Uman district zemstvo on the pages of the newspaper «Kievlianin»: elections, economic activity and financial opportunities.

Abstract

An appeal to the historical experience of local self-government bodies (zemstvos) functioning at the beginning of the XX century is determined by an ongoing administrative reform in Ukraine, in the course of which new government bodies – the consolidated territorial communities (CTC) are created. The aim of their formation is to optimise management, attract local financial reserves and initiatives to increase a socioeconomic development rate, improve a sociocultural sphere. The implementation of the reform cannot be safe from miscalculations and mistakes without taking into account a historical experience of zemstvos. Considering that the process of forming the elective land bodies in a «non-zemskyi» Kyiv province was covered on the pages of the periodical press, an important task is a retrospective analysis of newspaper publications about the election and activity of zemstvos. As a microhistorical approach makes it possible to study a single context, rather than the illustration of a general context, in this case the study of the activity of one district zemstvo encourages the establishment of anthropocentrism and enriches social history. Therefore, the task of a detailed and thorough study of historical experience necessitates the use of all kinds of historical sources. Found publications about the Uman district zemstvo in the «Kievlianin» as one of the most widespread newspapers, form a complete picture about the election of zemskyi political figures and the main directions of their activity. The systematization of newspaper publications made it possible to present the election process on the basis of the law from March 14, 1911 in detail to find out the statistics of land ownings in Uman district, form a picture about the material possessions of the wealthy part of its residents, as the election law depended on the property qualification. The division of voters into two curiae (Russian and Polish) and a quantitative ratio of voters by nationality reflected a national policy of the Russian autocracy. The newspaper «Kievlianin» publications about the activity of Uman electoral zemstvo show its innovative approaches to welcoming the initiative of the people, first of all – it supports a cooperative movement in Kyiv province, stimulating the development of handicraft and industrial production. Uman district zemstvo as of one of the largest in the province – emerges from the pages of «Kievlianin» as an effective tool attracting the intelligentsia and wealthy social strata to the economic and cultural rise in the region. The conclusion of the article is the statement that the electoral zemstvos owing to their activity contributed to the revival of social life, stimulated the development of statistics, economics, culture, and also to some extent smoothed a social tension, because zemstvo taxes made it possible to direct money from rich strata to industrial and social spheres.