Supernumerary town

Supernumerary town (Russian: Заштатный город, romanized: zashtatny; Безуездный город, pre-reform orthography: Безъуѣздный городъ, romanized: bezuyezdny gorod, lit.

[1][2] During the reign of Catherine II of Russia, when an uezd was disbanded, its administratice centre typically lost its status as a city, with the corresponding loss of city privileges of its inhabitants.

[3] The 1796 reform of the administrative division by Emperor Paul I of Russia decreased the number of uyezds and their centers were reclassified as supernumerary towns.

The reform established the population number as a criterion for a supernumerary town.

[5] Over time the term zashtatny gorod has acquired the meaning of an insignificant/backwater city.