instead. A newZvečan district was formed as well.
TheRepublic of Serbia is divided into twenty-nineokrug (pl. okruzi) as well as theCity of Belgrade.
Districts of the Republic of Serbia |
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InBulgaria,okrags are the abolished primary unit of the administrative division and implied "districts" or "counties". They existed in the postwar Bulgaria between 1946 and 1987 and corresponded approximately to today'soblasts.
As historical administrative subdivisions ofPoland,okręgi existed in the later part of theCongress Poland period, from 1842, when the name was applied to the formerpowiats (the namepowiat being transferred to the formerobwody).[4] See:subdivisions of Congress Poland.
Okręgi were also created temporarily from 1945 to 1946, in the areas annexed to Poland from Germany as a result of the Soviet military advance. Anokręg was then subdivided intoobwody. Theseokręgi were later replaced byvoivodeships, and theobwody bypowiats.[5]
Okrugs were one of the several types of administrative division foroblasts and selectedgovernorates inImperial Russia. Until the 1920s, okrugs were administrative districts inCossack hosts such as theDon Cossacks.
Inherited from Imperial Russia, in the 1920s,okrugs were administrative divisions of several other primary divisions such asoblasts,krais, and others. For some time in the 1920s they also served as the primary unit upon the abolishment ofguberniyas and were divided intoraions. On 30 July 1930 most of the okrugs were abolished. The remaining okrugs were phased out in theRussian SFSR during 1930–1946, although they were retained inZakarpattia Oblast of theUkrainian SSR in a status equivalent to that of a raion.
National okrugs were first created in theMountain ASSR of the Russian SFSR in 1921 as units of the Soviet autonomy and additional national okrugs were created in the Russian SFSR for the peoples of the north and Caucasus region. In 1977, all national okrugs were renamed autonomous okrugs.
In the present-dayRussian Federation, the termokrug is either translated asdistrict or rendered directly asokrug, and is used to describe the following types of divisions:
After the series of mergers in 2005–2008, several autonomous okrugs of Russia lost their federal subject status and are now considered to be administrative territories within the federal subjects they had been merged into:
Okrug is also used to describe the administrative divisions of the two "federal cities" in Russia:
In the federal city ofSevastopol, municipal okrugs are a type of municipal formation.
InTver Oblast, the termokrug also denotes a type of anadministrative division which is equal in status to that of the districts.
Furthermore, the designationokrug denotes severalselsoviet-level administrative divisions:
In some cities, the termokrug is used to refer to the administrative divisions of those cities. Administrative okrugs are such divisions in the cities ofMurmansk,Omsk, andTyumen; city okrugs are used inKrasnodar; municipalokrugs are the divisions ofNazran; okrugs exist inBelgorod,Kaluga,Kursk, andNovorossiysk; and territorial okrugs are the divisions ofArkhangelsk andLipetsk.
The termokrug is also used to describe a type of amunicipal formation, the municipal urban okrug—a municipal urban settlement not incorporated into a municipal district.[6]
