Pogost

It has also been borrowed into Latgalian (pogosts), Finnish (pogosta) and Latvian (pagasts), with specific meanings.

The original usage applies to the coaching inn for princes and ecclesiastics[2] with the word being similar to modern Russian gost' (гость), "guest".

It is assumed that originally pogosts were rural communities on the periphery of the ancient Rus` state, as well as trading centers (Old Russian: gost'ba, гостьба).

[further explanation needed] Since then they became known as city pogosts (погосто – место), functioning as parish centers.

In modern Russian, pogosts usually designate a combination of a rural church and a graveyard, situated at some distant place.