{{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', the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and the Russian Empire.

==History== The ''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'', the term referring to a territory under a single rule.<ref name= efron/>

In earlier East Slavic history, in the lands of Ruthenia, ''volost'' was a name for the territory ruled by the knyaz, a principality; either as an absolute ruler or with varying degree of autonomy from the ''Velikiy Knyaz'' (Grand Prince). Starting from the end of the 14th century, ''volost'' was a unit of administrative division in the 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 |publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras |language=lt |access-date=21 February 2026}}</ref> Poland,{{cn|date=July 2023}} Muscovy,<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 districts that were called "uezd" in Muscovy and the later Russian Empire. Each uezd had several volosts that were subordinated to the uezd city.

After the abolition of Russian serfdom in 1861, ''volost'' became a unit of peasant's local self-rule. A number of mirs are united into a volost, which has an assembly consisting of elected delegates from the mirs. These elect an elder (''starshina'') and, hitherto, a court of justice (''volostnoy sud''). The self-government of the mirs and volosts was, however, tempered by the authority of the police commissaries (''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 administrative reform of 1923–1929. Raions 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''), chiefs of villages (village ''starostas'') and other officials electable by the Volost Assembly (волостной сход, ''volostnoy skhod'').<ref name=bes>''Large Encyclopedic Dictionary,'' vol. 1, Moscow, 1991</ref>

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

==Russian Federation== In modern Russia, Veps National Volost existed in the Republic of Karelia during 1996-2004. There were also volosts in Olonets Raion of Karelia during 1993-2004, e.g., Nurmolsky ''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, :ru:Видлицкая волость.

==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