What is "urban-type settlement"

n. an official designation for a semi-urban settlement (or a former town) in the Soviet Union, Poland (formerly), Bulgaria (formerly) and in 10 post-Soviet republics—Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan

Urban-type settlement ( - posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: - p.g.t. ; - selyshche mis'koho typu, abbreviated: - s.m.t.; ; ; - selishte ot gradski tip) is an official designation for a semi-urban settlement (or a former town):

• in the past - in the Soviet Union, Poland and Bulgaria
• today - in 10 post-Soviet states.

This type of locality has been used in all 15 member republics of the former Soviet Union since 1922 when it replaced a number of terms which could have been translated by the English term " town" (Russia - posad, Ukraine - mistechko, Belarus - miastechko (the latter two from Polish " miasteczko", literally "small town") and others). It was introduced later in Poland (1954) and Bulgaria (1964). All the urban-type settlements in Poland were transformed into other types of settlement (town or village) in 1972, while in Bulgaria and 5 of the post-Soviet republics (namely Armenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova) - in the early 1990s. Today this term is still used in the other 9 post-Soviet republics - Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.

What counts as an urban-type settlement differs between time periods and countries, and often between different divisions of a single country. However, the criteria generally focus on the presence of urban infrastructure or resort facilities for urban residents.