Entrepreneurs of the Southern Ukrainian Provinces of Russian Empire in the Political Practices of the Early Twentieth Century

The purpose of the research to determine the role and place of representatives of business circles of Ukrainian lands in the socio-political processes of the early 20th century. Find out their attitude to political activity and political parties. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity, systemicity. The following general historical methods have been used: historical-genetic, comparative, historical-typological. The scientific novelty on the basis of a wide range of sources, the political and political preferences of the bourgeoisie of southern Ukrainian provinces at the beginning of the 20th century were characterized, and the manifestations of their political activity in the modern period were determined. Conclusions. It is noted that the political activity of the bourgeoisie of Ukraine in the early 20th century noticeably increasing. In this connection, the prerequisites of this phenomenon are revealed, as well as the political beliefs of representatives of the entrepreneurial community of Ukrainian lands of tsarist Russia, their subjective ideas about the political situation in the country, the conditions of business development, their place in society. It also describes the level of political culture and political consciousness of Ukrainian entrepreneurs of that time, their understanding of their own political interests and needs, and their ability to clearly define their political goals. The main forms of participation of the representatives of the capital of South in the political life of the early 20th century are analyzed in the article. These include: the affiliation of a particular entrepreneur with a party or political association; participation in election campaigns for the State Duma or the State Council of Russian Empire, as well as activities within these legislative institutions. Finally, it was emphasized that the representatives of the capital in their party sympathies mainly favored political organizations such as Octobrists and the Cadets. Moreover, the Union of October 17 was more often joined by a representative of big business, and the ranks of the Cadets filled up the middle layers of the bourgeoisie of the region. However, most of the business community still showed their political indifference and passivity.