In the dissertation, on the basis of published and unpublished archival materials, collections of documents and materials, individual memories of contemporaries, periodicals, the author studied the peculiarities of development, the main stages of the formation of pension provision in the Ukrainian provinces of the Russian Empire (19th — at the beginning of the 20th century).
The scientific novelty of the study is due to the lack of special generalizing works on the topic in historical science. For the first time, the dissertation comprehensively studied all the main features of the formation, stages and mechanisms of the system of regulation of social benefits and pension legislation in the Ukrainian provinces of the Russian Empire that functioned in a certain period, including those which activities have not yet become the object of scientific attention; scientific studies of previous historiographical periods were analyzed and critically evaluated, stereotyped interpretations and approaches to certain issues were rethought, which simplified, idealized or incompletely reflected the social processes that took place in the Ukrainian provinces in the 19th - early 20th centuries; the main directions and scope of work of state institutions which responsibilities included the payment and control of pension social benefits were determined; an objective analysis of the effectiveness of the activities of relevant state bodies and pension funds in providing pension payments to certain categories of the population of Ukrainian provinces was conducted; the main trends and peculiarities regarding social pension payments to local officials, military personnel, teachers and employees of educational districts were analyzed.
In the course of the research, it was established that pension provision in the form of a regulated organizational and legal institution appeared in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 19th century as a result of public political, economic and social changes. Note that certain laws and regulations regarding cash pension payments were already legislated in the previous historical period. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries the basic legislation on pension provision periodically underwent changes in the form of additions and re-approvals. Many categories of the population experienced changes in material social support: military personnel, officials, teachers, education workers, communications engineers, functionaries of the mining industry, workers in many branches of the economy, etc.
It was revealed that during the 19th century pensions for workers, as well as for peasants, were not paid either by the state or by private individuals. A separate group of workers consisted of citizens who worked at state-owned mining enterprises. Starting from the 1860s, special public unions were formed among the workers, which initiated the organization of pension, savings and credit-assistance funds. Until 1903, in order to receive material compensation in case of an accident at work, workers were subject to all-Russian legislation, provided that the worker proved in court that the mutilation was caused by the fault of the owner of the production. And only in 1903, a law was passed, which stipulated the possibility for a worker to receive material compensation for loss of health and working capacity in the form of a reward or a pension. The next stage in the development of legislation on the social security of workers was the laws of 1912 "On the provision of workers in case of illness" and "On insurance of workers in case of illness". It is important to emphasize that these laws fixed cash payments to women "for pregnancy and childbirth" for the first time.
It was found that the pension provision of local officials and military personnel of Ukrainian provinces was established as a privilege for public service. That is, the right to a pension was given by "service to the Sovereign". The following types of pensions were determined: pension for years of service; disability pension (in case of disability); pension in case of loss of breadwinner; personal pension.
Pension provision of teachers was carried out on the basis of special legislation. Lecturers and teachers at universities, gymnasiums, pro-gymnasiums, rural schools, primary schools and parish schools had the right to pensions. Monetary social support for teachers was implemented on the basis of a number of regulatory acts, which underwent changes throughout the studied period.
The introduction of the basics of pension legislation, which was implemented in the Ukrainian provinces of the Russian Empire in the 19th and early 20th centuries, is characterized as an organic component of socio-economic processes. The process of establishing and implementing pension provision for certain categories of the population was quite complex, controversial and directly dependent on the legislative policy of the Russian autocracy.
