A.A. Shcherbatov's role in the activities of the Moscow city duma on urban development (1863-1869)

Introduction. A number of works are devoted to the study of the activities of the Moscow City Duma in urban landscaping in 1863-1869, but the reforms are described descriptively and the role of the Moscow mayor in this process is not highlighted. In turn, it is precisely his interest in improving the life of the city that is reflected in the quantity and quality of the implemented reforms of the Duma. There is a need to outline the terms of reference of the mayor, which will contribute to the effective implementation of reforms. Hence the interest in this problem. Materials and methods. The study is based on a number of sources, including: a) documents of the Office of the Moscow City General Duma, stored in the Central State Archives of Moscow; b) published documents of participants in the events; c) the regulatory legal acts of the Russian Empire; d) press materials, including journalism on the development of urban amenities and reports on the work of the Duma. The problem under study was already in the field of view of researchers [1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6;]. One of the main researchers of the Moscow city Duma (1863-1869) is L.F. Pisarkova. In the field of her interests was the issue of vowel elections, determining the powers of the elected Duma and the role of A.A. Shcherbatov in the process of implementing key reforms of local self-government in Moscow. Also noteworthy are the collective Works of Komissarova S.A., koshkidko V.G., Solovyov K.A., as well as Zhukova L.A. and Romanov A.A., which contain a description of the Duma's reforms to improve the city of Moscow. The research methodology consists of: methods of documentary analysis of documents, which made it possible to compare different documents on a specific issue, compare the available data and establish the essence of the reforms being carried out; the historical and genetic method, on the basis of which it was possible to identify the cause-and-effect relationships of the phenomenon under study and to determine the role of the Moscow mayor in the ongoing reforms; historical-comparative method, which made it possible to determine the difference in the state of development of the city before and after the reforms. Research results. An analysis of sources and historiography on the issue under study allowed us to determine the role of the Moscow mayor in enhancing the reform activities of the Moscow City Duma, as well as to highlight the features of the leader's political behavior that contributes to the successful implementation of reforms.