The article is devoted to the study of the main directions of municipal activity of a Russian district town in 1870-1914. The study is carried out in terms of a uezd – district – centre of that time, namely the town of Danilov, Yaroslavl Province. The authors examine the state of the town budget, determine its financial capacity to solve everyday problems, establish the degree of burdening the said budget with non-municipal expenditures, the level of spending on socio-cultural needs and improvement of the town. Specific activities of Danilov town’s self-government bodies in the sphere of public charity, healthcare, epidemics prevention, public welfare, external improvement of the town are studied taking into account both achievements and unfulfilled initiatives with the latter due to the refusal to allocate funds. Problems in the development of the social sphere of the town’s government are identified in the paper. What the paper notes as conclusions is the fat of limitedness of financial capacity of Danilov town’s government; however, it was in a more favourable position in some respects than other municipalities in the province. This was mainly manifested in the small financial sums that went to the maintenance of government offices and police. The individual achievements of Danilov town’s council (the so-called local Duma) in their practical activities are revealed. However, the authors consider the general development of municipal activities in the period under study to be at an insufficiently high level, if not at an incipient one.
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