History of Municipal Public Administration in Verkhneudinsk According to Documents from the State Archive of the Republic of Buryatia

The article investigates the activities of municipal public administration in Verkh-neudinsk at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, based on documents from the State Archive of the Republic of Buryatia. The author explores the role of city admin-istration in managing urban development, infrastructure, and the socioeconomic growth of Verkhneudinsk (present-day Ulan-Ude). The focus is on archival materials, including meeting protocols, resolutions, financial reports, and correspondence, which allow for the reconstruction of the mechanisms of the city council and admin-istrative board. Particular importance is given to documents reflecting the implementation of the 1870s reforms, especially the Municipal Statute of 1870, under which the Verkh-neudinsk City Council and Administrative Board were established. The article exam-ines in detail their key areas of activity: construction and maintenance of urban fa-cilities, fire prevention, development of the transportation network — including the routing of the Trans-Siberian Railway through the city — and the introduction of electric street lighting. The author emphasizes the limited nature of the electoral system, in which voting rights were predominantly held by merchants and property owners, reflecting the so-cial structure of urban governance at that time. The analysis also considers the inter-action of the city council with local residents and higher authorities, including the procedure for approving decisions by the military governor of the Transbaikal Re-gion. The study draws on unique archival sources, many of which are introduced into scholarly circulation for the first time. The State Archive of the Republic of Buryatia materials not only provide factual support for the study but also allow tracing the evolution of municipal governance amid the social and political transformations at the turn of the century.