# Volost

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{{Short description|Eastern European administrative subdivision}}
'''Volost''' ({{langx|be|во́ласць|volasts}}; {{langx|lt|valsčius}}; {{langx|ru|во́лость}} {{IPA|ru|ˈvoɫəsʲtʲ|}}; {{Langx|uk|во́лость}}) was a traditional administrative subdivision in [Kievan Rus'](/source/Kievan_Rus'), the [Grand Duchy of Moscow](/source/Grand_Duchy_of_Moscow), and the [Russian Empire](/source/Russian_Empire).

==History==
The ''[Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary](/source/Brockhaus_and_Efron_Encyclopedic_Dictionary)'' (1890–1907) states that the origins of the concept is unclear; whether it originally referred to an administrative subdivision or to a peasant ''[obshchina](/source/obshchina)'', the term referring to a territory under a single rule.<ref name= efron/>

In earlier [East Slavic](/source/Early_East_Slavs) history, in the lands of [Ruthenia](/source/Ruthenia), ''[volost](/source/%3Awikt%3Avolost)'' was a name for the territory ruled by the [knyaz](/source/knyaz), a principality; either as an absolute ruler or with varying degree of autonomy from the ''Velikiy Knyaz'' ([Grand Prince](/source/Grand_Prince)). Starting from the end of the 14th century, ''volost'' was a unit of administrative division in the [Grand Duchy of Lithuania](/source/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania),<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first= |last= |date=29 April 2020 |orig-year=2013 |url=https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/valscius/ |title=valsčius |encyclopedia=[Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija](/source/Visuotin%C4%97_lietuvi%C5%B3_enciklopedija) |publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras |language=lt |access-date=21 February 2026}}</ref> [Poland](/source/Poland),{{cn|date=July 2023}} [Muscovy](/source/Grand_Duchy_of_Moscow),<ref name= efron>{{cite Efron|wstitle=Волость}}</ref> lands of modern Latvia{{cn|date=July 2023}} and Ukraine. Since about the 16th century it was a part of provincial [district](/source/district)s that were called "[uezd](/source/uezd)" in Muscovy and the later [Russian Empire](/source/Russian_Empire). Each uezd had several volosts that were subordinated to the uezd city.

After the abolition of [Russian serfdom](/source/Russian_serfdom) in 1861, ''volost'' became a unit of [peasant](/source/peasant)'s local [self-rule](/source/self-rule). A number of [mirs](/source/mir_(social)) are united into a volost, which has an assembly consisting of elected delegates from the mirs. These elect an elder (''[starshina](/source/starshina)'') and, hitherto, a court of justice (''volostnoy sud''). The [self-government](/source/self-government) of the mirs and volosts was, however, tempered by the authority of the police commissaries (''[stanovoi](/source/stanovoi)'') and by the power of general oversight given to the nominated "district committees for the affairs of the peasants".<ref>{{EB1911 |wstitle=Russia |volume=23 |pages=874–878 |inline=1 |first=Walter Alison |last=Phillips |author-link=Walter Alison Phillips}}</ref>

Volosts were abolished by the [Soviet](/source/Soviet_Union) administrative reform of 1923–1929. [Raion](/source/Raion)s may be roughly called a modern equivalent of both volosts and uezds.

==Administration==
Volosts were governed by '''volost administration''' ({{lang|ru|волостное правление}}, ''volostnoye pravleniye''), which consisted of the electable '''chief of volost''' (''volostnoy [starshina](/source/starshina)''), chiefs of villages (village ''[starosta](/source/starosta)s'') and other officials electable by the Volost Assembly (волостной сход, ''volostnoy skhod'').<ref name=bes>''[Large Encyclopedic Dictionary](/source/Large_Encyclopedic_Dictionary),'' vol. 1, Moscow, 1991</ref>

'''Volost Court''' was the [court](/source/court) electable by the Volost Assembly, which could handle smaller civil and criminal cases. It could sentence people to [corporal punishment](/source/corporal_punishment), [fine](/source/fine_(penalty)) or short-term [incarceration](/source/incarceration).<ref name=bes/>

==Russian Federation==
In modern Russia, [Veps National Volost](/source/Veps_National_Volost) existed in the [Republic of Karelia](/source/Republic_of_Karelia) during 1996-2004. There were also volosts in [Olonets Raion](/source/Olonets_Raion) of Karelia during 1993-2004, e.g., Nurmolsky ''[selsoviet](/source/selsoviet)'' {{lang|ru|Нурмольский сельсовет}} based on {{ill|Nurmolitsy|ru|Нурмолицы}} was renamed into Nurmolskaya volost in 1992.<ref>Республика Карелия: Административно-территориальное устройство.&nbsp;— Петрозаводск, 1996.&nbsp;— С. 45—49.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://koverskoe.ru/o-poselenii/istoriya |title=История Коверского сельского поселения |access-date=2016-10-13 |archive-date=2016-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027044854/http://koverskoe.ru/o-poselenii/istoriya  }}</ref> There were also [:ru:Коткозерская волость](/source/%3Aru%3A%D0%9A%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C), [:ru:Видлицкая волость](/source/%3Aru%3A%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C).

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

{{Slavic terms for country subdivisions}}

{{Authority control}}
Category:Types of administrative division
Category:Former subdivisions of Belarus
Category:Local government in the Russian Empire
Category:Russian-language designations of territorial entities

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