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Okrug (Bulgarian: окръг; Serbian and Russian: о́круг; Ukrainian: округа, translit. okruha; Polish okręg) is a term used in some Eastern European Slavic states to denote an administrative division. Etymologically, the word is similar to the German word Bezirk ("district"); both okrug and Bezirk refer to something "encircled" (compare circle (country subdivision)).

Contents 1 Bulgaria 2 Imperial Russia 3 Soviet Union 4 Russian Federation 5 Serbia 6 See also 7 External links

Main article: Provinces of Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, okrugs, translated as "districts" or "counties", were a subdivision of the larger oblasts (provinces) that existed between 1987 and 1999.

Okrugs were a type of administrative division of oblasts and several governorates in Imperial Russia. Until 1920s, okrugs were administrative districts in Cossack hosts.

In the 1920s, okrugs were administrative divisions of oblasts and krais and were, in turn, divided into districts. On July 30, 1930 most of the okrugs were abolished. The remaining okrugs were abolished in the Russian SFSRduring 1930–1946, although they were retained in Zakarpattia Oblast of the Ukrainian SSR in status equivalent to that of a district.

First national okrugs were created first created in the Mountain ASSR of the Russian SFSR in 1921 as units of Soviet autonomy and additional national okrugs were created in the Russian SFSR for the peoples of the north. In 1977, all national okrugs were renamed autonomous okrugs.

Main article: Subdivisions of Russia

In the present-day Russian Federation, the term okrug is either translated as "district" or rendered directly as "okrug", and is used to describe the following types of divisions:

• Federal Districts (federalny okrug), such as the Siberian Federal District;
• Autonomous okrugs (avtonomny okrug), such as Chukotka Autonomous Okrug;
• Komi-Permyak Okrug, a territory with special status within Perm Krai.

Okrug is also used to describe the administrative divisions of the two "federal cities" in Russia:

• the administrative okrugs of Moscow are an upper-level administrative division.
• the municipal okrugs of St. Petersburg are a lower-level administrative division.

Furthermore, the designation okrug denotes several selsovet-level administrative divisions:

• okrugs, such as okrugs of Samara Oblast.
• rural okrugs (selsky okrug), such as the rural okrugs of Belgorod Oblast.
• rural territorial okrugs (selsky territorialny okrug), such as the rural territorial okrugs of Murmansk Oblast.
• stanitsa okrugs (stanichny okrug), such as the stanitsa okrugs of Krasnodar Krai.

Okrug is also used to describe a type of a municipal unit, the "municipal urban okrug". This is a municipal urban settlement not incorporated into a municipal district.

Main article: Districts of Serbia

See also: Subdivisions of Serbia

The Republic of Serbia is divided into twenty-nine okrugs as well as the "district city" of Belgrade. The term okrug in Serbia is often translated as either "district" or "county".

• Military district
• Country subdivision

• Okruha in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine

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