Russian Vocabulary: Places
Below is an alphabetical list of place-related terms found in Russian records. Each word is generally listed first in its modern nominative form, followed by relevant variants, including some with archaic spelling. If the word you are looking for is not found here, consider looking at our other word lists or the FamilySearch Wiki Russian Genealogical Word List. If you're still struggling to find the right word, it may be a person's or place name. Follow the guidelines listed under Practical Suggestions and use other resources on our site such as those found on the Names page.
Using the keyboard commands Ctrl+F (Windows) or Command+F (Mac) can be helpful when searching through word lists. Simply type the first few letters or a part of the word you know, and the search function will highlight any words in the list that contain that sequence of letters.
Russian | English | Examples |
| волость | volost (type of administrative unit) | 
(gen. волости) |
| вотчина | patrimony, land inheritance | 
(gen. вотчины) |
| город | city | 
(arch. prep. городѣ) |
| губерния | governorate, province | 
(arch. gen. губерніи) |
| двор | yard, court, estate | 
(gen. двора) |
| деревня | village (generally smaller than a село; lacks infrastructure) | 
(gen. деревни) |
| дом | house | 
(arch. домъ) |
| здесь | here | 
(arch. здѣсь) |
| имение | estate | 
|
| колония | colony | 
|
| местечко | village, shtetl (Yiddish) | 
(gen. мѣстечка) |
| место | place | 
|
| область | oblast, region (type of administrative unit) | 
|
| округ | okrug, district (type of administrative unit) | 
(gen. округа) |
| посад | settlement | 
|
| район | raion, area (type of administrative unit) | 
|
| село | village (generally larger than a деревня; has infrastructure, such as a church) | 
(gen. села) |
| стан | stan (type of administrative unit) | 
(abb. ст.) |
| уезд | uyezd, county (type of administrative unit | 
(gen. уѣзда) |
To view translations of specific words and phrases you may encounter in a certain document type, visit the corresponding Document Types page of this tutorial.
- Fyodor Alekseyev, Вид города Николаева, 1799, Oil on canvas. Wikimedia Commons.(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Алексеев_—_Вид_города_Николаева.jpg : accessed 27 August 2024). This image is in the public domain.