The study analyzes the features of the management system and functioning of the authorities of the cities of Right-Bank Ukraine, Galicia and Bukovyna in the late 19th – early 20th centuries in a historical and comparative interregional context based on a wide range of sources and the latest historiographical developments.
The monograph summarizes the features of socio-economic development of cities and towns in Right-Bank Ukraine, which demonstrated the existence of a significant gap between provincial centers and other localities. The growth rates of Galician and Bukovyna towns, like the right-bank ones, were largely determined by the administrative and managerial status of a particular locality, and not by economic factors. The work reveals the features of the implementation of urban reforms, which was inextricably linked with political motives at the national level. It is indicated that the reform of 1870, despite all its ambiguity, in comparison with the changes of 1892, was an important step towards the introduction of full-fledged independent urban self-government in the cities and towns of Right-Bank Ukraine. Regulatory support, stages and characteristics of reformation processes in the field of management of the cities of Galicia and Bukovyna have been highlighted. It is proved that in comparison with the Right-Bank Ukraine, they differed somewhat earlier in terms and on a broader scale. From the point of view of control of state authorities, population activity and political struggle at the local level, electoral practices of forming city administration bodies have been studied. It was found out that they largely depended on the high property qualification, which on the Right Bank was combined with the control of the course of election campaigns and their results by the provincial authorities. This was less observed in Galicia and Bukovyna.
The structure of the financial and budgetary system of municipalities, sources of revenue and distribution of expenditure items have been analyzed.
The work examines the practical activities of streamlining public space, improving and developing the sanitary condition, which were noticeably updated after the implementation of urban reforms. It is shown that private owners in the Right-Bank cities usually did not particularly care about their appearance. At the same time, the absolute majority of all small towns in each of the three regions under study in the late 19th century are characterized by off-road conditions between seasons, pollution of public space, the use of streets as sewer zones, and a high level of general unsanitary conditions. The powers and activity of local government bodies to form the municipal healthcare system are defined. It has been established that the legislation of previous years was adapted to shift the responsibility to take care of hospitals for citizens to the direct management of self-government under the control of the provincial/regional authorities and the government. At the same time, participation in the development of the medical sector was characterized by specifics related to the administrative status of the studied localities. The educational and leisure spheres were considered as a separate area of activity, which to a certain extent played a secondary role, especially with regard to the arrangement of urban public space for recreation. It was stated that on the Right Bank, the powers of management bodies in relation to educational institutions were set in a much narrower legislative framework. But the cities and towns of Galicia and Bukovyna were guided by imperial rules only at the general level. It is noted that a certain equality was observed in the influence of city administrations on leisure practices, which was manifested primarily in the creation of public parks and the regulation of entertainment. This was associated with the exclusive right of communities to develop public spaces, so it often depended on the availability of funds and the desire to form an urban culture.
