Pogost

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Pogost (Russian: погост, from Old East Slavic: погостъ<ref>Hypatian Chronicle, 947 AD</ref>) is a historical term with several meanings in the Russian language.

The original usage applies to the coaching inn for princes and ecclesiastics<ref>(Russian) Max Vasmer. Этимологический словарь русского языка</ref> with the word being similar to modern Russian gost' (гость), a guest. It is assumed that originally pogosts were a rural communities at the periphery of the ancient Russian state and also its centers as a matter of trade (Old Russian: gost'ba, гостьба).<ref>(Russian) Большая энциклопедия русского языка</ref>

In the end of the 10th century pogosts transformed into administrative and territorial districts. The size of pogosts was different, they included several tens or several hundreds of villages in 11th—14th centuries. As Christianity spreaded over Russia, churches have been built in pogosts. In 1775 the last pogosts being an administrative districts were destroyed. Since then they became known as city pogosts (погосто - место), being parish centers.

In the central uyezds of 15th-16th centuries pogosts were small settlements with a church and a grave yard, like Kizhi Pogost or Kadnikov Pogost. In modern Russian, pogosts usually designate a combination of a rural church and a graveyard, situated at some distant place.