Sloboda , was a kind of settlement in the history of
Russia,
Belarus and
Ukraine. The name is derived from the early Slavic word for "
freedom" and may be vaguely translated as "free settlement". In modern Russia, the term is used to denote a
type of a rural locality and is used in
Kursk,
Lipetsk,
Nizhny Novgorod,
Oryol,
Rostov,
Ryazan,
Tula, and
Voronezh Oblasts.