Minsk, the capital of Belarus, is divided into nine districts (raions):
The first subdivision of Minsk was carried out in August 1921: the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus divided Minsk into three party administration districts: Aleksandrovsky (ÃÂûõúÃÂðýôÃÂþòÃÂúøù), Lyakhovsky (ÃÂÃÂàþòÃÂúøù), and Central (æõýÃÂÃÂðûÃÂýÃÂù).
By the decree of the Central Executive Committee of Byelorussian SSR of March 17, 1938, Minsk was divided into three raions for general administration:
On July 20, 1957, the Kaganovich district was renamed into Oktyabrski (October district). On November 2, 1961, the Stalin district was renamed to the Factory district and the Voroshilov district into the Soviet district.
Except for Maskowski, each district has got its coat of arms. 7 of them have their name written in Russian, Savyetski in Belarusian.
There are also microraions, areas of housing development outside the historical centre, primarily residential areas. Many of them are named after the suburban villages swallowed by the city. Others are named after the major streets.