Activities of the city council of people’s deputies of Yelets at the final stage of perestroika (1990-1991)

This article, based on materials from the regional press and archival materials, examines the main results of the work of the City Council of People’s Deputies of Yelets, formed following the results of the first alternative elections on March 4, 1990. An analysis of the main directions of the activities of the representative body and efforts to improve the standard of living of the population undertaken city authorities as the socio-economic crisis grew and the political situation worsened at the final stage of perestroika. Reconstruction of the events of the last years of Soviet power showed that the new composition of the Council of People’s Deputies of Yelets included citizens known and respected in the city. Holding different views on the future of the city, the people’s representatives managed to reach a political compromise. In conditions of growing instability, the Yelets City Council and the executive committee reporting to it pursued a socially oriented policy and tried to respond to the problems of the citizens in a timely and effective manner.