The leisure activities of the town citizens in the Russian Far East in the second half 19 <sup>th</sup>- beginning 20 <sup>t <sup>h </sup></sup>centuries
The article is devoted to leisure activities and recreation in the cities of the Russian Far East in the second half 19 <sup>th</sup>–beginning 20 <sup>th </sup>centuries. The author analyzes changes of the urban leisure culture, diff erent leisure communities and practices: meetings, fellowships, hobby groups, events of street casual and festive entertainment. Based on published and archive sources, it considers a variety of forms of public leisure activities of Far Eastern outskirts of the Russian Empire, as well as changes in this sphere during the period. Th e study covers the southern part of the Russian Far East (the Amur and Primorye). Rapid development of this area began in the mid XIX century. The author reveals the features of leisure inhabitants of the region, determined by the small number of the population of the cities, significant role of the military component, remoteness from European Russia, lack of infrastructure and, as a consequence, semi-isolation from the main cultural centers.