Volost in Russia at different times meant both a land community and an independent administrative-territorial unit. The abolition of volosts occurred at the beginning of the 20th century after the emergence of new territorial units - districts.
The words "volost" and "power" in ancient Russian chronicles were found equally often and had the same meaning.
What is a volost in Ancient Russia
In ancient Russia, a volost was called a territory that was subordinate to one power, most often princely. However, volosts could be located not only on princely, but also on monastery, boyar, and palace lands. Typically, the prince gave control of the volost to one person - the “volostel”, in favor of which duties and taxes were levied from the inhabitants of the volost. Such a system was called "feeding" and was abolished in the 17th century with the advent of the city governor.
Subsequently, the parish was called not a land community, but an administrative district, the borders of which could coincide with the previous borders of the volosts. This coincidence was due to several reasons: the established relations between the inhabitants of the volosts and natural conditions, including the geographical connection of the settlements among themselves. Villages were often located on the banks of rivers and lakes and united around one church parish or land community. Volost in Ancient Russia was the most characteristic type of peasant community. Each volost had its own name, and the people living on its territory were distinguished by a characteristic reprimand and were connected by close family ties.
