transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈä-ˌblast, ˈȯ-, -bləst ]
noun
( plural oblasts also ob·las·ti -ˌblas-tē, -bləs-)
Etymology: Russian oblast'
Date: circa 1886
: a political subdivision of Imperial Russia or a republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or of the Russian Federation