Russia Administrative Divisions

Russia is divided into 4 federal cities (Город федерального значения), 48 provinces (Областей), 24 republics (Республика), and 14 other units across 3 types, which form the top-level administrative units. These are subdivided into 6 federal towns, 25 urban (посёлок городского типа), 17,745 cities (города), and 1,845 other units across 2 types. The smallest administrative level consists of 146 moscow districts (Районы (Москвы)) and 111 districts (Районы (Санкт-Петербурга)). Major federal cities include Altai Krai, Altai Republic, and Amur Oblast.

Russia has 3 administrative levels. Level 1: 4 federal cities (Город федерального значения), 48 provinces (Областей), 24 republics (Республика), and 14 other units across 3 types. Level 2: 6 federal towns, 25 urban (посёлок городского типа), 17,745 cities (города), and 1,845 other units across 2 types. Level 3: 146 moscow districts (Районы (Москвы)) and 111 districts (Районы (Санкт-Петербурга)).

Russia operates on a 3‑level system starting with 84 administrative territories, then municipal okrugs, 56 municipal districts, 9 urban okrugs, and rural settlements, 7 urban settlements as the smallest administrative units. Note that Baikonur do not have sub-divisions at the next level.

In Russia, federal cities and provinces both sit at administrative level 1 but serve different functions. Federal cities (город федерального значения) — there are 4 — are typically a larger city or urban area that govern itself independently. Provinces (областей) — there are 48 — group multiple smaller municipalities under a shared administration.

Russian administrative divisions have specific local names at each level. In Russian, federal cities are called Город федерального значения; provinces are called Областей; republics are called Республика; territories are called Краёв; autonomous districts are called Автономный округа; jewish autonomous oblast are called Автономная область; urban are called посёлок городского типа; cities are called города; districts are called Район; districts are called Округ; moscow districts are called Районы (Москвы); districts are called Районы (Санкт-Петербурга). These local-language terms appear in official documents, legal records, and government databases, so matching them correctly is important for data integration and compliance.

Administrative boundaries in Russia change as governments reorganize regions, merge municipalities, or create new administrative units to reflect population shifts and political decisions. Changes most commonly affect the moscow districts level, where Russia currently has 257 units. Businesses that rely on Russian administrative data should use a regularly updated reference dataset to avoid mismatches in geocoding, tax jurisdiction mapping, and compliance reporting.