THE HIGHER SIBERIAN ADMINISTRATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSEUM AFFAIRS IN THE LATE 19TH - EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

The article examines the activities of the higher Siberian administration as one of the key factors in the creation and development of museums in Siberia and the Far East in the last quarter of the 19th and the early 20th century. This chronological span is justified by the fact that it was precisely during this period that a ramified network of museums took shape in the Siberian region, and public interest in them, as well as the attention of central and local authorities, grew rapidly. Particular attention is paid to the involvement of provincial leaders in constructing museum buildings and providing museums with premises of their own. The article also discusses such forms of support as financial assistance and the donation of valuable collections and objects to museums. In conclusion, it argues that the engagement of the higher Siberian leadership in the development of museum affairs was not the result of a systemic state policy, but rather a manifestation of personal initiative, dependent on officials’ interest and their understanding of public needs.

HIGHER SIBERIAN ADMINISTRATION, MUSEUM AFFAIRS, IMPERIAL RUSSIAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, STATISTICAL COMMITTEES, ORGANS OF MUNICIPAL SELF-GOVERNMENT