Abstract: The subject of the study is the organization and activity of the Krasnoyarsk Mutual Fire Insurance Society. On the basis of the historical and genetic method, the reasons for the origin of the insurance business in the Yenisei province, the leading trends in its development during the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries, changes that occurred under the influence of the First World War are analyzed. The application of the historical-systematic method allowed the authors to determine the role and place of the city mutual insurance society in the emerging fire insurance system in one of the provincial centers of Eastern Siberia. The historical-comparative method made it possible to identify the differences between mutual insurance companies and joint-stock companies. The statistics of fires and the scale of losses from them grew in the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. At the same time, a fire insurance system was being formed. A specific non–commercial form of insurance was mutual insurance (the main types are zemstvo and city), which arose due to the fact that the services of private insurance companies were inaccessible to a wide range of the population. In the Yenisei province , the only society of this type appeared only at the beginning of the XX century. Krasnoyarsk City Mutual Insurance Society for a short period of its existence could not significantly change the situation in the local insurance market, where the dominant position was occupied by branches of joint-stock insurance companies. Nevertheless, his activity has had a beneficial effect on the development of the insurance business in the city by reducing tariffs, supporting fire-fighting measures of the city authorities. The First World War carried the threat of loss of organizational and financial independence of mutual insurance companies, since the government became interested in the idea of introducing a state monopoly of fire insurance in order to compensate for the budget deficit.

Abstract: The authors investigate the reasons for the shortage and high cost of food in the Yakutsk region during the First World War, as well as the activities of the Regional Food Committee, authorized by the Special Meeting of the Governor R. E. Witte and the City Duma of Yakutsk to prevent a food crisis. The facts and events within the framework of the problem under study are systematized, the narrative is built on the basis of the problem-chronological method. The historical-systemic method made it possible to determine the factors that caused the rise in prices and the emergence of food shortages. The historical-genetic method made it possible to analyze the development of the situation in the food sector in dynamics, to trace its transformation into a crisis state.
The authors concluded that the Yakutsk region, which was a special region within the Russian Empire (geographically remote, occupying a vast territory, with an undeveloped transport infrastructure, and at the same time of strategic importance), was dependent on food supplies for food. As a result of the First World War, the physical and economic availability of food and, above all, bread has declined sharply. Administrative regulatory measures of local authorities could not be effective in the context of general negative transformations in the economic sphere. The food crisis came in the third year of the war - in 1916-1917. Since that time, the inhabitants of the region could rely only on local agricultural production, which was extremely unstable.

Abstract: This article explores the problems of food supply of mining community of Lensk-Vitim gold-mining districts during the World War I, as well as the measures taken by the government to resolve them. The author determines the peculiarities of the delivery of food products established by the beginning of the XX century under the influence of geographical position and transport infrastructure. The article demonstrates the impact of procurement activities of the Lensk gold-mining community upon the local market conjuncture, as well as the emerging difficulties such as shortage of delivery from Irkutsk and speculation of traders. It is noted that the administration of the province strived to maintain same rate of gold extraction and was careful to avoid the reoccurrence of the tragic events of 1912. The conclusion is drawn that the authorities were able to avert interruption in supply of the territories and prevent outrage on the part of workers until 1916. The use of narrative method helped to select and interpret the historical facts of the problem under consideration; historical-genetic method allowed identifying the causes that led to difficulties of food supply of mining community of Lensk-Vitim gold-mining district during the wartime; systemic method played an important role in correlating the regional events with the spread of food crisis in the Irkutsk Province. The scientific novelty consists in the fact that based on the archival and published sources the author is first to conduct special research on food supply of the northern gold-mining territories of Eastern Siberia during the World War I, assess the performance of the provincial government, as well as describe the priorities of economic policy of the imperial government in this remote region.

Abstract: The article's research subject is the system of government and public structures involved in the regulation of food issues in Eastern Siberia during the years of the First World War (July 1914 - February 1917). The author demonstrates that the food crisis had led to systemic reforms in the administrative sphere - in particular, the creation of special procurement departments with representatives set-up locally. The government's top priority was to supply the army. At the regional level, many issues related to the provision of the population were addressed (restraining inflation, combating speculation, etc.), but the scope of the governors' powers remained the same, which prevented them from acting more effectively. The state's insufficient attention to the food supply of the rear forced the population to self-organize. The efforts of urban municipalities due to legislative restrictions, qualifications, and the deficit of financial resources, in the conditions of the general economic situation prevailing in the country, were counterproductive. The consumer cooperation was also incapable of significantly affecting the food situation. The article's study is based on the historical-systemic approach. The process of forming and developing the work of state and public food institutions is characterized by taking into account their hierarchy and internal relations, directions and forms of activity. The scientific novelty of this study lies in the fact that for the first time an attempt has been made to conduct a comprehensive study of the structure, principles of organization and functioning of food institutions in the provinces of Eastern Siberia, and an assessment is made of the effectiveness of their regulatory impact. The author reveals the factors that determined the specifics of the activity of state and public food structures in the region.