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{{Short description|Former type of settlement in East Slavic Eastern Europe}}
{{expand Russian|date=June 2023}}
{{Other uses}}
A '''sloboda'''{{efn|{{langx|ru|слобода}}, {{IPA|ru|sləbɐˈda|IPA}}; {{langx|uk|слобода}}, {{IPA|uk|sloboˈdɑ|IPA}}; {{langx|be|слабада|slabada}}.}} was a type of settlement in the history of [[Belarus]], [[Russia]] and [[Ukraine]]. The name is derived from the early Slavic word for '[[liberty|freedom]]' and may be loosely translated as 'free settlement'.<ref name="efron">[http://www.vehi.net/brokgauz/all/094/94755.shtml "Sloboda"], ''[[Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary]]'' (1890–1906)</ref>
==History==
In the history of Russia, a ''sloboda'' was a settlement or a town district of people free of the power of [[boyar]]s. Often these were settlements of tradesmen and artisans, and were named according to their trade, such as the [[yamshchik]]s' ''sloboda'' ({{langx|ru|ямская слобода}}, ''{{ill|yamskaya sloboda|ru|Ямская слобода}}'') and [[metalsmith|smith]]s' ''sloboda''.<ref name="efron"/> The [[German Quarter]] in Moscow (''nemetskaya sloboda'') was set up to house foreigners.
Often a ''sloboda'' was a colonization-type settlement in sparsely populated lands, particularly by [[Cossacks]] in [[Cossack Hetmanate]], see "[[Sloboda Ukraine]]". Initially, the settlers of such ''sloboda'' were freed from various taxes and levies for various reasons, hence the name. Freedom from taxes was an incentive for [[colonization]].<ref>[http://www.vehi.net/brokgauz/all/092/92279.shtml "Selitba" (Settlementing)], ''[[Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary]]'' (1890–1906) </ref>
By the first half of the 18th century, this privilege was abolished, and ''slobodas'' became ordinary [[village]]s, ''[[shtetl]]s'', [[townlet (p.g.t.)|townlet]]s, suburbs.
Some ''slobodas'' were suburban settlements, right behind the city wall.<ref name=efron/> Many of them were subsequently incorporated into cities, and the corresponding [[toponym]]s indicate their origin.
The ''[[Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary]]'' relates that by the end of the 19th century a sloboda was a large village with more than one church, a marketplace, and ''[[volost]]'' administration, or a village-type settlement of industrial character, where the peasants have little involvement in [[agriculture]].<ref name=efron/>
The term is preserved in names of various settlements and city quarters. Some settlements were named just thus: "Sloboda", "Slobodka" (diminutive form), "Slabodka", "Slobidka" ([[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]).
Similar settlements existed in [[Wallachia]] and [[Moldavia]], called ''slobozie'' or ''slobozia''. The latter term is also the name of the capital city of [[Ialomița County]], [[Slobozia]], in modern [[Romania]].
==See also==
*[[Wola (settlement)]], a similar concept in Polish history
*[[Lhota]], a similar concept in Czech history
*[[Royal free city]]
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Types of populated places]]
[[Category:Cossack Hetmanate]]
[[Category:Geography of Russia]]
[[Category:Geography of Romania]]
[[Category:Historical geography of Ukraine]]