Police force of the MIA of Irkutsk province in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

This article deals with the history of police of Siberia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The main stages of police development are analysed, namely the establishment of police in Irkutsk, the improvement of the organizational structure of police bodies, the main functions of the police. The author pays special attention to the institutional and legal development of the Siberian police and to particularities of its activities. The article also addresses the complex structure of the police bodies of the province of Irkutsk, consisting of the general police, gendarmerie, detective police, mountain policemen, fire and police units and the Irkutsk Cossack division, which is under the authority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.