Subdivisions of Kyiv

Administratively, the city is divided into districts (raions), which have their own units of central and locally elected councils with jurisdiction over a limited scope of affairs.

The Right Bank (Ukrainian: Правий Берег, Pravyi Bereh), located on the western side of the river, contains the older portions of the city, as well as the majority of Kyiv's business and governmental institutions.

The eastern Left Bank (Ukrainian: Лівий Берег, Livyi Bereh), incorporated into the city only in the twentieth century, is predominantly residential.

Such neighborhoods count in dozens, however, constituting a kind of hierarchy, since most of them have lost their distinctive topographic limits.

The names of the oldest neighborhoods go back to the Middle Ages, and sometimes pose a great linguistic interest.

[citation needed] Koncha-Zaspa is arguably the most interesting neighborhood name dating back to the times of Kyivan Rus.

However, metro lines do not cover significant parts of Kyiv, making such orientation very approximate (but easy for newcomers).