What are the Federal Districts of Russia?

Russia's eight federal districts are groupings of its federal subjects (republics, oblasts, krais and other regions). They were created by presidential decree in May 2000, shortly after Vladimir Putin first became president, to strengthen central control over the regions. Each district is overseen by a presidential envoy who monitors how federal laws are carried out in its regions. There were originally seven districts: Central, Northwestern, Southern, Volga, Ural, Siberian and Far Eastern. In 2010 the North Caucasian Federal District was split from the Southern district, making eight. The federal districts are not mentioned in Russia's constitution and have no legislatures of their own, but they are widely used for planning and statistics.