Municipalities of Russia

The municipal divisions in Russia, also called municipal formations (Russian: муниципальные образования, munitsipalnye obrazovaniya), are territorial divisions of the Russian Federation which are formally granted the authority to manage local affairs through local self-government. As of January 1, 2020, there are 20,846 municipal divisions in Russia, including 1,673 municipal districts, 635 urban okrugs, and 33 municipal okrugs.

According to the law, the units of municipal division (called municipal formations) are as follows:

• Municipal district (or municipal raion), is 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. Municipal districts share responsibility for municipal services with the lower-level local governments of the urban and rural settlements included within them.
  • 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 (or urban circuit), is an urban settlement not incorporated into a municipal district or municipal okrug, and which has a population density threshold requirement. In practice, urban okrugs are usually formed within the boundaries of existing cities of federal subject significance.
• Intra-urban territory (intra-urban municipal formation) of a federal city, part of a federal city's territory. This municipal unit exists in three cities:
  • Moscow, see Administrative divisions of Moscow
  • Saint Petersburg, see Administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg
  • Sevastopol, see Administrative and municipal divisions of Sevastopol
• Urban okrug with intra-urban divisions, an urban okrug that incorporates intra-urban districts as intra-urban municipalities
  • Intra-urban district (or raion), intra-urban municipalities within the territory of urban okrugs with intra-urban divisions. Intra-urban districts formally exercise local self-government either through direct means or through electoral and other institutions.
• Municipal okrug (or municipal circuit), a grouping of several settlements that were not existing urban or rural settlements municipalities on May 1, 2019. Municipal okrugs are a single tier of local government and formally exercise local self-government either through direct means or through electoral and other institutions.