Mechanisms of interaction between power, society and handicrafts in the Russian empire at the end of the XIX - the beginning of the XX century

Introduction. The article discusses the mechanisms of interaction between power, society and handicrafts in the Russian Empire in the late XIX - early XX centuries as part of the study of problems of Russian economic policy. The struggle between two ideological directions - conservative and liberal - was most clearly expressed in the attitude of government circles towards the peasantry. The author tries to trace two ways of interaction between the authorities and artisanal peasants. Materials and Methods. Based on archival and published sources, an analysis is made of the mechanism of interaction between power, society and handicrafts in the Russian Empire at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. In the work, we used narrative, historical-typological, and historical-systematic methods of historical research. Results. The first way of interaction between the authorities and handicrafts included research activities, surveys, censuses. Committees and commissions played an important role in the mechanism of relations between power and handicraftsmen, which gathered at the initiative of the government in order to obtain information from the localities about the needs of peasant handicraftsmen. The highest public body in the system of relations between power and handicraftsmen was the congresses of workers in the handicraft industry, the decisions and decisions of which, after discussions, were submitted to the government for consideration and were also taken into account when developing government measures for the development of crafts. This whole mechanism was quite effective and made a significant contribution to the implementation of state assistance to artisans. Discussion and Conclusion. In recent years, research has been conducted on the problems of the interaction of power, society and the peasantry in various aspects on the materials of individual regions. The literature received coverage of the interaction of the state and various economic and political strata: the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie, zemstvos, and the peasantry. The topic under consideration is of great importance for identifying the effectiveness of the Stolypin reform and its compliance with the traditions of the economic life of the Russian village. Of the two ways of interaction between power structures and artisanal peasants: “from above” and “from below,” the most effective was the first path, initiated from power structures. State programs for the development of handicrafts, formed in the process of interaction with handicraftsmen, were aimed at supporting small and medium enterprises in the peasant environment.