City government as a leading factor in the civil society development in the Urals in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries

The research analyzes the aspects of the Russian cities development that have led to the delay of the genesis of civil society in comparison with Western Europe where it has been mainly created by the end of the 18th century. The diversified development of the Ural cities is associated with the creation of large mining and metallurgical centers having the entire urban infrastructure but lacking the city status. The reforms in the 1860s-1870s had a great impact on all aspects of life, including the establishment of the main elements of civil society, where the new system of city government along with local government (zemstvo) made a significant contribution to this process. Despite the limitations of the electoral law resulted in the predominance of commercial and industrial figures in government representative bodies, a favorable environment was forged to improve the quality of urban life in respect of civilian capacity development. For instance, the government focused on medicine and education which were the quantitative indicator of the civil status of society. In this period, the Russian education system was founded, i.e. public schools, city primary schools, diocesan and religious schools, male and female gymnasiums, non-classical secondary schools, seminaries were established. The changed urban infrastructure (in the major centers of the province) reflected the new trends in urban life: paved roads and sidewalks, sewer and water pipes, electric and gas street lighting, modern shops were installed. Based on the materials presented, the authors concluded that the urban development played an important role in the establishment of the civil society in the post-reform Russia.