Definition of Oblast

Oblast (; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) refers to a type of administrative division in Slavic countries and in some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region". The last translation may lead to confusion, because the subdivision of "oblast" is called "raion" which is translated as "region" or "district", depending on the context.