History of the reform
In 1862, work began on preparing the reform. 509 commissions were created in provincial and district cities intended to develop proposals. But the innovation proposed by many to grant voting rights to all classes did not suit the government; in many ways it slowed down the reform.
Based on a summary of materials developed by the commissions, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, under the leadership of Pyotr Aleksandrovich Valuev, compiled the “City Regulations” in 1864. The provision was sent to the State Council, where it remained for another two years. When there was no other choice, Alexander II had to accept the principle of “all class”, and on June 16, 1870, the amended law was adopted. It marked the beginning of the second local government reform.
Reform provisions
City public administration
Article 2 of the “City Regulations” introduced city public administrations, which were in charge of economic issues: external improvement of the city, food supply, fire safety, construction of piers, exchanges and credit institutions, etc.
Article 15 declared that the institutions of city self-government meant the city electoral assembly, the Duma and the city government.
The main function of the electoral assembly was to elect members of the city council every 4 years.
The Duma was elected for 4 years, and according to Article 35, anyone with voting rights could become its member, with the exception that the number of non-Christians should not exceed 1/3 of the total number of members. The city mayor headed the Duma (he could not be a Jew).
The main functions of the Duma were “appointing elected officials and public affairs”, “assigning content to officials of the city public administration and determining the amount thereof”, “establishing, increasing and decreasing city fees and taxes” and others. The costs of maintaining the Duma were the responsibility of the governor. Duma meetings could be scheduled “at the discretion of the mayor,” at the request of the governor, or at the request of at least one-fifth of the councilors.
The city government was elected by the city duma for 4 years, its functions were:
- “Direct management of municipal affairs and public administration”
- Collecting the necessary information for the Duma
- Preparation of city estimates
- Collection and expenditure of city fees, reporting to the Duma on their activities
Duma elections
In 509 cities of Russia, dumas were introduced - classless bodies of city self-government. They were elected once every 4 years by tax-paying townspeople who had a certain property qualification. Based on the amount of tax paid, voters were divided into three electoral assemblies. The requirements for the voter were as follows:
- He had to be a Russian citizen
- Be over 25 years old
- Ownership of property
- No arrears in tax collection
The voter must not have been convicted, removed from office or under investigation. According to Article 24 of the City Regulations, a list of voters was compiled, sorted by taxes paid for the year. The first electoral group (assembly, category) included those who paid one third of the total tax collection, the second included those who also paid a third, and the third included all other voters. The compiled list by category was sent for approval by the City Duma. The city mayor was elected by the governor (in large cities - the Minister of Internal Affairs) from among the councilors.
Results of the reform
The reform of 1870 served as an impetus for the commercial and industrial development of cities; it consolidated the system of urban public administration bodies. One of the results of the reforms of Alexander II was the inclusion of society in civil life. The foundation was laid for a new Russian political culture.
But after the reform of city self-government, provincial cities faced a new problem - according to the law, part of the income was allocated to the maintenance of government agencies, the police and other government agencies. Because of this, they experienced some difficulties in solving urban problems.
Links
- City regulations of 1870 (parts , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ) and the decree approving it (parts , and )
Literature
Notes
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See what “Urban reform in Russia (1870)” is in other dictionaries:
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1870, a reform in Russia that replaced class-based self-government with a non-class city duma and city council. The members of the City Duma were elected on the basis of property qualifications for 4 years... encyclopedic Dictionary
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City regulations June 16, 1870, one of the bourgeois reforms in Russia. The goal was to improve the economy of the cities and attract the large financial and commercial bourgeoisie to their management. Preparation of G. r. began in 1862, but it was not until 1870 that the project was... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
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City status June 16, 1870, one of the bourgeois. reforms in Russia. With the fall of serfdom and the development of capitalism, cities turned into large industrial and trading centers. and adm. centers. The mountains grew. population and number of cities. G. r. was intended to raise... Soviet historical encyclopedia
In Russia, it replaced class-based self-government bodies with the classless City Duma and city council. The members of the City Duma were elected on the basis of property qualifications for 4 years... encyclopedic Dictionary
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Soon after the adoption of the Regulations on provincial and district zemstvo institutions, the City Regulations were approved (June 16, 1870), which introduced a non-estate system of self-government in cities.
The preparation of the City Regulations was accompanied by the same serious disagreements as the Regulations of 1864. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, as the main developer of urban reform, took the position of a social theory of self-government, believing that only urban self-government isolated from the state could be effective. In turn, the Second Department of His Imperial Majesty’s Own Chancellery, which also participated in the preparation of the reform, viewed city self-government differently: as part of the system of government, and therefore considered it necessary not only to differentiate the competence of city self-government and state administration, but also to establish there is a relationship between them. At the same time, the analysis of the accumulated experience of zemstvos and the latest achievements of municipal science, in particular the increasingly widespread state theory of self-government, made it possible to overcome the most acute contradictions in the stated approaches, to more clearly and more definitely “prescribe” the legal status of city self-government in comparison with zemstvos. In particular, city self-government was endowed with organizational and financial independence in resolving issues of local importance, guarantees of its independence were enshrined: at the same time, the isolation of new institutions from existing governmental and public organizations, which interfered with the work of zemstvos, was eliminated and the order of their relationships was established.
The city regulations of 1870 provided the city public administration with the responsibility for the city economy and improvement, and the governor with supervision of its activities. The subjects of jurisdiction of city self-government included: 1) cases on the organization of city public administration and urban management on the basis of the rules set out in these Regulations: 2) cases on the external improvement of the city; 3) matters relating to the welfare of the urban population, including measures to ensure food supply for the people, the organization of markets and bazaars, care for the protection of public health, taking precautions against fires and other disasters and ensuring against losses caused by them, care for the fencing and development of local trade and industry, the construction of marinas, exchanges and credit institutions; 4) establishment and management of charitable institutions and hospitals at the expense of the city, participation in public education, as well as the establishment of theaters, libraries, museums and other similar institutions; 5) submission to the government of information and conclusions on subjects related to local needs and benefits of the city, and petition on these subjects; 6) other duties assigned by law to public administration.
In order to solve these problems, city public administration institutions were created: city electoral assemblies, the Duma and the council.
All voters were divided into three categories (curia) and entered into the general list in descending order of the direct taxes they paid to the city. The list was then divided into three classes of voters, each of whom paid one-third of the total amount of the city fees. Arrears deprived of the rights of their estate by court were deprived of the right to vote. All ranks elected an equal number of vowels, which was a socially unequal principle and ensured the advantage of large taxpayers. Thus, in Moscow, one vowel was chosen by eight first-class voters, 38 second-class voters, and 298 third-class voters.
Administrative functions were provided to the city duma, which was declared a body representing the entire city society (Article 54). She was recognized as having the right to enter into the discussion of matters relating to the entire city society, and to act on its behalf in all cases when the law requires a public resolution or verdict in these matters. The administration was an executive body, which was entrusted with direct management of the affairs of municipal economy and public administration. By virtue of Art. 72 of the City Regulations of 1870, the administration conducted current affairs in the city economy, sought measures to improve it, carried out the decisions of the Duma, collected the information it needed, drew up draft city estimates (lists), collected and spent city fees on the basis established by the Duma and presented them to the appointed The Duma reports on its activities and the state of its subordinate units. It is characteristic that such reports, together with the conclusion of the Duma on them, were to be published for public information.
Members of the council were elected by the Duma (Article 82) and did not need approval by the administration; they were removed from office and transferred to the court by resolution of the Duma. The mayor was also elected by the Duma, but was confirmed in office, depending on the rank of the city, by the governor or the Minister of Internal Affairs. The mayor not only headed the city government, but was also the chairman of the city duma. The Duma elected members of the trade delegation, as well as the chairman and members of the commission for the assessment of real estate, if such bodies existed in the city.
The city regulations of 1870 established a four-year term of service for the mayor and members of the city government. At the same time, rotation of the composition of the council was envisaged: it had to be renewed by half every two years.
City, like zemstvo, local government bodies were not directly included in the system of government institutions and were not subordinate to local government officials. However, the state apparatus represented by the Minister of Internal Affairs and governors had certain powers on control and influence on their activities.
Firstly, The city regulations of 1870 provided for the creation in each province, under the chairmanship of the governor, of a provincial presence for city affairs, whose powers included the consideration of cases of illegality of determinations of city public administration, initiated, among other things, at the governor’s own discretion (Article 11). Decisions in the Presence were made by a simple majority of votes and were carried out immediately, unless otherwise stated (Article 152). Secondly, Before the Presence, the governor could raise the question not only about the illegality of decisions of self-government bodies, but also about the illegality of the actions of the relevant officials, which could entail their removal from their positions. So, for example, in 1874 this measure was applied to the Ufa mayor P.V. Popov. Third, the governor had the opportunity to suspend the execution of the city duma’s determination, submitted for discussion to the Presence, for a period of no more than one month from the moment he received such a determination. Fourthly, a number of resolutions of the city public administration were subject to mandatory approval by the governor or the Minister of Internal Affairs. These are, in particular, the definitions of the City Duma: 1) on the transfer for the first time of plots of land for someone else’s exclusive use and on the arrangement of structures on such plots that obstruct passage or passage (Article 122); 2) on the purpose and amount of payment for passage and passage through structures created at city expense for communication within the city, as well as for the parking of ships within the waters related to city lands (Article 123); 3) on loans, guarantees or guarantees on behalf of the city, in cases where the amount of obligations lying on the city exceeds the total amount of city revenues for the last two years. In addition, the adoption by the city duma of decisions on all issues in the field of improvement of the city required the consent of the head of the local police department, in the absence of which the issue was submitted to the consideration of the provincial presence for city affairs. Fifthly, governors were given the authority to monitor the proper execution by the city public administration of those duties that were established by law as mandatory for the city (Article 12). If it turned out that the city public administration had not adopted the necessary orders for the performance of such duties, the governor first “reminded” them, and then - if such a measure was unsuccessful and in agreement with the presence of the governorate for city affairs - proceeded with “direct executive orders at the expense of city" with simultaneous notification of the Minister of Internal Affairs.
State control over city self-government of this period was characterized by both negative and positive manifestations. At the same time, when assessing the formal and legal aspects of the state control mechanism, one cannot help but admit that, given the relative breadth of control capabilities of provincial and government bodies, the City Regulations of 1870 as a whole is aimed at creating effective legal counterbalances against abuses of administrative power. Among them are: a) the creation of a specialized collegial interdepartmental body (provincial presence for urban affairs), called upon in a quasi-jurisdictional procedure to resolve all controversial issues related to the legality of the activities of urban public administration; b) excluding the possibility of holding the city public administration accountable for the substance of its economic orders; c) eliminating the direct possibility of gubernatorial control over the feasibility of city activities; d) finally, the recognition of the city government’s right to apply for judicial protection to the Governing Senate (in the first department) (Article 8). The latter, as practice shows, often made decisions in favor of self-government. Thus, in one of its decisions, the Senate directly decided that city public administration, within the limits of the power granted to it, as directed by Art. 5 of the City Regulations, acts independently, and the governor is given only in the event of a deviation on the part of public administration from the provisions of the law to transfer his orders to the consideration of the provincial presence. Based on this, the Senate stated that, by giving a plot of land into the possession of a private person, the city duma did not go beyond the limits of the power granted to it by law and that the question of how beneficial this order of the duma was for the city was subject to final resolution by itself, and therefore there was no legal basis for entering into consideration of this order. However, in fairness it is worth noting that in historical retrospect, Senate practice on these issues has not been uniform since the 80s of the 9th century. it significantly strengthened the position of protecting state interests.
- PSZ. Collection 2. T. XLV. No. 48498.
- Cm.: Mysh M.I. City regulations with all relevant legislation, judicial and government clarifications. Eighth edition, rev. and additional St. Petersburg: Printing house of N. A. Lebedev, 1888. P. 14.
(reform of city self-government of 1870) - a set of measures designed to give the urban population the right to independently manage the territories of the city and their economy. The reform was one of the main ones on the list and gave cities independence from the will of the center, which was not always able to build competent governance.
Preparations for the reform began back in 1862, but the changes officially came into force only in 1870, when the document “City Regulations” was issued.
Prerequisites for urban reform
After the abolition of serfdom and the peasant reform, a completely new type of society and a new economic system emerged in Russia, which could not develop under the old conditions. It was necessary to create a completely new administrative apparatus that would meet modern requirements. In order for local economies to develop faster, it was necessary to give cities more rights.
Previously, city government was completely subordinate to the will of the center (St. Petersburg). Directives and decrees could take a very long time to reach the regions; moreover, they did not always correspond to the real situation in a particular provincial city, so they were useless. In order to change the situation, Alexander decided to create local governments in cities.
History of the city government reform
Preparation for the reform began with the development of a corresponding bill. To create the document, special commissions were created in provincial and district cities, which were supposed to develop a number of proposals for a new law, focusing on the real situation. Particularly popular was the proposal to grant voting rights to all segments of the population, including representatives of the lower classes. This was supposed to help in carrying out measures that affected the interests of all residents of the city, and not just certain sections. Unfortunately, the ruling class did not like this initiative very much, so the development of the reform stalled for several years.
In 1864, the authorities nevertheless released the first version of the urban reform project, which contained some of the proposals developed earlier. The project was managed by P.A. Valuev. The draft was sent for consideration to the State Council, but was not disseminated. Only two years later, Alexander was forced to approve the bill and still give the peasants and other lower classes voting rights. So the reform of city government finally saw the light of day.
Contents of the city government reform
The main goal of the new bill was to create local local government bodies that would deal with various economic matters - improvement of buildings, creation of infrastructure (construction of schools, hospitals), construction of communications routes, organization of holidays, security issues, financing and much more. .
The main institutions of local government were electoral assemblies, city councils and councils. The electoral assembly elected members of the city assembly, who had a casting vote when voting. The remaining members of the Duma were elected in regular open elections, which took place every four years. A representative of any class who is a citizen of Russia could be elected. There were some restrictions only in matters of religion (in particular, the chairman of the Duma could not be a Jew, and the total number of non-Christians should not exceed one third).
The elected Duma was responsible for selecting various officials and deciding issues of social structure and city management. The Duma was also in charge of financial affairs, assigning certain taxes, but did not collect them itself. The city governor could at any time cancel the decision of the Duma or adjust it, so this body still did not have complete freedom.
The Duma also elected members to the city council, a smaller body of self-government. Members of the city council collected taxes, compiled city estimates and dealt with other smaller economic matters by decree of the duma.
Any citizen over 25 years of age who had no criminal record and no tax arrears could become a member of the council or duma.
Results and significance of the reform of city government of Alexander 2nd
The urban reform was largely the same. It served as a significant impetus for the development of a new type of society and economy, the management system changed and became more flexible and effective (since decisions were now made based on the real, not the assumed situation). The city now managed its own economy and could more quickly and correctly respond to the needs of the population, and the central administration, in turn, freed itself from solving minor problems and could completely focus on matters of national importance.
Unfortunately, the reform had certain disadvantages that small towns faced. According to the new law, the city itself had to maintain a number of government institutions (for example, the police), and small settlements simply did not have enough money for this.
However, despite the shortcomings, overall the reform helped Russia take a step towards more effective management and development of the domestic economy.
City status June 16, 1870, - one of the bourgeoisie. reforms in Russia. With the fall of serfdom and the development of capitalism, cities turned into large industrial and trading centers. and adm. centers. The mountains grew. population and number of cities. G. r. had the goal of raising the number of cities and attracting the top of the city - large finance - to their management. and bargaining. bourgeoisie. Preparation of G. r. began in 1862, but only in 1870 the project was approved by the tsar and made public. G. r. replaced the former class councils with all-class councils. local government institutions. Will arrange. The bodies were the city councils, and the executive bodies were the city councils elected by the councils. Members of the city Dumas were elected for 4 years and were called “vowels”. The composition of vowels ranged from 30 to 72. In Moscow there were 180 of them, c. St. Petersburg - 250. Councils consisted of 2-3 people. under the chairmanship of the city. heads, which appeared at the same time as before. mountains Duma The right to choose in the city. the Duma was used by persons who had reached 25 years of age, owned real estate subject to an assessment fee, and owners of industrial and bargaining. enterprises and merchants who contributed mountains. fees. Workers, minor employees and intellectuals. laborers who did not have real estate were deprived of the right to vote. rights. City elections thoughts were made according to the so-called. "three-class" elect. system, in accordance with the amount of fees paid to the city. As a result, the mass of thousands of small taxpayers elected the same number of vowels to the Duma as several. dozens of large industrialists and merchants. In St. Petersburg, for example, in the first curia there were 275 voters, in the second - 849, and in the third - 16,355, and each curia elected an equal number of vowels. In Moscow, the first two curiae, which together elected 2/3 of the vowels, accounted for only 13% of the total number of voters. Such a property system. qualifications ensured the predominance of the large financial and commercial-industrial bourgeoisie in the Duma. Mountain competence society management was limited to local households. questions: external improvement of the city, measures against fires, care for the development of local trade and industry, healthcare and people. education (“primarily in economic terms”), etc. To the mountains. thoughts were entrusted with obligations. expenses for maintaining the city fire department, police, prisons and barracks. These expenses accounted for at various times from 20 to 60% of the total budget. Gor. The Duma's revenues consisted of an assessment fee on real estate, an industrial tax. and bargaining. enterprises, duties for stamping weights and measures, auctions, etc. and fees from city-owned enterprises (trading. rows, baths, mountains. slaughterhouses, etc.). All these revenues did not cover the city's growing expenses. The Duma and the council had no coercive powers. power, they were subject to the strict tutelage of the governor and min. internal business The governor could veto any resolution of the Duma and the council. For all its limitations, G. r. was still a step forward compared to pre-reforms. organization of the cities management. She contributed to some improvement of the mountains. x-va. Built on a bourgeois property principle. qualifications elective mountains. Dumas and councils were more consistent with the needs of capitalist. development than the previous class bodies of the mountains. management. The new City Regulations of June 11, 1892 (see “Counter-reforms”) further narrowed the composition of representation in favor of the big bourgeoisie and nobles and limited the rights of the mountains. society management. Number composition of the mountains doom was reduced by more than 2 times. Advantage in elections of councilors was given to owners of real estate, for which property. the qualification was significantly increased (up to 3 thousand rubles in the capitals, up to 1 thousand rubles in county towns and 300 rubles in small urban settlements). Clerks and small traders were completely excluded from the electorate. The number of voters declined sharply. Not a single city resolution. the thoughts could not be put into practice without the approval of the lips. superiors. Essentially mountains. self-government turned into an auxiliary body of the government on issues of local agriculture. But even in such a truncated form, tsarism did not dare to carry out the Civil Revolution. in Poland, Wed. Asia and Finland, where the mountains. Dumas were not created. Lit.: Lenin V.I., Persecutors of Zemstvo and Annibals of Liberalism, Works, 4th ed., vol. 5; 2 PSZ, t. 45. dept. 1, No. 48498; New city position high. approved June 16, 1870, M., 1871; Mysh M.I., City regulations of June 11, 1892 with related legislation, 8th ed., P., 1915; Materials related to the new societies. devices in the cities of the empire (city regulations June 16, 1870), vol. 1-3, St. Petersburg, 1877; Pajitnov K. A., Gor. and zemstvo self-government, St. Petersburg, (1913); Picheta V.I., Gor. reform of 1870, in the book: “Three Centuries”, vol. 6, M., 1913; Schrader G.I., City and urban situation 1870, in the book: History of Russia in the 19th century, vol. 4, (St. Petersburg, 1908-09); his, City counter-reform June 11, 1892, ibid., vol. 5, (St. Petersburg, 1909). V. V. Garmiza. Moscow.
On June 16, 1870, Alexander II signed the Law on the Reform of City Self-Government in Russia, which rightfully became an integral part of the Great Reforms of the 60-70s. XIX century Adoption of the “City Regulations of 1870” was a response to the new urgent needs of urban development, created certain conditions for the rise of the urban economy, and the attraction of entrepreneurs who were rapidly gaining strength after the fall of serfdom to work in self-government bodies.
The adoption of the urban reform was preceded by serious preparatory work, which began in 1862 on the initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. To develop local proposals in Russian cities, 509 commissions were formed, on the basis of whose opinions the first version of the reform project was drawn up at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Consideration of the projects continued until 1870, when the third project received the force of law.
The reform replaced the former class-based bodies of city government with all-class elected bodies of self-government - the City Duma (administrative) and the City Council (executive). The right to vote was granted to males who were Russian citizens and paid taxes and fees to the city. The largest groups of voters were property owners within the city, owners of commercial and industrial establishments, holders of merchant and trade certificates, and 1st category clerks. The right to vote was also granted to legal entities: various departments, institutions, societies, partnerships, monasteries, churches that paid fees to the city budget. The law provided for a three-category electoral system, in which all voters were divided into three curiae (large, medium and small taxpayers) with equal total payments of city taxes. Each curia elected 1/3 of the City Duma. The numerical composition of the duma was established taking into account the population from 30 to 72 people, in Moscow - 180, in St. Petersburg - 250. The city duma elected the mayor, his deputy, and members of the council from among its members. The mayor headed both the Duma and the Administration at the same time, coordinating their work. The body overseeing compliance with the law in the activities of city government was the Provincial Presence for City Affairs (chaired by the governor).
Persons who had the right to participate in the elections of public city councils constituted, on the whole, a very small part of the population. So, in the mid-80s. in the Middle and Lower Volga region their percentage ranged from 7.7% of the independent population in Kazan to 9.6% in Saratov. And yet, the electoral system provided fairly strong positions in the thoughts of representatives of commercial and industrial circles in Russian cities. The merchant class of the largest urban centers of the same Middle and Lower Volga region, amounting to only 2.5%–3.4% of their population, was represented in 1884-1888. in the Samara City Duma 51.4% of all vowels, in Saratov - 62.5%, in Kazan - 66.7%, in Astrakhan 68% of vowels. Along with Russian merchants, representatives of other nationalities were also elected to the Duma. Moreover, their number was constantly increasing. For example, to the Kazan City Duma in 1872-1874. 8 Tatars were elected in 1875-1878. – 12, in 1879-1882. – 16, in 1883-1886. - 20.
City self-government bodies had a number of administrative and economic functions. First of all, this is the improvement of the city: lighting, heating, water supply, cleaning, transport, construction of city passages, embankments, bridges, etc. Next - the development of public education and culture (opening of schools, libraries, museums, theaters, etc.), healthcare (institution and maintenance of hospitals, carrying out sanitary and hygienic measures). Attention was required to providing assistance in providing the population with food (organizing markets, bazaars), taking measures against fires and other natural disasters, taking care of the development of local trade and industry, the establishment of exchanges, credit institutions, etc. Within the limits of their competence, self-government bodies had relative independence and independence.
The city budget was formed on the basis of taxes and fees on real estate, income from the operation of city property (shopping malls, bathhouses, etc.), duties for stamping weights and measures, auctions, etc., as well as deductions from the city treasury. The reform established a number of restrictions on the budgetary rights of self-government bodies: they could not independently introduce new taxes and exceed the maximum tax rate established by law. The city councils were charged with the mandatory costs of maintaining the fire department, police, prisons, barracks, etc.
City councils in the new conditions were able to achieve certain successes and prove the viability of self-government bodies. A typical example in this regard was Kazan as one of the large administrative, commercial, industrial and scientific and educational centers of European Russia in the second half of the 19th century. The implementation of the reforms of 1870 led to the fact that it was representatives of the large merchants who began to play a significant role in the public life of Kazan. The post of mayor was successively occupied by elected representatives from the merchant class (D. Varaksin, P. Pribytkov, E. Pechnikov, etc.). Under their leadership, the Kazan City Duma and government were able to do a lot of useful things for the city. Already by the mid-70s. about half of all streets were paved, in 1874 the opening of a water supply system took place, in the same year street lighting with gas lamps began, in June 1897 the first electric lamps were lit on the central streets of the city, in 1875 the opening of a horse-drawn railway took place, in 1899 the first electric tram appeared in the city, in 1876 the city connected to the international telegraph agency, and in 1882 construction of the first telephone exchange began. The new self-government bodies paid a lot of attention to solving the problems of developing health care, public education, and culture.
The creation of zemstvo city self-government bodies was an important stage in the formation of civil society in Russia. For the first time, a significant part of the management of public affairs was removed from the jurisdiction of officials and transferred to elected representatives of various social groups of the population. The bureaucratic principles of staffing and functioning of local government bodies were replaced by a system of local self-government based on the principles of qualification democracy. It is no coincidence that Russian liberals regarded the introduction of zemstvos, and then city self-government bodies, as the most important steps towards constitutional forms of government in Russia. New bodies of local self-government - zemstvo and city - entered the history of the country as bourgeois institutions.