Sovietization from scratch: the problems of forming a system of local self-government in Primorye (the case of the elections to rural councils in 1923)

This article analyzes the election campaign for rural councils in Primorye Province, held in February 1923. Drawing on archival materials from the Russian State Historical Archives of the Far East, the study examines key problems in the formation of the Soviet system of local self‑government in the region. The author identifies three groups of difficulties: applying all‑Russian representation norms in sparsely populated Primorye, organizational shortcomings of the electoral process, and the low level of public interest in the elections. The author shows that the provincial authorities, taking advantage of the relative autonomy of the emergency organs (revkoms), reduced the representation norms, which made it possible to partially avoid the problems that arose in other regions (e.g., Siberia). Specific violations during the campaign are analyzed, demonstrating the weakness of the electoral commissions and the influence of prosperous peasant strata on the election outcome. The author concludes that the campaign produced almost completely non‑party rural councils, whose composition often proved unsatisfactory to the authorities.