On the 115th anniversary of the elections to the State Duma of the 1st convocation in Kostroma Province (based on the materials of Kostroma newspapers)

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The article is devoted to the little-studied problem of elections to the First State Duma of the Russian Empire in Kostroma Province, as well as the attitude of different strata, classes and estates to the elections and activities of deputies. As sources, the documents of the funds of the State Archive of Kostroma Region (GAKO), in particular, the materials of the local newspapers “Kostroma Speechˮ and “Herald of Povolzhyeˮ are used. An attempt is made to reveal to what extent the institution of Russian parliamentarism was rooted in the Province, to what extent the elected deputies expressed the interests of voters of different classes. The extensive factual material covers the organisation of elections, the course of elections in different counties, as well as conflicts and violations during the conduct of elections. Rich material is also provided by memoirs, business correspondence of officials and other documents. The authors come to the conclusion that Kostroma newspapers of that time covered the above issues in great detail and meaningfully, that in the conditions of the emerging multiparty system, the political and legal culture of the Province grew, as well as the interest of representatives of different classes in solving the most important problems of the then Russian reality.