raion

Etymology

From Russian райо́н (rajón), archaic раіо́нъ (raión), from French rayon (“honeycomb, department”). More recently influenced by the same name used in other post-Soviet states. Compare Ukrainian райо́н (rajón).

noun

1. An administrative unit of some Eastern European and Asian states.
   Suffice it to mention that several thousand raion papers were replaced by “territorial administrations” organs, and that all transport papers were closed. 2000, Roman Szporluk, Russia, Ukraine, and the Breakup of the Soviet Union, Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, page 119