Oblast

Oblast is a type of administrative division in most Slavic countries and some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is used in English as well,^[1] but it is often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region". The last translation may lead to confusion, because the subdivision of "oblast" is called "raion" which can be translated as "region" or "district" as well.

Oblasts are a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ukraine, it was also used by the Soviet Union which does not exist anymore. Official terms in successor states of the Soviet Union differ, the majority (except Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and the Baltics) still use a cognate of the Russian term, e.g. voblast (voblasts, voblasts' , IPA: [ˈvobɫasʲtsʲ]) is used for provinces of Belarus, and oblys (plural: oblystar) for provinces of Kazakhstan.

1. ↑ Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008. Entry on "oblast"