The Role and Importance of a City and District Police as Bodies of Administrative Justice in the Context of the Integration of Siberia into the Russian Empire in 1782–1862

Abstract

The creation and development of the police administration system in Siberia was one of the most important aspects of the state's regional policy. The purpose of this study is to determine the role and significance of city and zemstvo police as administrative justice bodies in the context of Siberia's integration into the Russian Empire from 1782 to 1862. This perspective offers a new approach to studying the integration of the macro-region into Russia. The study is based on the concept of frontier modernization, whose legal aspects have not been explored in science. The sources used include regulatory legal acts of the Russian Empire and records management materials extracted from the funds of the Russian State Historical Archive, the Archive of the Altai region, and the State Historical Archive of the Omsk region. The author concludes that the legislative decisions of the imperial power regarding the development of police administration bodies took into account the geographical, demographic, economic, and ethno-cultural characteristics of Siberia and its various regions. The legislation established specific functions and powers for city and zemstvo police in the field of justice. The activities of these bodies as administrative justice organs have become a significant factor in the defrontierization and subsequent modernization of the vast eastern periphery of the Russian Empire.

Keywords

• russian empire
• reforms
• justice
• zemstvo courts
• city police
• siberia
• periphery
• frontier
• modernization
• safety
• ethno-сonfessional relations