Evolution of the administrative-territorial division of the west part of the Irkutsky Gubernia in the first third of the 20th century
The purpose of this article is to trace the administrative and territorial transformations in the western part of the Irkutsk province in the first half of the twentieth century. The main attention is paid to the evolution of administrative units of the lower level - volost’, later larger districts. With the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, administrative and territorial transformations are taking on a much greater scope. The Soviet leadership emphasized the need to harmonize the administrative-territorial division with the prospects for economic development. In July 1922 the center of the Nizhneudinsky Uyezd was transferred from the town Nizhneudinsk to the village Tulun, simultaneously transformed into a city. The county was called Tulun. From the autumn of 1923 the preparation of the enlargement of the volosts began. In the Tulun county, they decided to group the district parishes (districts): Bratsky, Kuitun, Nizhneilimsky, Nizhneudinsky and Tulun. In June 1926 Irkutsk province was liquidated, and Irkutsk, Kirensk and Tulun districts were formed on its territory. Three years later, the Tulun District was abolished, and most of its districts were transferred to the Irkutsk District. In the summer of 1930, all other districts were liquidated. The goal of transformations was to put Party-Soviet apparatus closer to the newly created collective farms and to the population. Historical experience makes it possible to assess the impact of administrative-territorial transformations on the development of the regional economy. The region irreversibly became the main instance, bringing down party and state directives and controlling their execution.