microraion
A residential complex in a current or former communist country, chiefly one which was previously part of the Soviet Union; a microdistrict.
In Riga, for example, which has massive new residential developments on the periphery, the basic schools, nurseries, and local shops appear to be in place, but other higher-level services can only be found in the core districts, and not a single social service building has been opened in the microraions, as promised.
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Russian микрорайо́н (mikrorajón), with the spelling of the first element influenced by micro- (prefix meaning ‘very small’). Микрорайо́н (Mikrorajón) is derived from микро- (mikro-, prefix meaning ‘very small’) + райо́н (rajón, “district; area, region”). By surface analysis, micro- + raion. The plural form microraiony is borrowed from Russian микрорайо́ны (mikrorajóny).
Adapted from the Wiktionary entry microraion (CC BY-SA 4.0).