The state customs policy and its local implementation in border regions at the end of 19 - the beginning of the 20 centuries

The article gives the analysis of the state customs policy on the eastern outskirts with regard to its main directions implementation in the border region. The authors note that the qualitative customs policy implementation at the national level is possible when taking into account different region conditions and development. According to the authors, the historical experience generalization and the authority activity assessment in the historical context can be applied to confront the challenges of our times and may help to avoid the pitfalls of the past. The article focuses attention on the Transbaikal region analysis. It is noted that Transbaikal region can be considered as the unique territory in terms of the customs policy implementation. The latter was mainly due to the all-Russian policy interests to involve "the peripheral territories" into the all-Russian economy and to develop new markets for the Russian foreign trade. On the territory, taken as an example by the authors, there had been a system of duty-free trade for quite a long period of time, however, as the authors argue, by the beginning of the XX century this system had run its course and there was a need to admit the region into the single customs space of the Russian state. The "Porto-Franco" regime, having been introduced on the territory of the Transbaikal region, also had the impact on the regional image of customs policy. The authors consider that the body of the rules introduced on the region territory had led to the "free trade zone" formation that had a certain public resonance. Having taken different examples, the authors prove the region customs policy existence with protectionist and free trade tendencies. The latter ones had been manifested in carrying out customs formalities, duty payment specifities, and the general system of legal regulation for region customs activities. Certain conclusions are drawn on the basis of the materials introduced into the scientific circulation for the first time. The article gives the assessment of main and minor circumstances which had an impact both on the general situation of customs service in the researched region, and the regional customs policy implementation. It also considers the impact of Chinese-Eastern Railway construction. It is noted that the eastern border opening for foreign goods had raised concerns over strengthening human resources within the customs. In addition, the authors pay attention to the impact of inconsistent customs policy on the customs body administration system in the region. In conclusion the authors state that the considered region customs policy had undergone the transformation process from absolutely inconsistent, built on exclusive privileges and determined by the foreign policy and economic interests of the ruling authorities and had been adopted into unified all-Russian system only in the second decade of the XX century.

Keywords

Authors

References