Administrative divisions of Russia in 1708–1710
|History of the
division of Russia
The administrative division reform of 1708 was carried out by Russian Tsar Peter the Great in an attempt to improve the manageability of the vast territory of the Russian Empire. Prior to the reform the country was subdivided into uyezds and volosts, and in the 17th century the number of the uyezds was 166.
On December 29 [O.S. December 18], 1708, Peter issued an edict dividing Russia into eight governments (guberniyas). The edict did not describe the borders of the governorates; instead, their territories were defined as the sets of cities and the lands adjacent to those cities. Some older subdivision types also continued to be used.
The governments were divided into territories that lay around important cities identified during the reform. Some governments were divided into orders (prikaz) and orders-in-charge (razryadny prikaz). Orders-in-charge existed within border adjacent territories, among which is better known Belgorodskiy razryad (Order in charge of Belgorod).
After the sack of Baturyn, Cossack Hetmanate was incorporated within the Government of Kiev. The Russian government also bought the city of Kiev from the Kingdom of Poland. The center of local Cossack administration headed by Ivan Skoropadsky became the city of Hlukhiv, while the autonomy was de facto abolished.
List of the governorates (as of 1708)
|Governorate||Name in Russian||Area||No. of homesteads||Modern divisions|
|Archangelgorod Governorate||Архангелогородская губерния||1,317,800 km2 (508,800 sq mi)||59,662||Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, and Vologda Oblasts; part of Kostroma Oblast, the Republic of Karelia, and the Komi Republic|
|Azov Governorate||Азовская губерния||393,700 km2 (152,000 sq mi)||35,820||Rostov, Tambov, and Voronezh Oblasts; eastern parts of Belgorod, Kursk, Oryol, Ryazan, and Tula Oblasts; parts of Penza Oblast and Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Luhansk Oblasts of Ukraine|
|Ingermanland Governorate||Ингерманландская губерния||482,500 km2 (186,300 sq mi)||105,977||Leningrad, Novgorod, Pskov, and Tver Oblasts; southern part of Arkhangelsk Oblast; western parts of Vologda and Yaroslavl Oblasts; part of the Republic of Karelia|
|Kazan Governorate||Казанская губерния||1,398,600 km2 (540,000 sq mi)||119,056||Volga Region and the Republic of Bashkortostan; parts of Perm Krai and Ivanovo, Kostroma, Penza, and Tambov Oblasts; northern parts of the Republics of Dagestan and Kalmykia|
|Kiev Governorate||Киевская губерния||231,000 km2 (89,000 sq mi)||31,230||Ukraine; parts of Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Oryol, and Tula Oblasts|
|Moscow Governorate||Московская губерния||128,600 km2 (49,700 sq mi)||190,770||Moscow Oblast, parts of Ivanovo, Kaluga, Kostroma, Ryazan, Tula, and Vladimir Oblasts|
|Siberia Governorate||Сибирская губерния||10,978,300 km2 (4,238,700 sq mi)||59,360||Siberia, most of the Ural Mountains; parts of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Kirov Oblast and the Komi Republic|
|Smolensk Governorate||Смоленская губерния||85,400 km2 (33,000 sq mi)||35,130||Smolensk Oblast; parts of Bryansk, Kaluga, Tula, and Tver Oblasts|
- С. А. Тархов (2001). "Изменение административно-территориального деления России за последние 300 лет". Электронная версия журнала "География".
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