A RETROSPECTIVE AND THE GENESIS OF THE TERMS USED TO DESCRIBE THE TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE POPULATION (domestic experience)

Abstract

The article presents the results of a retrospective and the genesis of the main terms used to describe the elements of the hierarchy of power relations between the center and the basic levels (regional and local authorities). An excursion into the history of the emergence of terminological names of territorial entities and authorities at different levels of its hierarchy on the territory of modern Russia is carried out. Etymological and semantic analyses are used as the main methods. The work uses periodization covering the times starting from the period of Kievan Rus – to the middle of the XIII century, the period of the unified Russian state (the end of the XV century – 1721), the period of the Russian Empire (1721 – 1917), the Soviet period (1917 – 1991), and ending with modern history (from 1991 to 2003 and up to present time). It has been established that the emergence and use of terms denoting the territorial organization of the population and its management system, for the most part, are associated with attempts to decentralize public administration. Generalization of the obtained results allowed us to come to an understanding of the need to improve the quality (russification) of the terms used and link them to the realities of life.