# Uezd

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{{Short description|Historic Russian administrative subdivision}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}}
{{No footnotes|date=June 2025}}
thumb|right|250px|Uezds of the Russian Empire in 1897
An '''uezd''' (also spelled '''uyezd''' or '''uiezd'''; {{lang-rus|уе́зд ([pre-1918](/source/Reforms_of_Russian_orthography): уѣздъ)|p=ʊˈjest}}), or '''[povit](/source/povit)''' in a Ukrainian context ({{langx|uk|повіт}}), was a type of administrative subdivision of the [Grand Duchy of Moscow](/source/Grand_Duchy_of_Moscow), the [Tsardom of Russia](/source/Tsardom_of_Russia), the [Russian Empire](/source/Russian_Empire), the [Russian SFSR](/source/Russian_Soviet_Federative_Socialist_Republic), and the early [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union), which was in use from the 13th century. For most of Russian history, uezds were a second-level [administrative division](/source/administrative_division). By sense, but not by etymology, ''uezd'' approximately corresponds to the English "[county](/source/county)".

==General description==
Originally describing groups of several [volost](/source/volost)s, they formed around the most important cities. Uezds were ruled by the appointees (''[namestnik](/source/namestnik)i'') of a [knyaz](/source/knyaz) and, starting from the 17th century, by [voyevoda](/source/Voivode)s.

In 1708, an [administrative reform](/source/Administrative_divisions_of_Russia_in_1708%E2%80%931710) was carried out by [Peter the Great](/source/Peter_the_Great), dividing Russia into [governorate](/source/governorate)s. The subdivision into uyezds was abolished at that time but was reinstated in 1727, as a result of [Catherine I](/source/Catherine_I_of_Russia)'s [administrative reform](/source/Administrative_divisions_of_Russia_in_1727%E2%80%931728).

By the [USSR](/source/USSR) administrative reform of 1923–1929, most of the uezds were transformed into [raion](/source/raion)s (districts). In [UkSSR](/source/UkSSR), uezds were reformed into forty [okruhas](/source/Okruhas_of_the_Ukrainian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic) which were the primary-level of administrative division from 1925 to 1930.

==Baltic governorates==
In the [Baltic governorates](/source/Baltic_governorates) the type of division was known as ''Kreis'' in [German](/source/German_language), ''apriņķis'' in [Latvian](/source/Latvian_language) and ''maakond''/''kreis'' in [Estonian](/source/Estonian_language).

== Lithuanian governorates ==
In the [Lithuania-Vilna Governorate](/source/Lithuania-Vilna_Governorate), [Kovno Governorate](/source/Kovno_Governorate) and [Lithuania-Grodno Governorate](/source/Lithuania-Grodno_Governorate) the type of division was known as ''apskritis'' in [Lithuanian](/source/Lithuanian_language).

==Bessarabia==
The uezds of [Bessarabia Governorate](/source/Bessarabia_Governorate) were called {{Lang|ro|[Ținut](/source/%C8%9Ainut)}} or {{Lang|ro|[Județ](/source/Jude%C8%9B)}} in [Romanian](/source/Romanian_language), which would translate as "county".{{citation needed|date=December 2010}}

==Ukraine==
The Ukrainian word for ''uezd'' is ''[povit](/source/povit)'' ({{langx|uk|повіт}}, plural {{langx|uk|повіти|translit=povity|label=none}}).

==See also==
*[List of uezds of the Russian Empire](/source/List_of_uezds_of_the_Russian_Empire)
*[History of the administrative division of Russia](/source/History_of_the_administrative_division_of_Russia)
*[Governorate (Russia)](/source/Governorate_(Russia))

==External links==
*{{in lang|ru}} [http://www.strana-oz.ru/?numid=7&article=294 "Administrative territorial division of Russia in the 18th-20th centuries" («Административно-территориальное деление России XVIII—XX веков»)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025071033/http://www.strana-oz.ru/?numid=7&article=294 |date=2018-10-25 }} "Otechestvennye Zapiski", No.6, 2002.
*{{in lang|ru}} Тархов, Сергей, "Изменение административно-территориального деления России в XIII-XX в." ([http://www.ruthenia.ru/logos/number/46/03.pdf  pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923082322/http://www.ruthenia.ru/logos/number/46/03.pdf |date=2020-09-23 }}), ''Логос'', [http://www.ruthenia.ru/logos/number/2005_01_46.htm #1 2005 (46)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513225345/http://www.ruthenia.ru/logos/number/2005_01_46.htm |date=2021-05-13 }}, {{ISSN|0869-5377}}

{{Slavic terms for country subdivisions}}

Category:Uezds of the Russian Empire
Category:Local government in the Russian Empire
Category:Types of administrative division
Category:Russian-language designations of territorial entities

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Uezd](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uezd) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uezd?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.