Technical innovations and evolution of cultural landscape in Russian provincial cities at the end of the XIX - early XX century

The article dwells on the evolution of the cultural landscape of the Russian provincial towns in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the context of the introduction of technical innovations. The cities are seen as important actors in the socio-cultural and technical progress of the Russian province. The need to introduce technical innovations that bring the provincial settlements closer to the capitals was stronger in the county cities. The authors turn to the history of introduction of electricity in the cities of the eastern regions of Russia, analyzing its multifaceted application in everyday life. The topic under study fits into the global context. Researchers show that Russian cities (not only the capitals, but many provincial cities as well) did not lag far behind their advanced European counterparts in terms of introducing technical innovations. However, the urban elite and the city authorities of provincial cities had to overcome considerably more difficulties for their introduction, the degree of their distribution was limited for objective reasons (not only material, but also mental peculiarities of provincial inhabitants).