- See rayon for the textile made of processed cellulose.
A raion (or rayon) (Russian and Ukrainian: райо́н; Belarusian раён), is a subnational entity of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Latvia, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and the former Soviet Union.
A raion is usually an entity two steps below the national level. It can be a subordinate part:
- of a voblast (in Belarus);
- of an oblast, krai, autonomous republic, autonomous district, or big city (in Russia);
- of a small Soviet republic (SSR), oblast, krai, republic, or big city of a large SSR (in the now-defunct Soviet Union);
- of an oblast’, a big city, or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (in Ukraine).
Raion can be best translated as "district".
Raions in Russian Federation
Subdivision into raions largely remained after the collapse of the Soviet Union. However in many places the terminology changed, to reflect national specifics (the list may be incomplete):
See also
Last updated: 05-17-2005 10:25:16