RUSSIAN PROVINCE IN POST-REFORM PERIOD AS HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL SPACE: APPROACHES TO THE STUDY

The paper analyzes approaches to the study of Russian province of the second half of the XIX century as a special historical and cultural space. The evolution of the concept «province» and the process of the debate between leading Russian thinkers of the XIX and early XX centuries on the role of province in the cultural life of Russia is highlighted. On the basis of analysis of works of modern scholars, the stereotypes in the perception of «province» are singled out and some promising methodological approaches to the study of historical and cultural identity of the regions of postreform Russia in all their diversity are highlighted.