Dictionary

oblast en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɒblɑːst/
• /ˈɒblæst/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From a Slavic language, probably Russian о́бласть (óblastʹ, “region, province”), borrowed from Old Church Slavonic область (oblastĭ), from Proto-Slavic *obolstь, from earlier *obvolstь, *obvoldtь, a compound of *o(b)- (“over”) + *volstь (“rule, power, authority”), thus originally probably meaning "a region ruled over". Compare Proto-Slavic *obvoldati (“to rule”).

Meanings

1. A region or province in Slavic or Slavic-influenced countries.
   • The territorial subdivision below the level of the union republic — or at least below the level of the larger union republics — is that of the oblast, the krai, or the autonomous republic. In 1977 there were 120 oblasts, 6 krais, and 20 autonomous republics, and they corresponded roughly to the American state in size. 1979, Jerry Fincher Hough, How the Soviet Union Is Governed, page 483:
   • It is important to note, however, that the general pattern of Nizhnii Novgorod oblast at the top and Tiumen' and Yaroslavl' oblasts in the middle, with Saratov at the bottom, occurred too often across all indicators to assume that even those differences in means that were not significant at a .05 confidence level or better occurred merely by chance. 2002, Kathryn Stoner-Weiss, Local Heroes: The Political Economy of Russian Regional Governance, page 119:
   • Almaty oblast (distinct from Almaty city) is the most rural of Kazakhstan's oblasts, at just 22.2 percent urban. 2010, Martha Brill Olcott, Kazakhstan: Unfulfilled Promise, page 194:

Forms

Deriveds

autonomous oblast · inter-oblast · oblastal · intra-oblast

Relateds

krai

Translations (92)

ug ۋىلايەت (region or province) · af oblast (region or province) · be во́бласць (region or province) · sk oblasť (region or province) · hi ओब्लास्त (region or province) · cs oblast (region or province) · koi лапӧв (region or province) · be во́бласьць (region or province) · nog уьлке (region or province) · pa ਆਬਲਸਤ (region or province) · sv oblast (region or province) · el όμπλαστ (region or province) · id oblast (region or province) · fi oblasti (region or province) · bn ওব্লাস্ট (region or province) · izh oblasti (region or province) · mn область (region or province) · mn ᠣᠪᠯᠠᠰᠲ᠋ᠢ (region or province) · cv облаҫӗ (region or province) · ar أُوبْلَاسْت (region or province) · hy շրջան (region or province) · ur اوبْلاسْت (region or province) · tl oblast (region or province) · hu régió (region or province) · ka მხარე (region or province) · fr oblast (region or province) · jv oblast (region or province) · eu oblast (region or province) · kk облыс (region or province) · cmg ᠣᠪᠯᠠᠰᠲ᠋ᠢ (region or province) · orv оболость (region or province) · kmr oblast (region or province) · nl oblast (region or province) · hy մարզ (region or province) · de Oblast (region or province) · ja オーブラスチ (region or province) · ky облус (region or province) · rsk обласц (region or province) · hu körzet (region or province) · ru о́бласть (region or province) · xal муҗ (region or province) · fi alue (region or province) · es óblast (region or province) · ka ოლქი (region or province) · os облӕст (region or province) · cu область (region or province) · rue о́бласть (region or province) · sl oblast (region or province) · ce область (region or province) · tg вилоят (region or province) · pt óblast (region or province) · ro oblastie (region or province) · uz viloyat (region or province) · eo oblasto (region or province) · he אובלסט (region or province) · sah уобалас (region or province) · ug ئوبلاست (region or province) · mk о́бласт (region or province) · tk welaýat (region or province) · pl obwód (region or province) · yi געגנט (region or province) · it oblast' (region or province) · xal төгәлң (region or province) · sh ȍblāst (region or province) · kbd област (region or province) · uk о́бласть (region or province) · ab аабласт (region or province) · uz oblast (region or province) · ka ობლასტი (region or province) · hu terület (region or province) · ca óblast (region or province) · vi oblast (region or province) · az vilayət (region or province) · bg о́бласт (region or province) · yi אָבלאַסט (region or province) · hsb oblasć (region or province) · ko 오블라스티 (region or province) · tt өлкә (region or province) · ar أُوبْلَاسْت (region or province) · ms oblast (region or province) · sh о̏бла̄ст (region or province) · tr oblast (region or province) · nb oblast (region or province) · bua можо (region or province) · ce латтдоза (region or province) · fa-ira اُبْلاسْت (region or province) · et oblast (region or province) · da oblast (region or province) · ba өлкә (region or province) · udm улос (region or province) · uz muzofot (region or province) · kbd хэку (region or province)