Subdivisions of Russia - Municipal Divisions

Municipal Divisions

In the course of the Russian municipal reform of 2004–2005, all federal subjects of Russia were to streamline the structures of local self-government, which is guaranteed by the Constitution of Russia. The reform mandated that each federal subject was to have a unified structure of the municipal government bodies by January 1, 2005, and a law enforcing the reform provisions went in effect on January 1, 2006. According to the law, the units of the municipal division (called "municipal formations") are as follows:

• Municipal district, a group of urban and rural settlements, often along with the inter-settlement territories. In practice, municipal districts are usually formed within the boundaries of existing administrative districts (raions).
  • Urban settlement, a city/town or an urban-type settlement, possibly together with adjacent rural and/or urban localities
  • Rural settlement, one or several rural localities
• Urban okrug, an urban settlement not incorporated into a municipal district. In practice, urban okrugs are usually formed within the boundaries of existing cities of federal subject significance.
• Intra-city territory of a federal city, a part of a federal city's territory. In Moscow, these are called municipal formations (which correspond to districts); in St. Petersburg—municipal okrugs, towns, and settlements.

Territories not included as a part of municipal formations are known as inter-settlement territories.