A study of the major trends and features of socio-economic development of the Russian Empire at the turn of the XIX - XX centuries made it possible to analyze and determine the status of the domestic engineering community, the development of which was directly associated with the reorganization of the educational system in general and technical in particular. The latter led to the opening of the higher technical schools of different types: technological institutes, polytechnics, mining, higher education institutions and others, in the depths of which was created a new engineering school with a mobile structure able to respond quickly to the demands and needs of the economy. On the territory of Ukraine during this period Kharkiv Technological and Kiev Polytechnic Institutes, Ekaterinoslav Higher Mining School were opened where there was a holistic system of training of scientific and engineering personnel. The presence of a significant engineering and technical corps of the Russian Empire, including Ukrainian territories in this period made it possible the creation of various social-scientific associations and organizations. An important factor in the formation of professional communication in Russian engineering environment was the experience of the world scientific community. The study of evolution of organization forms of science in Europe has revealed the general patterns of creation of social-scientific associations which occupied a certain place and played an appropriate role at each stages of organization of science in the world. Domestic engineering-scientific community in the second half of XIX - early XX century process of formation of professional communications implemented various forms of self-organization, societies and groups became the most popular. In the period of increasing social awareness of the society under the influence of scientific and technical progress and active development of industrial production of public scientific and technical enterprises emerged as a new form of organization engineering. Conducted in the study a typology of public scientific-technical associations of engineers of industrial regions of Ukraine has allowed to establish the presence of different types, which in modern typology of social-scientific associations can be attributed to three main groups: 1) the separation of the societies, the central bodies of which were in Petersburg or Moscow; 2) the societies of the graduates of higher technical educational institutions; 3) regional societies. The study has allowed to identify the societies that we have attributed to a little-known type of social-scientific associations - they are societies that were on the periphery and had their own divisions (the Society of Mine Surveyors of South Russia and South-Russian Society of Technologists). The contribution of Russian engineers in the development of engineering sciences (electrical engineering, architecture and construction, aeronautics, mining industry, technical issues of urban economy and others) in the context of their activities in scientific-technical associations is significant and multifaceted. In the almost complete absence of the special state scientific-technical institutes the public scientific and technical enterprises launched their own organizational - institutional arrangements. The concentration of the best representatives of the technical intelligentsia of the region in scientific - technical associations raised them to a new level of relationship and recognition by government agencies and local government that was embodied in collaboration with them as experts and implementers in solving complex technical problems of regional, local and even the state. A characteristic feature of cultural and educational activities of scientific - technical associations of the industrial regions of Ukraine in late XIX - early XX century was focusing on its organization of technical education in educational institutions of various types: courses, school, colleges, etc., introducing which scientific-technical associations almost fulfill the educational functions of the state. The great importance in cultural - educational activities of the reporting associations acquired the various forms of work, among which the most popular were the lectures, excursions, manufacture and use of visual aids, etc. The content of publishing activity of scientific-technical associations of different types were determined by queries of professional - engineering societies of industrial complex in the study region and covered a wide range of scientific - technical and socio-economic information. The latter was an important factor in creating an effective system of ensuring communication and information links of the technical intelligentsia. The main types of printed products of public scientific-technical associations of the region were periodicals and technical literature. Given the shortage and sometimes the complete absence of the necessary information and special professional literature, these publications served as professional and technical journals. The study of biographies of engineers and members of the public scientific-technical associations of the industrial regions of Ukraine late XIX - early XX century illuminates the unknown or forgotten areas of their activities. Organisational and scientific-technical activity of known scientists and educators Y. L. Zubashev, P. M. Leontovskyi, G. M. Stepanenko, K. I. Popel in the studied associations opens new significant stories of their professional and social activities. Social-scientific associations of the technical intelligentsia of the industrial regions of Ukraine under Russia in the second half of XIX - early XX century became an important institutional form of professional communication and consolidation, which ensured the professional unity of engineers and technicians and had the significant positive impact on the formation of civil society in general and including science and technology.
