Editing Raion (section)

{{Short description|Administrative division in several countries}}
{{Other uses|Rayon (disambiguation)}}

A '''raion''' (also spelt '''rayon''') is a type of administrative unit of several [[post-Soviet states]]. The term is used for both a type of [[administrative division|subnational entity]] and a division of a [[city]]. The word is from the [[French language|French]] {{Lang|fr|rayon}} (meaning 'honeycomb, department'),<ref>[[Merriam-Webster]]'s ''Third New International Dictionary'' (1961, repr. 1981), s.v. ''raion''.</ref> and is commonly translated as '[[district]]' in English.<ref>Saunders, R.A., Strukov, V. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=l_uAoNJiOMwC&pg=PA477 Historical Dictionary of the Russian Federation]''. "[[Scarecrow Press]]", 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-8108-5475-8}}, S. 477.</ref>

A raion is a standardized administrative entity across most of the former [[Soviet Union]] and is usually a subdivision two steps below the national level, such as a subdivision of an [[oblast]]. However, in smaller USSR republics, it could be the primary level of administrative division. After the [[fall of the Soviet Union]], some of the republics kept the ''raion'' (e.g. [[Administrative divisions of Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]], [[Districts of Belarus|Belarus]], [[Raions of Ukraine|Ukraine]], [[Districts of Russia|Russia]], [[Administrative divisions of Moldova|Moldova]], [[Districts of Kazakhstan|Kazakhstan]], [[Districts of Kyrgyzstan|Kyrgyzstan]]) while others dropped it (e.g. [[Administrative divisions of Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Administrative divisions of Uzbekistan|Uzbekistan]], [[Administrative divisions of Estonia|Estonia]], [[Administrative divisions of Latvia|Latvia]], [[Administrative divisions of Armenia|Armenia]], [[Districts of Tajikistan|Tajikistan]], [[Districts of Turkmenistan|Turkmenistan]]).

In [[Bulgaria]], it refers to an internal administrative subdivision of a city not related to the administrative division of the country as a whole, or, in the case of [[Sofia Capital Municipality|Sofia municipality]] a [[Districts of Sofia|subdivision of that municipality]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lex.bg/laws/ldoc/2133624321|title=Lex.bg - Закони, правилници, конституция, кодекси, държавен вестник, правилници по прилагане |trans-title=Laws, regulations, constitution, codes, state gazette, implementing regulations |website=lex.bg |access-date=8 May 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816110817/http://lex.bg/laws/ldoc/2133624321|archive-date=16 August 2017}}</ref>