Canalization and water-supplies were, at the same time, much worse, even in 1911
[18].
In towns of Volyn province engineering-technical modernization began later than
in the southern Ukrainian towns, and it went more slowly. In particular, the building of
water-supplies and canalization started in 1892–1893, the electrification – in 1912.
Municipalities were not busy with town improvement (only 10-11 % funds were
allotted to it from budgets and, taking into consideration not big incomes, it was in the
amount of some thousand rubles annually), whereas in private towns improvements
there were direct townspeople’s natural obligations [24].
Self-governmental bodies in Belarus and Russian towns, of course, carried out
town improvement but not on a large scale. For example, in towns of Samara, Simbirsk
and Penza provinces local-self-government during the end of XIX – the beginning of
XX c. commenced its activity, when initiated by gubernators, in case of catastrophes
or before the Impetrator’s visits. In particular, in Samara after the devastating fire in
1877, when the third of the city was burned, the municipality conducted a meeting and
decided to render support to the suffered in the amount of 5 thousand rubles, the
gubernator engaged himself in it, when the sums were being distributed. The Empress,
when she knew about the aftermath of the fire, rendered support in the amount of 10
thousand rubles, keeping in mind that the townspeople had collected 100 thousand
rubles for the Russian-Turkish war [26]. As a result, extra large sums of money were
collected to render assistance to the army – from 1 to 25 thousands, but the total amount
was enough only to suggest a plate of soup or a slice of bread to the poor of the Volga
region.
CONCLUSION
Thus, we may note that the regional-individual theory of self-government has a
full right to existence on account of the fact that each region had its own regional-
individual proper specifics of self-governmental structures’ activity. It influenced the
level of identification, self-determination, different degrees of the interaction with
central and administrative bodies, a system of values’ orientation and the level of city’s
patriotism.
In general, municipal self-government in the south of Ukraine could not be
considered as an ideal-representative institution of civil initiative, although in
comparison with other regions and cities of the Russian empire, the duma’s model of
municipal self-government in the southern Ukrainian region appeared productive and
had the following characteristics:
–
the majority of a self-government body was represented by merchants,
townspeople and artisans;
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