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The First Freemen of Khabarovsk

In the second half of the 19th century Russian cities had received their rights to entitle “The honorable citizen of the city”, like it was in European countries. The award procedure with this title compare to present days was very complicated. Firstly a candidate for honorable citizen by number was presented in Duma meeting. Then the members of Duma voted for a candidate.

After that the decision of the city authority was reported to a Governor-General and Home Secretary, who “asked about greatest pleasure of the Emperor”. This order was kind of reliability of the candidate and no surprise there were honorable citizens mostly in central Russian cities who became high-ranking officials and people close to province elite. Provincial towns were using this right for protection its interests, trying to take on high-ranking official with moral and ethic duties.

The first honorable citizen of Khabarovsk became military-governor of Primorye area Michael Pavlovich Tikhmenev. He promoted Khabarovka to become the center of the Primorye area, and granting it city status, and than Khabarovsk city became the center of Pryamursky General-Governorship.

The largest contribution in development of Khabarovsk city was made by the first architect of the city engineer-colonel Vladimir Gregoryevich Mooro, the first governor general baron Andrey Nikolayevich Korf, general-lieutenant Nikolay Lvovich Gondatty, merchants of the 1st guild Sergey Yakovlevich Bogdanov, Vasily Fedorovich Plusnin, Innokenty Pavlinovich Pyankov and etc. 13 persons became freemen of Khabarovsk before the Great October Socialist Revolution, among which four governor generals*, one military-governor of oblast, a colonel-engineer, 7 merchants and an entrepreneur. Each of them deserves this title for contribution to improving the lives of Khabarovsk citizens.

b) Explain who were the freemen or honorable citizens of the city.

c) Name the honorable citizens of Khabarovsk who had got this title before the Great October Socialist Revolution.

d) Can you name the honorable citizens of modern Khabarovsk? Find some information about them and prepare a report.

e) Translate the text.

До 1917 года Почетными гражданами Хабаровска стали 22 человека. Эти люди внесли огромный вклад в становление и развитие одного из форпостов на Дальнем Востоке - города Хабаровска.

В 1983 году, когда город отмечал свое 125-летие, Совет народных депутатов города Хабаровска принял решение о возобновлении присвоения звания «Почетный гражданин города Хабаровска». С 1983 по 2007 годы Почетными гражданами города стали 52 человека. Среди них – государственные и общественные деятели, ветераны Великой Отечественной войны, герои труда, ученые, работники культуры и искусства, писатели и краеведы.