This article covers the history of the administrative division of Russia from 1708 to 1743.

Administrative reform of 1708

Prior to the administrative division reform of 1708, the territory of Russia was subdivided into uyezds (districts, from Russian уе́зд) and volosts (small rural districts, from Russian во́лость). In 1708, in order to improve the manageability of the vast territory of the Russian Empire, Tsar Peter the Great issued an ukase (pronounced ukaz, from Russian ука́з, meaning edict) dividing Russia into eight administrative divisions; each of these divisions may be referred to as a Guberniya (transliteration of the Russian губе́рния; plural guberniyas) or as a Governorate General (translation of the Russian генера́л-губерна́торство; plural Governorates General).

1710–1726

The reform of 1708 did not specify how the guberniyas were to be subdivided; instead, the guberniyas included the cities located on their territory and the lands adjanced to those cities. Some older subdivisions also continued to be used. Between 1710 and 1713, all Governorates General were subdivided into lots (Russian: до́ли). In 1719, Peter enacted another administrative reform to fix the deficiencies of the original system. This reform abolished the system of lots, dividing most of the guberniyas into provinces (прови́нции), which were further divided into districts (ди́стрикты).

During this time, territories were frequently reshuffled between the guberniyas, and new guberniyas were added to accommodate population growth and territorial expansion. These changes are summarized by the following table:

Administrative reform of 1727

In 1727, soon after Peter I's death, Catherine I enacted another reform, which cancelled a lot of previous reform's developments. The system of districts was abolished, and the old system of uyezds was restored. A total of 166 uyezds was re-established; together with the newly created uyezds, the Russian Empire had approximately 250.

The reform also reshuffled some territories. Narva province was transferred from St. Petersburg Governorate General to Revel Governorate General, Solikamsk and Vyatka provinces were transferred from Siberian Governorate General to Kazan Governorate General, and Uglich and Yaroslavl provinces were transferred from St. Petersburg Governorate General to Moscow Governorate General. In addition, the Belgorod, Oryol, and Sevsk provinces of Kiev Governorate General were reconstituted as the Belgorod Governorate General, and Belozersk, Novgorod, Pskov, Tver, and Velikiye Luki provinces of the St. Petersburg Governorate General were reconstituted as the Novgorod Governorate General.

1728–1744

The following years saw few changes. In 1728, Ufa province was transferred from Kazan Governorate General to Siberian Governorate General, and in 1737, Simbirsk province was created within Kazan Governorate General.