Districts of Russia
A district is an administrative and municipal division of a federal subject of Russia.
As of 2023, excluding Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Sevastopol, there are 1,893 administrative districts and 1,823 municipal districts in Russia. All these districts have an administrative center, which is usually the same locality for both the administrative and municipal entity. If the three federal cities is included, there will be a total of 2,040 districts in Russia. Most western federal subjects are divided into smaller districts, while eastern federal subjects are divided into larger districts.
In modern Russia, division into administrative districts largely remained unchanged after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The term "district" is used to refer to an administrative division of a federal subject or to a district of a big city.
In two federal subjects, however, the terminology was changed to reflect national specifics: in Sakha, where they are known as ulus, and in Tuva, where they are known as kozhuun.
Hierarchy
Within the framework of administrative divisions, the administrative districts are on the same level of hierarchy as the [city of federal subjects of Russia|federal subject significance|cities of federal subject significance] and may be further subdivided into towns of district significance, urban-type settlements of district significance, and selsoviets, although the exact terms for these entities vary from one federal subject to another.Within the framework of municipal divisions, the municipal districts are on the same level of hierarchy as urban okrugs and are further subdivided into urban settlements, rural settlements, or both. Municipal districts are commonly formed within the boundaries of existing administrative districts, although in practice there are some exceptions to this rule.
Municipal district
A municipal district is a type of municipal formation which comprises a group of urban or rural settlements, as well as inter-settlement territories, sharing a common territory. The concept of the municipal districts was introduced in the early 2000s and codified on the federal level during the 2004 municipal reform.Municipal districts are commonly formed within the boundaries of existing administrative districts, although in practice there are some exceptions to this rule—Sortavalsky Municipal District in the Republic of Karelia, for example, is formed around the town of Sortavala, which neither has a status of nor is a part of any administrative district.