The article deals with the issues of personnel training for the Chuvash ASSR, held at Gorky Higher Party School from 1946 to 1991. It is stated that Gorky one-year party school and interregional courses established during the Great Patriotic War laid the foundations for the development of party education, became the base of creating Gorky Higher Party School. The analysis of documents kept at the State Social and Political Archive of Nizhny Novgorod region demonstrates that on August 12, 1946, the Bureau of Gorky Regional Committee of the VKP (b) made the decision to create Gorky Regional Party School, which was to train top staffers for seven regions and four autonomous republics of the Volga region, including the Chuvash region. Already in 1951 the Chuvash regional committee of the ACP (b) sent 15 Soviet employees who, in accordance with the nomenclature of positions, were the closest reserve of the party leadership at the municipal and regional level. In the future, their number increased to 20–25 people annually. By the end of the 1950s, the problem of staff shortage in party and Soviet workers is replaced by the need for advanced training through the course system for a part of party and Soviet workers, which was implemented in the early 1960s. This resulted at first in a slight decrease in the number of attendees from the Chuvash ASSR in party school, but beginning with the mid-1960s the number of Chuvash attendees steadily increased. The following years are marked by a significant development of the correspondence department, as well as inter-regional courses of party and Soviet workers. In 1979, a study support center was opened in Cheboksary. In connection with this, in the subsequent 1970–1980s the contingent of attendees from the Chuvash ASSR significantly decreased. At the same time, training through correspondence department and inter-regional courses increased. Retraining of personnel at interregional courses was carried out, including in the form of practical classes, where the Party and Soviet establishment figures of the Chuvash ASSR spoke to the attendees in the relevant specialties. In the 1980s, the flow of interregional courses was practiced on the basis of regional governing bodies, including in the Chuvash regional party organization. This form of training facilitated the exchange of managerial experience and was welcomed by the attendees.

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The relevance of the article is that it highlights the previously unexplored process of the formation of new authorities in modern Russia in the period before the adoption of the new constitution of the country. The well-established opinion that the construction of a new system of public administration began on the basis of a new Constitution has not been substantiated by historical research. This article is intended to fill this gap. The material was prepared on the basis of the study of scientific literature and archival materials. The research is based on the documents of the archival funds of the Central Archive of the Nizhny Novgorod region. At the same time, a concrete historical method, methods of comparative analysis, using external and internal criticism of documents are used. The article reveals the transformation of the authorities in the Nizhny Novgorod region in 1991-1994. After the failure of the August putsch and the Decree of Boris Yeltsin “On some issues of the activities of executive authorities in the RSFSR” dated August 22, 1991, the activities of the CPSU were suspended and the dismantling of the communist leadership began – including in the Nizhny Novgorod region. On August 25, E.V. Krestyaninov was elected to the post of chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Council of People’s Deputies. On August 27, Boris Nemtsov was appointed the representative of the President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin in the region. On November 30, 1991 it was approved by the head of the administration of the Nizhny Novgorod region. The Regional Council of People’s Deputies conducted preparatory organizational work on the formation of a full-fledged regional parliament – the Legislative Assembly of the Nizhny Novgorod region. The main part of this work was carried out in the Small Council formed after the events of 1991. The events of October 1993 led to the radical restructuring of the system of public administration and local self-government. On October 21, 1993, the Regional Council approved the “Basic Principles” of the Regulations on the Legislative Assembly of the Nizhny Novgorod Region”. Early elections of deputies were held on March 27, 1994 and on their outcome, the council of the first convocation of the Legislative Assembly of the Nizhny Novgorod Region was formed. This is how the long-term work of the Regional Council of People’s Deputies ended and the history of the new regional parliament – the Legislative Assembly of the Nizhny Novgorod region – opened. The article substantiates the opinion that the formation of new state authorities began on the basis of presidential decrees, even before the adoption of the Constitution of 1993. It has important practical and theoretical significance for understanding the political history of modern Russia.

The relevance of the article is to highlight previously unexplored process showing evolvement of local self-government bodies in modern Russia when a new system of public relations was created before the adoption of the country’s Constitution in 1993. The claim that creation of the municipal government system began on the basis of the new Constitution is not substantiated by historical research. The presented article is intended to fill this gap. The material was prepared based on the study of scientific literature and archival materials. The basis of the research is made by documents from the archives of the city of Nizhny Novgorod and the Central Archive of Nizhny Novgorod region. At this, the concrete-historical method, methods of using external and internal criticism of documents, comparative analysis were used. The article reveals the process of local self-government transformation in Nizhny Novgorod in 1991–1994. The attempts to reform local self-government were initiated as early as within the framework of the Soviet political system. However, drastic changes occurred here only after the August Putsch failure and the beginning of the leading communist party officials’ dismantling. Changes in the system of local self-government bodies began with the executive branch. On December 24, 1991 By the Decree of the President B.E. Yeltsin the post of head of the Administration of the city of N. Novgorod was taken up by D.I. Bednyakov. This appointment was perceived by the deputies of Nizhny Novgorod City Council of People’s Deputies as an undemocratic step of the new “democratic” government. From that moment, the powers of the city executive committee of the local Council of People’s Deputies were terminated. Nizhny Novgorod City Council of People’s Deputies functioned until the fall of 1993. After the October events in Moscow, a radical restructuring of the entire system of local self – government began on the basis of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of October 26 , 1993 “On the Basics of Organizing Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation for the Period of Step-By-Step Constitutional Reform.” In pursuance of this decree, an act was issued by the Head of the Administration dated 29.10.1993, according to which it was prescribed: “to cease the activities of Nizhny Novgorod City Council of People’s Deputies beginning from October 29, 1993.” Preparations began for the election of a new representative body of city self–government – the City Duma of Nizhny Novgorod. Following the results of the elections held on March 27, 1994, the staff of the first convocation of the City Duma was formed. The article argumentatively shows that formation of new local self-government bodies began on the basis of decrees issued by the President of the Russian Federation and resolutions of local authorities even earlier than adoption of the Constitution of 1993. This conclusion has important practical and theoretical significance for understanding the political history of modern Russia.

The article discusses training personnel for national republics conducted at Gorky Higher Party School in the 1940–1980s. The basis for establishing Gorky Higher Party School was a one-year party school and inter-regional courses that laid the foundations for the development of party education. The analysis of the documents of the State Socio-Political Archive of the Nizhny Novgorod region makes it possible to trace the evolution of training party and Soviet cadres for forty-five years. On August 12, 1946, a decision was taken to establish Gorky Regional Party School, geared to train top staffers of seven regions and four autonomous republics of the Volga region. The training was conducted with careful preparation on the part of students and teachers. In the early years of the school much attention was paid to the study of the Russian language. By the end of the 1950s, the problem of the shortage of party and Soviet workers was solved. This conditioned the establishment of an age limit for applicants, as well as refusal of admission to Gorky Regional Party School to persons with higher education. Advanced training courses were created for such candidates in the early 1960s. Subsequently, a correspondence department received a significant development, along with the inter-regional courses of party and Soviet workers. Organization of the educational process is also transformed: three new study support centers were opened in the regional centers of the recruitment zone in 1979. The result of opening new educational and consulting centers was a decrease in the number of full-time students from national republics. At the same time, there is an increase in the number of students at the correspondence department and at inter-regional courses. Retraining of personnel at inter-regional courses was carried out in the form of theoretical as well as practical classes, at which representatives of the party and Soviet elite spoke to the audience (for corresponding cohorts). In the 1980s, practical training on the basis of regional government bodies was actively developed as part of coursework. In the 1980s, the area of Gorky Higher Party School was expanded due to training managerial personnel for the Azerbaijanian, Armenian, Georgian, Kazakh and Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republics. Respectively, the composition of students’ nationalities in the school significantly expanded, too. Thus, establishment of Gorky Higher Party School was of great importance for training national senior executives.