The municipal divisions in Russia, also called municipal formations (Russian: муниципальные образования, munitsipalnye obrazovaniya), are territorial divisions of the Russian Federation which are formally granted the authority to manage local affairs through local self-government.
[5] Additional federal legislation introduced on May 1, 2019, added the territorial unit of municipal okrug.
[7] This legislation also set standards for the incorporation of new urban okrugs and the change in status of existing ones.
[7][8] Existing urban okrugs which do not meet the requirements must be reincorporated as municipal okrgus by 2025.
[7] The change was implemented out of concern that some small towns had been incorporated as urban okrugs and given all of the taxing powers and municipal service standards of much larger cities, which in the words of State Duma deputy Viktor Kidyaev turn "villagers into townspeople.