A gradonachalstvo () was a special administrative territorial entity of the Russian Empire since the 19th century, consisting of a city and its adjacent territory under administration of a gradonachalnik. Gradonachlstvos were subordinated directly to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the gradonachalnik was subordinated to the General GovernorGuberniyas and oblasts of the Russian Empire. Heraldikum.ru. The gradonachalnik had all rights of a city governor with respect to the self-government of the city in question. As of 1893, there were four gradonachalstvos: for Saint Petersburg, Odessa, Kerch-Yenikale, and Sevastopol.
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Further reading
s:ru:ЕЭБЕ/Керчь-Еникальское градоначальство, Еврейская энциклопедия Брокгауза и Ефрона
External links Nikolayev Gradonachalstvo. Mykolaiv Oblast: Electronic historical encyclopedia