Specifics of the establishment of private trade in the Irkutsk Governorate in 1921-1923

The aim of this research is to identify the specific characteristics of private trade during its formation in the Irkutsk Governorate in the initial period of the New Economic Policy (NEP). The article identifies the main stages in the development of private trade, examines the measures taken by the gubernatorial authorities to organize and regulate this process, analyzes the subjective and objective factors shaping the specificity of private trade in the Irkutsk Governorate, and presents quantitative and qualitative indicators that are used to examine the dynamics of private trade. The scientific novelty is determined by the insufficient study of this topic, as well as the introduction into scholarly discourse of previously unused archival documents, statistical compendia, and periodical materials. As a result, it was found that the process of establishing private trade in the Irkutsk Governorate in 1921-1923 proceeded quite actively and was defined by local regional specifics.