Verkhovtseva I. The peasant self-government in the Russian Empire (the second half of the XIX – the beginning of the XX)

In the dissertation a large-scale renewal of peasant self-rule in the Romanov Еmpire during the Great Reforms era was investigated, the activities of this institution were analyzed and staged throughout the entire period of its operation. Key problems were identified and the main regional models were characterized. It was found out that the renewal of peasant self-government in 1861 was a continuation of the reform traditions of the first half of the 19th century, aimed at social and management ordering of the village in the context of the country's agrarian modernization. Practices of self-government of foreign, mainly German, colonists of the South became examples, along with local traditional models. At the same time, the self-government of the peasants was to become the implementer of the fiscal tasks important for the state. It is shown that the impetus to a large-scale renewal of peasant self-government in 1861 – 1871 gave a significant increase in the country's territory in the first half of the 19th century and the need to modernize local government in the conditions of aggravation of the financial crisis at the end of the Eastern War of 1853 – 1856. It is summarized that as a result of distribution in 1861 – 1871 self-government temporarily responsible peasants to other categories of the rural population was implemented the Great Reform of 1861 – 1871 and a class of rural inhabitants was formed, one of whose characteristics was self-government in its local communities. Characterized five regional models of peasant self-government, introduced during 1864 – 1878: Bessarabian-mir, Tiflis, Polish, Ostsee, Communal Izmail. It is focused on the desire of the imperial establishment to use peasant self-government in the outlying regions in order to socially reorganize them and ensure the integrity of the “unified and non-durable”. The author determined that in the process of renewing peasant self-government, reformers took into account the Western-European and local traditional relevant models. They preferred collectivist and corporate principles of the organization of peasant self-government. The formation and evolution of self-governing peasant institutions, their fiscal, economic, social, cultural and educational, judicial and oppositional activities are investigated. Particular attention is paid to the role of peasant self-government in the revolutionization of the Romanov Еmpire in the early ХХth century. The dissertation investigates that the self-government of the peasants in 1902 – 1907 in the Romanov Empire was politicized and revolutionized. In 1905 peasant self-government became the organizational basis of the peasant republics.