Oblast (
Belarusian ??´??????;
Bosnian oblast;
Bulgarian ?´?????;
Czech oblast;
Russian ?´??????;
Serbian ??????/oblast;
Slovak oblast;
Macedonian ??????;
Ukrainian ?´??????) is a type of
administrative division in
Slavic countries and in some countries of the former
Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a
loanword in English,
[1] but it is nevertheless often translated as "
area", "
zone", "
province", or "
region". The last translation may lead to confusion, because the subdivision of "oblast" is called "
raion" which is translated as "region" or "
district", depending on the context.
Oblasts are a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ukraine, and the now-defunct Soviet Union. Official terms in successor states of the Soviet Union differ, but some still use a cognate of the Russian term, e.g. voblast (voblasts, voblasts' , IPA&_160;['vob?as?ts?]) is used for provinces of Belarus, and oblys (plural oblystar) for provinces of Kazakhstan.
Since 1997, Bulgaria has been divided into 28 oblasti, usually translated as provinces. Before, the country was divided into nine bigger units, also called oblast.
In the Russian Empire, oblasts were considered to be administrative units and were included as parts of Governorates General or krais. The majority of then-existing oblasts were located on the periphery of the country or covered the areas where Cossacks lived.
