Financial and Economic Activity of the Institutions of Local Government in the Kalmyk Steppe in XIX Century

Abstract

Along with the issues on defining the legal status of the Kalmyk people in the Russian Empire, the Imperial Decrees of the first half of the XIX century were issued to introduce tax obligations. Apart from the fixed tax rate, Kalmyks had to carry a tax burden two or three times higher than they had to pay before. Gathering as an institution of local self-government was authorized to examine and settle matters of social, economic and cultural life of the community and its members. To ensure the satisfaction of the basic needs of the population, within the jurisdiction of the public administration, public administration bodies independently formed, approved and executed the local budget, fulfilling, the financial and economic function of the local government. Local authorities were almost devoid of adequate government support in performing state tasks, both in material and in other respects. Only from the 1890s having freed zemstvo (rural elected assembly) from «mandatory» spending, such as the maintenance of arrest premises, cart and guard services, the government could finally increase the local government spending on cultural needs - the construction and maintenance of schools and hospitals, including the Kalmyk steppe. The integrated study of various budgetary sources containing data on revenues and expenditures allowed to understand the complex issues of the economic development in the Kalmyk steppe. The critical analysis of the sources showed that the primary forms of financial and accounting reports for ulus administration were standard and the budget was scanty. According to the financial documents, among the main reasons for money pressure was a big mandatory spending on providing public services. Despite the limited financial resources, financial and economic relations could guarantee a relative economic independence of the institutions of local government whose budget was closely related to the needs of the population of a given territory and contributed to the development of its activity.