Historical and legal analysis of the "Order to the forest guard of the Altai district" (late XIX - early XX century)

Introduction: The author analyzes three editions of the «Order to the forest guard of the Altai district», which was the basic regional regulative document and specified all directions of activity of the forest guard in this area in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. Materials and Methods: the legal basis of the study is the "Order to the forest guard of the Altai district", which had been exposed to review three times: in 1897, 1909 and 1912. The methodological basis of the paper is a combination of general scientific logical methods (analysis, synthesis) and special methods (historical-legal, historical-comparative, comparative-legal, historical-genetic). Results of the Study: the author analyzes the content of the "Order to the forest guard", shows substantial features of each edition, and determines the vectors of the development of the juridical regulation system of the forest guard activities in the Altai district at the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX centuries. Findings and Conclusions: Forest guard activities were paid a lot of attention in the Altai district in the late 19th - early 20th centuries because of its important role as the main instrument of forest policy implementation. The modernization of the forestry increased requirements for the organization of the forest guard activities that has been reflected in the improvement of juridical norms. "Order to the forest guard" was a staff guide, which content expanded as the system of management, protection and use of forest was improved. The third edition of the "Order" in 1912 was the best both in the content and the structure.