Forest Management Reform in the Russian Empire in the Mid – Nineteenth Century: The First Steps of the Reform (on the Example of the Kursk Province)

Relevance. Serious transformations have been carried out in the forest law of Russia in recent decades. The State is currently testing a new concept of forest management and use of forest resources based on the priority of public law. In the history of Russia, there is an experience of evolutionary transformation of the concepts of private and public law in the field of forest legal relations. The Purpose – study the experience of the evolutionary transformation of private and public law in the field of forest management in Russia in the middle of the XIX century. Objectives. Within the framework of the article, the following tasks are solved: analysis of the legal foundations of forest management reform in the middle of the XIX century, features of the implementation of certain provisions at the first stage of the reform on the example of the Kursk province. The methodology of the research is based on the use of a dialectical approach, involving modern methods and methods of studying normative legal acts. Results. Despite the absence of any fundamental legislative act marking the beginning of the reform in the field of forest management in the European part of Russia in the middle of the XIX century, the reform was of a fundamental nature. The provisions of public law were extended to the sphere in which the norms of private law had previously dominated. Conclusion. By the middle of the XIX century, the state had good reasons to streamline and strictly regulate the use of forests, including those that were privately owned. In privately owned forests by the 50s of the XIX century, the problem of forest destruction in the European part of Russia became obvious. The state began the reform with the unprivileged estate – the peasantry. However, the reform was misunderstood not only by peasants, but also by government officials responsible for its implementation. The negative attitude of the officials of the Forestry Department of the Kursk Chamber of State Property to the transformation of the forestry management of the province led to a delay in the reform.