FORMATION OF OREKHOVO-ZUEVO AS AN URBAN CONGLOMERATE IN THE CONTEXT OF MODERNIZATION PROCESSES IN RUSSIA AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Abstract

Aim. To describe the process of establishing the town of Orekhovo-Zuevo from the settlements that became factory centers at the turn of the 20th century. Methodology. The authors analyzed official government documents, statistical reports and materials from periodicals, comparing the socio-economic level of the conglomerate development with the official criteria for obtaining the status of a town. Results. The conducted analysis of the documents allowed the authors to demonstrate the "aging" of the urban conglomerate as an example of the specific genesis of a town in pre-revolutionary Russia. The research proved the fact of asynchrony in the perception of Orekhovo-Zuyevo as a town and the obtaining of its legal status. Research implications. The paper introduces the research data which were not published earlier. These documents form a socio-economic and everyday “image” of a future town and reveal certain aspects of the regional history.