Ekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk) During NEP Years: Organization of City Government System

Abstract

The article discusses the activities of various levels of government structures (city council, gubernatorial, district and regional executive and party bodies) in managing EkaterinburgSverdlovsk during the NEP years. It is established that during this period, the central government was faced with a choice between centralism or decentralization in local governance and the delineation of powers between councils and different levels of regional government. It is noted that in practice, a multilevel system of city management was formed, which had both positive and negative aspects. It is shown that on the one hand, in conditions of weak city authority and a shortage of city budget, the intervention of regional authorities in urban issues and financial injections from their side allowed for the successful resolution of acute urban economic issues. On the other hand, such a system of power significantly limited the authority of the city council, pushing it to other government structures. As a result, the author concludes that the city council was not a full-fledged, independent administrative unit, and its competence in managing the city was significantly limited. This situation is explained by the fact that the main decisions regarding the directions of city development were made by regional authorities, which did not always positively affect the effectiveness of urban management.