Being the largest country in the world spanning a large percentage of Eurasia, and one of the most populated, Russia is divided into several types and levels of subdivisions from autonomous Federal subjects to dependent subnational entities of various names.
Federal subjects
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Russia is a federation which, as of March 1, 2008, consists of 83 subjects.1 These subjects are of equal federal rights in the sense that they have equal representation—two delegates each—in the Federation Council (upper house of the Russian parliament). However, they do differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy. Autonomous okrugs, while federal subjects in their own right, are at the same time considered to be administrative divisions of other federal subjects (with Chukotka Autonomous Okrug being the only exception). The federal subjects are considered to be the second level of federal division, being subject to the federal laws (first level).
Administrative divisions
The administrative and territorial division of each federal subject is developed and maintained separately by each federal subject. The following is a generalized list of types of lower level (level 3) administrative divisions of the federal subjects:
- Districts, or raions
- Cities/towns and urban-type settlements under the jurisdiction of the federal subject
- Autonomous okrugs under the jurisdiction of the federal subject (even though they are considered to be administrative divisions of the lower level, they have a status of federal subjects themselves and may themselves be subdivided into districts)
Typical level 4 administrative divisions include:
- Selsovets (rural councils)
- Towns and urban-type settlements under the jurisdiction of the district
- City districts
Municipal divisions
In the course of the Russian municipal reform, all federal subjects of Russia were to streamline the structures of the local self-government, which is guaranteed by the Constitution of Russia. The reform prescribed that each federal subject have a unified structure of the municipal government bodies by January 1, 2005, and a law enforcing the reform provisions went in effect on January 1, 2006. According to the law, the units of the municipal division (called "municipal formations") are as follows:
- Municipal district, a group of municipal settlements (often along with the inter-settlement territories) having common territory within which local self-government is carried out. In practice, municipal districts are usually formed within boundaries of existing administrative districts (raions).
- Municipal settlement:
- Municipal urban settlement, a city/town or an urban-type settlement where local self-government is carried out directly by the populace and/or via local self-government bodies which are elected or selected by other means.
- Municipal rural settlement, one or several rural localities where local self-government is carried out directly by the populace and/or via local self-government bodies which are elected or selected by other means.
- Municipal urban okrug, a municipal urban settlement not incorporated into a municipal district, where local self-government bodies have power of resolving the issues of local significance, as well as of exercising some state powers conferred on them by the federal and regional laws.
- Intra-city territory of a federal city, a part of a federal city's territory where local self-government is carried out directly by the populace and/or via local self-government bodies which are elected or selected by other means.
- Inter-settlement territory, territory located outside the territories of municipal settlements.
Other types of subdivisions
Federal districts
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Federal subjects and federal districts of Russia
All of the federal subjects are grouped into seven federal districts,2 each administered by an envoy appointed by the President of Russia. Federal districts' envoys serve as liaisons between the federal subjects and the federal government and are primarily responsible for overseeing the compliance of the federal subjects with the federal laws.
Economic regions
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Economic regions of Russia
For economic and statistical purposes the federal subjects are grouped into twelve economic regions.3 Economic regions and their parts sharing common economic trends are in turn grouped into economic zones and macrozones.
See also
References
- ^ Конституция Российской Федерации, Статья 65 (Constitution of Russia, Article 65) (Russian)
- ^ "Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов" (ОК 024-95) введённый 1 января 1997 г., в ред. Изменения № 05/2001. Секция I. Федеральные округа (Russian Classificaton of Economic Regions (OK 024-95) of January 1, 1997 as amended by the Amendments #1/1998 through #5/2001. Section I. Federal Districts)
- ^ "Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов" (ОК 024-95) введённый 1 января 1997 г., в ред. Изменения № 05/2001. Секция II. Экономические районы (Russian Classificaton of Economic Regions (OK 024-95) of January 1, 1997 as amended by the Amendments #1/1998 through #5/2001. Section II. Economic Regions)
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