poviats

Poviats are administrative divisions used in several countries, primarily in Eastern Europe. The term originates from the Russian word "повят," which means "district" or "county." Poviats were historically used in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. In these regions, poviats served as a level of local government between the voivodeship (or guberniya) and the smaller administrative units such as cities, towns, or villages.

In the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, poviats were part of the voivodeships and were further divided into smaller units called starosties. Each poviat was governed by a starosta, who was appointed by the king or the voivode. The starosta was responsible for maintaining law and order, collecting taxes, and overseeing local administration.

In the Russian Empire, poviats were established in the 18th century as part of the guberniya system. They were typically divided into volosts, which were the smallest administrative units. The head of a poviat was called a poviat marshal, who was responsible for managing local affairs and reporting to the guberniya governor.

Poviats were abolished in the 20th century with the establishment of modern administrative divisions in many countries. However, the term "poviat" is still used in some contexts, such as in the names of historical regions or in the names of certain administrative units in Belarus and Ukraine.