At all times, the issue of effective central and local governance has been one of the key factors determining the effectiveness of the entire state mechanism. The North Caucasus has always been particularly sensitive to changes due to its diverse ethnic, cultural, and religious composition. Currently, the concept of state governance from the federal center is being shaped under the pressure of factors such as the politicization of society and the presence of multiple national and religious parties and movements that compete with the government for the selection of national and state development priorities.

The ethnopolitical situation in the North Caucasus is particularly acute due to the conflict hotbeds that have turned the entire Caucasus region into a broad zone of instability. This has a negative impact not only on neighboring regions, but also on Russia's internal areas. At the same time, there is still no effective alternative to the centrifugal tendencies that fuel separatist forces at the national, regional, and inter-subject levels.

In this regard, it may be interesting to analyze the historical system of governance that existed in the North Caucasus during the pre-revolutionary period, which was characterized by a certain level of effectiveness and stability. It is possible that some elements of the past experience, if appropriately transformed, could be useful in the present.

Until 1917, the Caucasus region had a flexible system of governance that combined elements of both Russian imperial unity and federalism.

Initially, the supreme state authority in the Caucasus was vested in the Viceroy of His Imperial Majesty, who was granted broad powers in matters of local civil and military administration. In 1883, his position as Commander-in-Chief of the Caucasian Army was transformed into that of Chief of the Civil Department and the Caucasian Military District. In 1905, the Viceroyalty of the Caucasus was reinstated by the Tsar's decree, which was intended to address the challenges of national identity.

As a result, the state power in the region was directly subordinate to the Russian emperor and the central government structures surrounding him. As the personal representative of the monarch in the Caucasus, the governor had unlimited political powers, acted at his own discretion, and in the event of "unrest" could also make decisions on the use of force. He was a member of the State Council, a member of the Council and the Committee of Ministers, Commander-in-Chief of the troops of the Caucasian Military District and military ataman of the Caucasian Cossack troops.

The Viceroy of the Caucasus was not dependent on the central government and was not even subject to the influence of the Council of Ministers, although he was considered to be on the same level as ministers. He was directly subordinate to the Tsar in matters of civil administration. Count Ivan Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov, who held this position from 1905 to 1916, was recognized as having an "exceptional position in court circles."

Since there were two different systems in the administration of the Caucasus region (military-people's and general provincial), the Viceroy established positions for assistants in civil and military affairs and created special executive bodies: the Office for Localities under Military-People's Administration and the Office for General Civil Administration.

During the period of reforms in 1883, the highest general management of all military and people's administration units was temporarily left to the Ministry of War, then transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and eventually returned to the Ministry of War. Since 1905, the military and people's administration had increasingly adopted the management practices used in other regions of Russia.

In government circles, the possibility of extending the military-people's administration to the general civil forms of government organization and introducing zemstvo institutions, which had been introduced in the empire since 1864 to develop local self-government on new principles, was considered. However, even at the turn of the 20th century, this reform did not affect 51 administrative-territorial entities, including Siberia, the Steppe Region, Turkestan, the Baltic Region, and provinces such as Arkhangelsk, Grodno, Vilna, and others.

Among them was the Caucasus. Contrary to the prevailing view that this region was unprepared for the perception of zemstvo self-government, the governor of his Imperial Majesty, Count I. I. Vorontsov-Dashkov, supported this idea and believed that it was precisely with the help of zemstvo institutions that " pacification can most likely be achieved... this suburb." In his opinion, "the absurd hostility and petty spirit of separatism of individual nationalities will be smoothed out by mutual meetings...".

However, the reforms planned for this purpose in 1906 were postponed indefinitely due to the discontent of the local peoples, as was the case in the mountainous part of the Dagestan region. The authorities were forced to reassure the agitated population that "the reforms would not be implemented through coercive measures against the will of the people." The project for a zemstvo in the Caucasus faced strong opposition from the highest echelons of the ruling elite, further complicating its implementation.

Nevertheless, in 1909, provincial and regional meetings were convened on the issue of zemstvos, and in April 1916, the Caucasian Regional Meeting was convened in Tiflis by the august Viceroy, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, who succeeded I. I. Vorontsov-Dashkov, who died the same year. Subsequently, the Viceroy's Office and Council conducted preparatory work on drafting the relevant bill. The review took place on February 3, 1917, at the first meeting of the interdepartmental committee established by the Council of Ministers, chaired by Senator P. N. Milyutin, Deputy Viceroy of His Imperial Majesty in the Caucasus.

After studying the draft on the introduction of zemstvo institutions in the Caucasus, this meeting agreed with the provisions adopted by the regional meeting under the august viceroy in 1916. However, throughout 1917, the issue of zemstvo in the Caucasus remained open, and the military-people's administration continued to exist, undergoing only minor changes.

Since 1883, the highest civil and military administration of the Dagestan region had been entrusted to the military governor (previously, there was a position of the region's chief), who was also the commander of the troops stationed there. He was subordinate to the chief of the civil department and the commander-in-chief of the Caucasian Military District, and from 1905, to the Caucasian Viceroy. In turn, he was subordinate to the heads of the administrative districts, who held lower officer ranks. Thus, all power at the regional and district levels was concentrated in the military command.

All elected positions in rural communities, including the composition of rural courts, were approved by district governors, and decisions of the regional people's court were submitted for approval by the military governor. As a result, the autonomy of rural community self-government was limited.

The administration of the Kuban and Terek regions was organized in a slightly different way. Unlike the administration of the Dagestan region, it was based on meeting the administrative and political needs of not only the local peoples, but also the Russian Cossacks.

In 1887-1888, the military-people's administration in these regions, which was initially separate for each region, was replaced by a general military administration with direct subordination to the military ataman of the Caucasian Cossack troops, who was also the commander-in-chief of the Caucasian Military District and the chief of the civil department. According to the government, this was intended to "raise and strengthen the military spirit, economic well-being, and the combat readiness of the troops." After that, the military leadership of the Kuban and Terek Cossack troops was unified on a regional scale, and the local and Cossack populations in the regions were placed under joint administration, which combined civilian and military functions.

Since 1905, the main regional administration of the Cossack regions and troops had been transferred to the Caucasian Viceroy. This subordination to the supreme regional authority existed in all Russian Cossack troops: the Semirechensky, Turkestan, Siberian, Transbaikal, and others. Nevertheless, the Kuban and Terek Cossacks were dissatisfied with their political and military dependence on the supreme regional administration. In 1914, their representatives in the State Duma submitted a legislative proposal to abolish the position of the military ataman of the Caucasian Cossack troops, granting the atamans of the regions his supreme rights. However, this proposal was not approved, and by 1917, the previous system of subordination remained unchanged.

In addition to the governorship, the administration of the Kuban and Terek regions, according to the" institutions of administration of the Caucasian territory " (1888), the Military Ministry was engaged in: the local population - the Main Headquarters, the Cossack and all the rest - the Main Directorate of the Cossack troops. This duality in the management of the local and Cossack populations made it necessary to combine their management, concentrating it only in the Main Directorate of the Cossack Troops, where all the central civil and military management of the Russian Cossack troops was located. For this purpose, a Mountain branch was additionally formed in it.

In 1910, the Main Directorate of the Cossack Troops, which was part of the Ministry of War and the General Staff, was transformed into the Cossack Department, which was responsible for the internal administration and civil structure of the Cossack troops as separate territorial units. At the same time, the Main Directorate of the Cossack Troops made a decision to transfer all matters related to the administration of the local population in the Kuban and Terek regions to the Asian part of the General Staff.

Each Cossack region and army was headed by a chief, usually a Cossack general appointed by the monarch and holding the title of ataman. This position corresponded to that of a governor-general. Local administration was also overseen by Cossack officers. In addition, the highest authority was concentrated in the regional governments, which served as executive bodies under the regional chiefs.

Within the Kuban and Terek regions, the local population shared a common administrative and political structure with the Cossacks. As independent communities with their own economies and treasuries, the Kuban and Terek Cossack troops, divided into departments led by atamans, were governed by special regulations.

Rural (aul) societies had their own self-governments, which were under the authority of elders and people's judges. Representatives of the feudal elite and the clergy were often elected to these positions, and their approval by the Russian authorities was based on their reliability. The self-governments of ethnic communities were subject to external supervision, which included local supervision by district chiefs and bailiffs, general supervision by department chiefs (in the Kuban region) or district chiefs (in the Terek region), and higher supervision by regional chiefs and regional administrations.

In the Stavropol and Black Sea provinces, the governors were responsible for the highest level of administration. The governor also had authority over the territory of the nomadic peoples in the Stavropol province. This territory was governed by communal self-government based on their unique ethnic traditions and religious beliefs. The nomadic peoples elected elders to perform administrative duties, and these elders were approved by the higher provincial authorities and the governor. While there were no elements of military administration for these peoples, there was still external oversight with its own characteristics.

Thus, in the Cossack regions, the higher and local administration combined the principles of Russian state centralization and communal-ethnic autonomy, granting them extensive rights of internal self-government. However, the autonomy of non-ethnic communities, as in the Dagestan region, was subject to external administrative and political restrictions. Similarly, Russian peasant and Cossack communities faced similar limitations. In the Stavropol and Black Sea provinces, as we can see, the administrative and political structure also provided for internal ethnic self-government by locality, with external Russian state restrictions imposed on it.

Giving an assessment of the Russian administration of the region, the deputy from the Dagestan region in the State Duma Gaidarov in 1912, in particular, said:: "In the Caucasus, a system was introduced that took into account the needs and interests of the population and corresponded to the psychology of the mountaineers, and at the same time was supposed to be a transitional stage to the highest form of communication."

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