Local population and Perm voivodes: an institutional analysis of relationships

The article analyzes the functioning of the voivode authority in Perm region in the late 16th and 17th centuries. Institutional analysis of the interactions between the local population and the voivodes in Perm Kama region makes it possible to understand the principles of local government in the region. The appeal to the history of institutions of the Russian state from the perspective of institutional approach gives a fresh look at the problem of how efficient was the functioning of local authorities during the specified period of history. The analysis of the activities of provincial offices helps to understand the principles of interaction of the provincial government with the local population, as well as the relations of local authorities with the center. The provincial authorities, being formed as a tool to maintain order in Perm Kama region, were not powerful enough to implement strong political line. The article also examines the following question: why, in the conditions of low collection of taxes and the absence of the need to regularly reflect the military threat in Perm Kama region in the 17th century, the central government, nevertheless, did not attempt to change the province's power to a more effective form of government? Moreover, the voivode administration was spread to Siberia and functioned there for another century. Despite the fact that rent-seeking activities brought significant private incomes to officials, bypassing the state treasury, the activity of the voivode was less evil for the central government than the absence of any leader in the newly annexed territories.