The provincial town (губернский город) was the administrative capital of the province, the seat of the civil governor, and in some cases a military governor or governor-general.
Provincial towns ranged from the relatively humble (Vologda) to the grandiose (St. Petersburg). Some boasted long urban histories, such as Moscow or Kiev, while others were essentially conjured out of thin air by imperial decree, such as Kherson and Simferopol. A few qualified as economic centers or trading hubs (think Riga or Novgorod); a handful were cultural centers (think Vilno or Tiflis). Others were frontier towns first and foremost, such as Ufa and Tobol'sk.
Provincial Towns (alphabetically, by province)
| Provincial town |
Province |
| Arkhangel'sk (Архангельск) |
Arkhangel'skaia guberniia |
| Astrakhan (Астрахань) |
Astrakhanskaia guberniia |
| Belostok (Белосток) |
Belostokskaia oblast' |
| Kishinev (Кишинев) |
Bessarabskaia oblast' |
| Chernigov (Чернигов) |
Chernigovskaia guberniia |
| Novocherkask (Новочеркаск) |
Don Cossack Host |
| Ekaterinoslav (Екатеринослав) |
Ekaterinoslavskaia guberniia |
| Krasnoiarsk (Красноярск) |
Eniseiskaia guberniia |
| Revel' (Ревель) |
Estliandskaia guberniia |
| Grodno (Гродно) |
Grodnenskaia guberniia |
| Iakutsk (Якутск) |
Iakutskaia oblast' |
| Iaroslavl' (Ярославль) |
Iaroslavskaia guberniia |
| Irkutsk (Иркутск) |
Irkutskaia oblast' |
| Kaluga (Калуга) |
Kaluzhskaia guberniia |
| Petropavlovskoi Port (Петропавловской Порт) |
Kamchatka |
| Stavropol' (Ставрополь) |
Kavkazskaia oblast' |
| Kazan' (Казань) |
Kazanskaia guberniia |
| Khar'khov (Харьхов) |
Khar'kovskaia guberniia |
| Kherson (Херсон) |
Khersonskaia guberniia |
| Kiev (Киев) |
Kievskaia guberniia |
| Kostroma (Кострома) |
Kostromskaia guberniia |
| Mitau (Митау) |
Kurliandskaia guberniia |
| Kursk (Курск) |
Kurskaia guberniia |
| Riga (Рига) |
Lifliandskaia guberniia |
| Minsk (Минск) |
Minskaia guberniia |
| Mogilev (Могилев) |
Mogilevskaia guberniia |
| Moskva (Москва) |
Moskovskaia guberniia |
| Nizhnii Novgorod (Нижний Новгород) |
Nizhegorodskaia guberniia |
| Novgorod (Новгород) |
Novgorodskaia guberniia |
| Okhotsk (Охотск) |
Okhotskoi okrug |
| Petrozavodsk (Петрозаводск) |
Olonetskaia guberniia |
| Omsk (Омск) |
Omskaia guberniia |
| Ufa (Уфа) |
Orenburgskaia guberniia |
| Orel (Орел) |
Orlovskaia guberniia |
| Penza (Пенза) |
Penzenskaia guberniia |
| Perm' (Пермь) |
Permskaia guberniia |
| Kamenets (Каменец) |
Podol'skaia guberniia |
| Poltava (Полтава) |
Poltavskaia guberniia |
| Pskov (Псков) |
Pskovskaia guberniia |
| Riazan' (Рязань) |
Riazanskaia guberniia |
| Sankt Peterburg (Санкт Петербург) |
Sanktpeterburgskaia guberniia |
| Saratov (Саратов) |
Saratovskaia guberniia |
| Simbirsk (Симбирск) |
Simbirskaia guberniia |
| Smolensk (Смоленск) |
Smolenskaia guberniia |
| Tambov (Тамбов) |
Tambovskaia guberniia |
| Simferopol' (Симферополь) |
Tavricheskaia guberniia |
| Tobol'sk (Тобольск) |
Tobol'skaia guberniia |
| Tomsk (Томск) |
Tomskaia guberniia |
| Tula (Тула) |
Tul'skaia guberniia |
| Tver' (Тверь) |
Tverskaia guberniia |
| Viatka (Вятка) |
Viatskaia guberniia |
| Vil'no (Вильно) |
Vilenskaia guberniia |
| Vitebsk (Витебск) |
Vitebskaia guberniia |
| Vladimir (Владимир) |
Vladimirskaia guberniia |
| Vologda (Вологда) |
Vologodskaia guberniia |
| Zhitomir (Житомир) |
Volynskaia guberniia |
| Voronezh' (Воронежь) |
Voronezhskaia guberniia |
