THE URALS’ PORCELAIN AND FAIENCE INDUSTRY OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY UNDER LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE RESTRICTIONS

The article examines the impact of legislative and administrative restrictions on the development of the Urals’ porcelain and faience industry in the second half of the 19th century. The sources were investigative cases on the closure or opening of enterprises and on permission to extract white clay and ownership of its deposits. The study found that the law on “fire-fighting establishments”, which prohibited the opening of factories in mining districts that “require firewood and coal”, as well as the continued broad powers of the mining authorities in protecting the interests of the mining industry, hindered the development of the porcelain and faience industry in the region. The struggle was for the main resources for both industries — wood fuel and clay, which were needed by both pottery and metallurgical production on a large scale. It often proved unsuccessful not only for individual entrepreneurs, but also for civil authorities, who sided with them in the interests of the overall development of the regional economy. In this struggle, the local mining authorities, represented by the managers and the Ural Mining Administration, resorted to the support of central bodies — the ministries and even the Senate, which supported the primary development of the large mining industry. It happened that the opposition to outside entrepreneurs was also provided by factory residents engaged in local crafts, who, in their own interests, eliminated competitors under the protection of the current mining legislation.