Subdivisions of Kiev
Administratively, the city is divided into "raions" ("districts"), which have their local governments with jurisdiction over a limited scope of affairs. Presently, there are 10 raions.
Besides these, Kiev is informally divided into informal, historical neighborhoods, each housing from about 5,000 to 100,000 inhabitants.
The natural first level of subdivision of the city is into the Right Bank and the Left Bank of the Dnieper. The Right Bank, located on the west side of the river, contains the older portions of the city.
The first known formal subdivision of Kiev dates to 1810 when the city was subdivided into 4 parts: Pechersk, Starokyiv, and the first and the second parts of Podil. In 1833-1834 according to Tsar Nicholas I's decree, Kiev was subdivided into 6 police raions; later being increased to 10. As of 1917, there were 8 Raion Councils (Duma), which were reorganized by bolsheviks into 6 Party-Territory Raions.
Over the Soviet time, as city was expanding, the number of raions was gradually increasing. The raions has been also commonly named after Soviet party leaders, and as political situation was changing and some leaders were overturned by the other, so raion names were also changing.
The last raion reform took place in 2001 when the number of raions has been decreased from 14 to 10.
Under Oleksandr Omelchenko (mayor from 1999 to 2006), there were further plans for the merger of some raions and revision of their boundaries, and the total number of raions had been planned to be decreased from 10 to 7. With the election of the new mayor-elect (Leonid Chernovetsky) in 2006, these plans were conducted.
Raions of Kiev
Administratively, the city is divided into raions (districts), which have their own units of central and local government with jurisdiction over a limited scope of affairs.
Further information: Legal status and local government of Kiev.
The last Kiev raion reorganization took place in 2001, and currently Kiev raions are:
- Darnytskyi Raion (Дарницький район)
- Desnianskyi Raion (Деснянський район; after the Desna river)
- Dniprovskyi Raion (Дніпровський район; after the Dnieper river)
- Holosiivskyi Raion (Голосіївський район)
- Obolonskyi Raion (Оболонський район)
- Pecherskyi Raion (Печерський район)
- Podilskyi Raion (Подільський район)
- Shevchenkivskyi Raion (Шевченківський район; after Taras Schevchenko)
- Solomianskyi Raion (Солом’янський район)
- Sviatoshynskyi (Святошинський район)
Most of the raions are named after respective historical neighborhoods of the city.
