Abstract: The object of this research is the regional charity and its transformation after February 1917, while the subject is the public charity in Transbaikal during the Civil War and political regime of the ataman G. Semenov. The research relies on the archival sources and periodical press materials. Using the systematic methodological principle, the topic is viewed in strong correlation with the events that unfolded in the society, taking into account structural, genetic, and functional relationships. The article is divided into parts, each of which reflects one of the facets of the articulated problem: disastrous fall in living standards of the population, household difficulties and psychological state peculiarities; crisis of the system of state care and collapse of the imperial system of organized public charity; public initiatives in the sphere of charity (forms, main recipients); “techniques” for encouraging charity used by the administration of the ataman G. Semenov. The conclusion is made that charitable activity overall during the political regime of the ataman G. Semenov retained. This was important, particularly in the conditions of declining living standards and growing number of destitute people, given that the circle of those eligible for receiving welfare has reduced, including for ideological reasons. The main recipients of public charity remained the orphans. Charity events for the own benefit, conducted by the educational institutions and ethnic diasporas, became a noticeable trend. The charity evenings for supporting the military, which in the early going appeared to be unregulated by Semenov’s administration, were prohibited. The authorities, interested in retaining public charity, often resorted to coercive measures fort its stimulation, including threats to habitual activity of the residents. The population was actively forced to donate for the army. The article reveals the methods of psychological pressure and coercion applied to population for participating in charity activities.