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History magazine - researches
Reference:

Sources and methods of studying electors of city government bodies in European Russia in the 1700s-1760s

Gushchina Dina Vadimovna

ORCID: 0000-0003-3512-5658

Postgraduate student, Department of History of Russia before the Beginning of the XIX century, Lomonosov Moscow State University

119234, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Lomonosovskii Prosp., 27 k. 4, kab. E-449

totedo@rambler.ru
Other publications by this author
 
 

DOI:

10.7256/2454-0609.2022.3.38242

EDN:

QHEBRQ

Received:

10-06-2022

Published:

10-07-2022

Abstract: The article examines the degree of completeness of the source base for the study of the personal composition of elected and electors of city government bodies in European Russia in the 1700s – 1760s. The study of almost the main "actors" of elected city government - ministers and electors who nominated them to these positions – will reveal from a new perspective the principle of the formation of these institutions and their relations with the authorities, the nature of formal and informal ties within the posad, strategies of behavior of the inhabitants of the posad. The use of the prosopographic method makes it possible to identify and personalize each individual elected or elector. However, for the compilation of such "dossiers" a specific range of sources is required: clerical documentation of the Chief Magistrate, zemstvo huts, magistrates and town halls, as well as materials of 1-3 audits. Analyzing how numerous these sources are and what range of issues they can cover, the author comes to the conclusion that archival materials allow conducting a study of such a plan on the example of a large number of cities of different administrative significance. However, the degree of completeness of the source base is extremely uneven: the composition of elected and electors of city magistrates was reflected in the documents most fully, although not evenly across different cities and over different periods of time, while the composition of zemstvo huts and town halls can be found out only by indirect signs.

Keywords:

history of Russia, historical sources, urban reform, city magistrates, city halls, zemstvo huts, elected city government, elections, a new social history, posad community
This article is automatically translated.

From all of the above, it can be concluded that the complex of sources for the study of the personnel of elected city government bodies in Russia in the 1700s-1760s is represented by quite numerous and diverse documents. Despite certain gaps in the source database, and the limitations imposed on the researcher's capabilities by the nature of the sources, the affairs of the RGADA funds provide a rich selection of documents on this topic. It should be noted, however, that the focus of the study will inevitably be focused on the composition of elected and electors of city magistrates, since the elections of other institutions of city administration for the specified period are practically not provided with sources. Thus, registers of electors and lists of assaults of electors to city magistrates are the primary basis for collecting the most complete information about elected members of city government institutions and their electors.

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Peer Review

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The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

to the article Sources and methods of studying electors and electors of municipal government in European Russia in the 1700s-1760s, the title corresponds to the content of the materials of the article. The title of the article reveals a scientific problem, which the author's research is aimed at solving. The reviewed article is of scientific interest. The author explained the choice of the research topic and justified its relevance. The purpose of the study is formulated in the article, the object and subject of the study are indicated. In the opinion of the reviewer, the main elements of the "program" of the study can be seen in the title and text of the article. The author presented the results of the analysis of the historiography of the problem, but did not formulate the novelty of the undertaken research. In presenting the material, the author demonstrated the results of the analysis of the historiography of the problem in the form of links to relevant works on the research topic. There is no appeal to the opponents in the article. The author explained the choice and outlined the range of sources involved in the disclosure of the topic. The author explained and justified the choice of the chronological framework of the study. In the opinion of the reviewer, the author used the sources competently, maintained the scientific style of presentation, competently used the methods of scientific knowledge, followed the principles of logic, systematicity and consistency of presentation of the material. As an introduction, the author pointed out the reason for choosing the research topic, outlined its relevance, stating that "studying the history of elected urban governance allows us to reveal the most diverse facets of the existence and development of Russian urban communities, the specifics of their interaction with government, as well as the motivation of the government itself in these relationships," etc. The author described the results of an analysis of the historiography of the problem, the main elements of the "program" of his research. In the main part of the article, the author explained to the reader that "in Russian cities there were different elected institutions subordinate to various authorities and having certain differences in organization," etc., that "with the creation of provinces, the townspeople again came under the control of local administration," "in the 1720s, city magistrates were organized, the central body the management for which the Chief Magistrate was" etc., that "in 1743, the magistrate system was restored by Elizabeth Petrovna practically in the form that it had under Peter I," etc. The author explained why "the election documents of city magistrates are the most complete and informative, in comparison with the materials of zemstvo huts and town halls, a set of documents dedicated to the elections to the city administration": "it was about appointing a financially responsible minister for a long time, and therefore the state authorities paid special attention to the list of those who were also responsible with property for the honesty of his service." The author described in detail the state of the relevant sources preserved in the fund of the Chief Magistrate of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts (RGADA). The author listed the types of documents ("denunciations, decrees, sentences, oath forms, registers, reports, memorials, extracts, etc."), described their contents, concluding that "for the study of the composition of electors and electors, the registers of electors and the list of assaults made by electors are of the greatest interest." Then the author outlined the structure of this type of documents, explained their meaning, concluding that the information presented in them "can be significantly expanded if each individual elector and elector is personalized," and that "the materials of the first three revisions allow this to be done." The author informed that the audit materials are stored in the fund of Landrat books and audit tales of the RGADA, described the importance of this type of sources, their shortcomings related to the preservation of documents. The author reported that "the main type of document, according to which it is supposed to identify electors and electors of the city administration – census books," clearly described the contents of the census books, justifying his thought. Additionally, the author described the 9-volume edition "Materials on the history of the Moscow merchant Class", published in 1883-1889 by N.A. Naidenov. Further, the author reported that "the institutions of elected city government in Russia of the XVIII century are not limited to magistrates," noting that "we practically do not have any numerous materials that would allow us to judge the composition of electors for zemstvo huts and town halls," and described in detail the state of the sources. The author's conclusions are generalizing, justified, and formulated clearly. The conclusions allow us to evaluate the scientific achievements of the author within the framework of his research. The conclusions reflect the results of the research conducted by the author in full. In the final paragraph of the article, the author reported that "the complex of sources for the study of the personnel of elected city government bodies in Russia in the 1700s-1760s is represented by quite numerous and diverse documents" that "despite certain gaps in the source base, and the limitations imposed on the researcher's capabilities by the nature of the sources, the affairs of the RGADA funds provide a rich choice The author reasonably summarized that "registers of electors and lists of assaults of electors to city magistrates are the primary basis for collecting the most complete information about elected members of city government institutions and their electors." In the reviewer's opinion, the potential purpose of the study has been achieved by the author. The publication may arouse the interest of the magazine's audience.
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