Functioning of Cinemas in the Cities of the Tobolsk Province at the Beginning of the XX Century .

Yunina Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Junior Researcher, Tobolsk Complex Scientific Station of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences 626152, Russia, Tyumen region, Tobolsk, ul. Yu. Osipova, 15 katy-yunick@yandex.ru

Introduction.The end of the XIX – beginning of the XX centuries was a time of cardinal transformations in the socio-economic, industrial, cultural development of the Russian Empire.

Large-scale changes were largely associated with the introduction of scientific and technical innovations in all spheres of public life, which had a decisive impact not only on the industrial and economic sphere, but also transformed the structures of everyday life in Russian cities, modifying the recreational sphere, leisure traditions, behavioral stereotypes and mass consciousness of urban inhabitants.

Tobolsk province has not remained aloof from the impact of socio-cultural innovations and social practices caused by scientific and technological progress. Cinematography became a fundamentally new form of the communicative and entertainment sector of everyday life in the cities of a remote region of the empire at the beginning of the XX century.

For a deeper understanding of the studied issues, the memoir literature belonging to the authorship of contemporaries of the Russian cinema of the early XX century, who stood at the origins of its formation, is extremely significant. The memoirs of film entrepreneurs A. A. Khanzhonkov, cinematographers A. A. Levitsky and L. P. Forestier, film director Ya. A. Protazanov, actor and film announcer Ya. A. Zhdanov, production designer and director S. V. Kozlovsky and others contain valuable data about the first years of the existence of cinema and the development of the film industry ^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]}.

In the fundamental works of a generalizing nature by B. S. Likhachev, V. P. Mikhailov, R. P. Sobolev, N. A. Lebedev, N. M. Zorka, S. S. Ginzburg, Yu. G. Tsivyan, B. Boymers, P. Rollberg, the process of the origin of pre-revolutionary cinema on a nationwide scale is investigated, the issues of the production of domestic films, censorship, the device of the film process are considered, contribution to the development of cinematography of actors, screenwriters, directors, distributors and owners of cinemas ^{[7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15]}.

At the present stage, many Russian scientists are conducting research on the genesis of cinematographic institutions at the turn of the XIX–XX centuries in the capital and the Russian province ^{[16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23]}. This problem is raised in the dissertation works and articles by V. V. Ustyugova, E. P. Alekseeva, I. N. Grashenkova and others [24-27, 28, 29].

In the regional aspect of studying the problem, the work of V. A. Vatolin "Cinema in Siberia: Essays on the history of early Siberian cinema (1896-1917)" is important. Unfortunately, in this fundamental work, based on extensive documentary material, the topic of the development of cinemas in the Tobolsk province was not touched upon ^[30].

Some aspects of the history of cinema in certain cities of the studied region are characterized in the works of L. V. Boyarsky, A.M. Vasilyeva, N. L. Konkov, V. E. Kopylov, E. L. Malysheva, V. N. Noskova, E. A. Yunina ^{[31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37]}.

The source base of the research was the documents of the Construction Department of the provincial Administration, stored in the fund and 353 of the State Archive in Tobolsk, Russian regulations, reference publications, chronicle messages and advertisements of local and central periodicals of the early XX century. Published materials on this topic were used for a comprehensive analysis of the activities of the film factories of the Tobolsk province.

The main part.The development of cinematography in the Tobolsk province can be divided into four stages.

At the same time, regional evolution is characterized by the presence of all common stages characteristic of the all-Russian genesis of this socio-cultural phenomenon, but with the presence of territorial features.

In the initial period (1896-1909), which is most often referred to as "wandering", "farcical", "traveling", sporadic sessions of touring demonstrators from the European part of the country were arranged in the region, who offered the public numerous novelties of cinema equipment – the Edison kinetoscope, Lumiere cinematograph and others. Improvisational broadcasts took place in public, warehouse or commercial buildings, little suitable for this purpose.

At the second stage (1909-1910) of the formation of cinematography in the Tobolsk province, regular public film screenings begin, the first stationary cinemas appear in rooms adapted to the needs of cinematography (private houses of citizens, theaters, circuses, educational institutions, public meetings). It was during this period that the system of film distribution and the release of domestic film products appeared in Russia. Owners of electric theaters of the Tobolsk province get access to cinematic novelties, and Siberian moviegoers become active consumers of films of foreign and Russian production.

At the third stage (1910-1914), the tendency of electric theaters to operate in buildings independent of other institutions, specially built for the needs of the cinematographic industry, is gradually being established. There is a unification of the rules of operation and acceptance of cinemas, the comfort of institutions increases, the repertoire content is enriched. The structure of the cinema session becomes more complicated – there is a break in the action, the main program is enriched with additional entertainment events between the acts of broadcasting pictures.

The fourth stage (1914-1918) was marked by the powerful development of the film industry and film distribution in Russia and on the periphery of the empire, the Tobolsk province is actively involved in this process. The First World War corrects the repertoire policy by including military chronicles and films of military-patriotic themes in the film show. At this stage, cinemas join charitable activities and other socially significant initiatives, turning into the most important objects of socio-cultural infrastructure and leisure centers of citizens.

The specifics of the development of the pre-revolutionary film business in the peripheral province consisted in the fact that many cinemas for a long time continued to function in rooms adapted for the demonstration of cinematography. In comparison with the central districts and capital cities in the Tobolsk province, a smaller percentage accounted for film factories located in buildings deliberately erected for public screening of films.

The debut series of cinema sessions in the cities of the Tobolsk province took place thanks to the Siberian film trip of S. O. Marzhetsky in 1896, in the next twelve years local and foreign demonstrators continued to acquaint the public with the "miracle of the century".

The "mobile/mobile" period of the formation of cinematography in the Tobolsk province laid solid foundations for the next stationary stage of its evolution, the further rooting of the modern type of leisure in the everyday culture of the cities of the province.

The appearance of the first stationary cinemas on the scale of the Russian Empire dates back to 1903. Since 1907, a cinema room has been taking place in Moscow as the cinematic capital, about 80 cinemas have opened in the city in two years ^{[17, p. 10]}. In St. Petersburg, the first cinema located in a specially adapted house was the Moulin Rouge, which opened in 1908 on Nevsky Prospekt ^{[18, p. 10]}.

At the beginning of the XX century, a large number of magazines devoted to the pressing problems of cinema appeared in Russia. Theoretical and practical issues were discussed on the pages of the capital's periodicals "Blue-Fono", "Bulletin of Cinematography", as well as in the provincial special press – "Live Screen", "Kinema" (Rostov on Don), "Cinema" (Riga), "Yuzhanin" (Kharkiv), etc. In addition, potential theater owners had at their disposal various manuals containing useful tips on business organization. The popular course for film owners, projectionists, cinematographers and fans of applied mechanics by E. I. Maurin "Cinematography in practical life" was a kind of encyclopedia, an indispensable plan of action for people who want to do their own business. The work revealed in detail the general basics of electrical engineering and projection, issues of handling electrical installations, projection devices, details of the screen, auditorium and lighting, the subtleties of session development, programming and musical illustration of films, tips for the production of cinematographic filming, highlighted the role of cinema in modern life ^{[38, pp. 11, 55, 99, 138, 171, 187]}.

Cinematography was gaining more and more popularity in the studied region and attracted an impressive number of enterprising and active citizens of various castes and professions to the new business sphere, as evidenced by the materials of the fund of the Construction Department of the Tobolsk Provincial Administration of the State Archive in Tobolsk. At the beginning of the XX century, the Construction Department, which was responsible for the administrative side of the creation of cinematographs, simultaneously conducted the consideration of a significant number of written petitions from citizens to open cinemas in county towns and provincial Tobolsk. Officials of the provincial administration constantly carried out inspection and acceptance of premises, inspection of technical characteristics of buildings, officially approved projects of cinemas and cinemas. The final permission for the operation of these public institutions on the basis of certain prescriptive acts was implemented by the provincial government ^{[37, p. 465]}.

The actors of the development of cinemas in the Tobolsk province in the studied period are both residents of Siberian cities (burghers, merchants, nobles, peasants), and nonresident businessmen, and foreign citizens, as well as public urban organizations. The progressive development of the film business in the region can be traced by the intensive process of submitting applications to various provincial and municipal authorities.

In the period 1909-1916, he petitions for permission to use premises, rent or construction of buildings for the purpose of the device public screenings, placing them in special equipment, demonstration of the paintings was filed in the Tobolsk – teacher of the Tobolsk gymnasium N. K. Dingelstedt (1909, 1910), Tobolsk hereditary nobleman I. N. Butlerov (1910), Vladivostok tradesman P. I. Pechukas (1910) ^{[39, p. 1; 40 L. 1 a; 41, sh. 6 vol.,16]}; in Tyumen – the resident P. I. Kuznetsov (1910), Tobolsk photographer I. S. Schuster (1911, 1913), Warsaw tradesman F. Y. Machosky (1911, 1914, 1915), Tobolsk tradesman V. A. girman (1914), collegiate Registrar Volkanovski S. K. (1916) ^{[42, L. 1; 43, sh. 1, 10; 44, sh. 1, 10, 21; 45, sh. 1, 27]}; in Kurgan – Prussian citizen Swenson G. F. (1909, 1910), Kurgan burgers I. M. Malyshev (1911, 1912, 1913, 1915) and E. Y. Malyshev (1909, 1910), Bijsk tradesman M. D. Selivanov (1910), Kurgan tradesman M. A. Kryzhanovsky (1913) ^{[46, sh. 1-1 Ob.; 47, ll. 2, 7, 18, 25; 48, sh. 1, 3, 13-18; 49 L. 1]}; in Tara – the farmer Korsinsky parish County Tarski A. I. kucherevsky (1911), the wife of the attorney for the city of Tara A. N. Korikova-Mikhailov (1913) ^{[50, l. 10; 51 L. 1]}; in Yalutorovsk – yalutorovskogo the Chairman of the County Committee for the patronage of people's sobriety (1911), a farmer Yurga parish County yalutorovskogo K. Fisenko (1913) ^{[52, ll. 1-2, 4]}; in Turinsk city tradesman I. Kogan (1912), a farmer Turin policeman parish Rogozhin, I. (1913) ^{[53, sheet 1 a; 54 L. 1]}; in Ishim – Bronnikov, E. (1911) ^{[55, L. 1 a]}.

In 1909-1910, the dynamic process of founding cinematographic theaters began, which gave impetus to the formation of a representative network of cinemas in the infrastructure of the leisure sector of the region in a short period of time (less than ten years). The greatest development of the film industry was observed in the southern part of the Tobolsk province, this was facilitated by the presence of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the functioning of which facilitated the delivery of new tapes and equipment to the cities of the province that were part of the railway's sphere of influence.

The vast majority of successfully operating cinematographic institutions in the studied period were in such large cities of the province as Tyumen, Tobolsk, Kurgan. Probably, the impressive number of cinemas in these cities was explained by pronounced urbanization phenomena, the availability of technical and cultural innovations, a higher level of literacy of the population, the presence of significant entrepreneurial potential and consumer demand for a new type of entertainment.

At the beginning of the XX century. in the socio-cultural space of the designated cities there were not only separate halls for the demonstration of cinematographic tapes, but there were peculiar quarters in which there were often several leisure establishments for the arrangement of commercial film screenings. The lively central and adjacent streets and the inner manor yards of private homeowners became especially attractive for entrepreneurs, but cinema halls also worked in peripheral parts of cities.

In Tyumen, the right to be considered a local "boulevard of Capuchins" was claimed by the main Tsarskaya Street, which was a concentration of film points, about six pre-revolutionary film factories worked here at different times.

The beginning of the second stage of the development of cinematography in the Tobolsk province was laid in May 1909 by the opening of the electric theater "Royal-Bio" in the house of merchant Bryukhanov on Tsarskaya Street, the earliest known Tyumen stationary cinematograph.

The appearance of the first building in Tyumen, built for the demonstration of motion pictures, dates back to June 1910. The wooden cinema theater "Furor" was located on the corner of Spasskaya and Voynovskaya Streets and had its own electric lighting. In November of the same year, I. S. Shuster became the tenant of the premises and "Furor" became the property of the Modern company, continuing work under a new name ^{[31, p. 132]}.

In December 1910, a resident of Tyumen, Pyotr Ivanovich Kuznetsov, opened the Luch electric theater on the second floor of Pankratiev's wooden house at the corner of Tsarskaya and Sadovaya Streets ^{[42, l. 1, 9]}. From about 1910 to 1913, the cinema "Voldemar" by A. I. Romashov also operated on the central Tsarskaya Street ^{[56, p. 160]}. According to the directory "All cinematography" in the period 1915-1916 at the address Nizinskaya Street, 19 there was an electric theater "Apollo" for 600 seats by A. G. Goryachkin ^{[57, p. 53]}.

The process of formation and development of a network of private-owned institutions for the professional demonstration of cinematographic paintings in pre-revolutionary Tyumen is largely connected with the name of Tobolsk photographer Joseph Savelyevich Shuster, who since 1908, together with his family, lived in the house of merchant Pavel Petrovna Vorobeichikova on Tsarskaya Street ^{[33, p. 9]}. At the beginning of 1911, I. S. Shuster decided to open another Tyumen film production on the second floor of the house and applied to the Construction Department with a project to rebuild the premises for cinematography. After fulfilling all the requirements set out in the act of the provincial inspector and making the necessary corrections, the commission allows film screenings ^{[43, l. 17]}. In December 1911, the new cinema "The Whole World" received its first visitors.

In the winter of 1913, I. S. Shuster launched his third electrotheater "Giant", which operated in the courtyard of P. P. Vorobeychikova's house ^{[43, l. 12-12 vol.]}. Later, I. S. Shuster initiated the work of several more movie theaters in Tyumen and other cities of the Tobolsk province.

In November 1914, on the ground floor of the Bryukhanov merchants' stone house at the corner of Tsarskaya and Podaruyevskaya Streets, the Palace electrotheater, owned by Tobolsk philistine, son-in-law of the landlords Vladimir Alexandrovich Girman, was opened. A commission with the participation of architect K. P. Chakin, who inspected the premises, recognized it as suitable for public film screenings ^{[45, L. 7]}. On November 24, 1916, V. A. Girman sold the cinematheater to Anastasia Dmitrievna Yerofeyeva, moved all the equipment to the newly built electric theater "Cinematograph" on his own estate on Irkutsk Street. The Palace cinema under the new owner worked until 1918, when it was nationalized ^{[34, p. 802]}.

The history of stationary cinematographies in the provincial center began its countdown with the activities of Omsk entrepreneur Pavel Pavlovich Fabry and physics teacher of the Tobolsk Men's gymnasium Nikolai Konstantinovich Dingilstedt. The investor in the formation and development of cultural and technical innovations in Tobolsk was P. P. Fabri, N. K. Dingilstedt at first served as an organizer. Having agreed to support the entrepreneur in the opening of the cinema, he actively interacted with the municipal authorities in obtaining their consent to the arrangement of the premises and to the release of electricity from the city station. In the future, he actually assumed the role of art director, engaged in the formation of film production programs. When choosing paintings, N. K. Dingilstedt, by his own admission, tried to give priority to high-quality film production that meets the "demands of ethics and enlightenment" ^{[58, p. 2]}.

In August 1909, consent was obtained from local governments to use the electric energy of the Tobolsk power plant. In November, N. K. Dingilstedt submitted to the Construction Department a design for an electrical installation for lighting a cinematograph, which was forwarded to the head of the Omsk Postal and Telegraph District to be checked from the technical side by an electrician. On December 11, 1909, the Tobolsk Provincial Administration approved the document ^{[39, L. 269]}. It is characteristic that the opening of the first Tobolsk electric theater "Lux", located in a rented apartment of the Frishman (Kogan) house on Rozhdestvenskaya Street, took place in September 1909, that is, even before the official permission of the provincial authorities ^{[59, p. 2]}. At the beginning of the XX century. this practice was widespread. Despite the thorough system of acceptance of cinemas, in fact, officials authorized the temporary demonstration of paintings until the final approval of the projects of the premises, provided that the owners fulfill all the requirements of provincial engineers ^{[37, p. 465]}.

Probably, such a cultural and leisure business initiative as the maintenance of a cinema seemed to P. P. Fabri quite profitable and promising in financial terms. Being confident of a decent profit, almost a month and a half later he inspires his authorized representative in Tobolsk for further actions on the foundation of the next city cinema.

The opening of the institution was planned by Christmas 1909, but the preparatory period dragged on until the spring of 1910. It was decided to locate a new cinema on Bogoyavlenskaya Street in a building opposite the Tobolsk Men's Gymnasium, which was built in the autumn of 1909 by Tobolsk merchant Alexey Nikolaevich Khvastunov. Initially, the merchant intended to place a trading enterprise here, but N. K. Dingilstedt convinced the owner to lease the building for the arrangement of a cinema in it. The initial petition of N. K. Dingilstedt, the plan of the estate, the project of the facade of the cinema, submitted to the Construction Department of the provincial administration in January 1910, were rejected due to errors in the construction of the building and violations of fire safety rules, which the partners had to eliminate. On February 10, an examination of the electrotheater at the estate of merchant A. N. Khvastunov was scheduled ^{[40, l. 1-31]}.

The presentation of the new electrotheater "Bio" on March 31, 1910 attracted a lot of people, despite the expensive entrance tickets ^{[60, p. 2]}.

The owners of the third electric theater of Tobolsk "Isker", which began operating on April 19, 1910 in Lobkov's house on Abramovskaya Street, were a merchant, a well–known industrialist, philanthropist and public figure Alexander Andrianovich Syromyatnikov and his companions S. M. Syromyatnikova, V. P. Gustyleva, Mr. Gustylev and Mrs. Shaposhnikova ^{[61, p. 2]}.

April 22 of the same year was followed by the opening of the cinema theater "Modern" on Bolshaya Arkhangelskaya Street. Previously, in March 1910, Tobolsk hereditary nobleman Ivan Nikolaevich Butlerov requested permission from the Construction Department to build a cinema room on the territory of his estate ^{[41, l. 16]}. His counterparty, Vladivostok philistine Pyotr Ivanovich Pechokas, rented the building, obtained permission to install an electric station in it, place film equipment and broadcast films ^{[41, l. 1-5]}.

In addition to the above - mentioned stationary autonomous cinemas in Tobolsk at the beginning of the XX century , the screening of cinematographic paintings was practiced in the auditorium of the People 's Audience at the intersection of Abramovskaya and Bolshaya Arkhangelskaya Streets after equipping the building with electric lighting in 1911 .

The Prussian citizen Georgy Fedorovich Shvenzov was at the origins of the regular screening of cinematography in Kurgan. At the beginning of 1909, the entrepreneur launched an active preparatory activity, initially intending to organize a cinema screening on the central Dvoryanskaya Street in the estate of merchant Vasily Ivanovich Okladovikov. According to the documents submitted by him to the Construction Department of the provincial Administration in February 1909, the cinematheater was to have its own power plant, hardware, dynamo, auditorium for 150 people ^{[46, l. 1-3]}. However, due to bureaucratic red tape, the entrepreneur decided to order a new project. After the necessary improvement of technical drawings and two months of work on the re-equipment of the premises, G. F. Shvenzov was able to establish an electric theater in the house of the pharmacy keeper Kalistrat Sigismundovich Zemyansky in Gostinodvorsky Lane ^[32].

The first Kurgan cinematograph under the familiar name "Modern", commissioned in the autumn of 1909, presumably continued its work only until the winter of 1910 ^{[46, l. 30]}.

The next stage in the history of the Kurgan film business is associated with the same address on the city map. For a long time in the socio-cultural space of Kurgan, the center of attraction of entrepreneurs' actions on the organization of film broadcasts was Troitskiy Lane. It was here, in the house of the Malyshevs, that three cinemas worked, successively replacing each other.

At the end of 1909, the Biysk philistine Matvey Dmitrievich Selivanov rented the house of Ivan Mikheevich Malyshev in order to set up an electric theater in it. Evdokia Yakovlevna Malysheva, who in February 1910 received permission to arrange a stone cinema building with all necessary equipment in the basement of the building, was entrusted with all the efforts to interact with administrative bodies ^{[47, l. 1-18]}. In July 1910, the new Echo Cinema received its first visitors, but two years later the company failed and was closed.

According to the lessor, the owner of the cinema M. D. Selivanov conducted the case extremely carelessly, which led to a drop in attendance and a complete loss of public interest in the institution ^{[48, L. 1]}. After some time, having received the appropriate permission, in January 1913, the landlord I. M. Malyshev resumed the operation of the cinema under the new name "Lira" ^[32]. Two years later, this electric theater had to be closed, because the emergency condition of the premises required major repairs. In August 1915, the newly built I. M. Malyshev cinema "The Whole World" (formerly "Lira") continued broadcasting pictures ^{[48, l. 51]}.

Simultaneously with the Echo, Lyra, and The Whole World cinemas, since August 1911, the Progress cinematograph has been operating in a stone building built on the estate of merchant Mikhail Alexandrovich Goloviznin on Dvoryanskaya Street, in 1918 the right to its ownership passed to David Israelevich Getlicherman ^[32].

The cinematic mecca of the city of Tara at the beginning of the XX century was the central Alexandrovskaya Street, where three of the four famous pre-revolutionary city cinemas were located. The pioneer of Tarsk cinematography was a retired official Gustylev, whose cinema "Zarya" has been located in the Public Assembly building since February 1911 ^{[45, p. 142]}.

From March 1911 to September 1914, in a wooden residential building belonging to a resident of Tara, Yu. N. Marmelyuk, there was a cinematheater "Eureka" by a peasant of the Korsin parish of the Tarsky district, Andrei Ivanovich Kucherevsky ^{[11, l. 11]}.

The owner of the cinema of the same name, which worked in 1911 in Tara, was the wife of lawyer Alexander Nikolaevna Korikova-Mikhailova, who rented a one-story wooden house of the city notary I. A. Rogachev on Alexandrovskaya Street for screenings ^{[36, p. 142]}. Since 1913, her film production was moved to a specially built building in the Korikov-Mikhailov estate on Nikolskaya Street and operated under the new name "Lux" until 1919 ^{[37, p. 456]}.

In the infrastructure of other cities of the Tobolsk province at the beginning of the XX century. there were also institutions that provided cinematographic services to the population. In Tyukalinsk, the films were shown from January 1912 at the Y. N. Klimenko cinema, in Ishim – at the electric theater "Illusion" of the merchant of the 2nd guild Pavel Fedorovich Zheltyshev, and from June 1913 – at the cinema "Modern" by I. S. Shuster. A cinematograph owned by Raisa Iosifovna Simkina worked in Yalutorovsk for some time, and on December 17, 1911, the head of the Tobolsk province allowed cinematography sessions to the chairman of the county committee of guardianship of people's sobriety in the building of the People's House. In 1913-1914 in Yalutorovsk there was an electric theater of G. Magutsky, also a petition for the construction of a mud-brick building for cinematography was sent to the Construction Department from a peasant of the Yurginsky parish of Yalutorovsky district K. Fisenko. Yekaterinburg philistine Ilya Pavlovich Kogan in the summer of 1912 petitioned for the construction of a temporary electric theater of the farcical type in Turinsk.

Seasonal film demonstrations in the cities of the Tobolsk province, mainly in the summer, were carried out in temporary electrobiographs, in Tyumen – in the Gilevsky Garden, at the city hippodrome and the market square. In June 1907, the Grand Electro Theater opened in Ermak's Tobolsk Garden.

Thus, in the period of 1909-1918, more than thirty stationary cinemas and temporary movie pavilions functioned in eight cities of the province. In a short period of time, these facilities for social and cultural services to citizens acquire an extensive clientele and become popular vacation spots for almost all social strata of the urban population. However, the audience of various film productions of the Tobolsk province was heterogeneous. In turn, the technical characteristics, the level of comfort, the quality of the sessions, the infrastructure and the repertoire policy of cinematographers were also different.

In the initial period of development, stationary cinemas of the Tobolsk province had a very primitive device. The first building in the region, built for the purpose of showing films in Tyumen, was wooden and by design represented a collapsible booth.

The key moment in the process of regulating and unifying the requirements, as well as the operating conditions of cinematographic institutions in the capital cities and on the ground was the adoption of "Normal rules for the arrangement and maintenance of cinema theaters and for the storage of celluloid tape for them." Paragraphs 1-4 of the circular of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated May 12/13, 1911, approved by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers P. A. Stolypin, provided that cinemas could be arranged both in stone and wooden buildings, in stone buildings no higher than the second floor, and in wooden ones only in the first. The rules prescribed the use of a specific room strictly for film screenings. At the same time, the cinema theaters arranged in special buildings had to have at least 5 fathoms of free space on all sides ^{[62, p. 1]}.

Most of the film factories of the cities of the Tobolsk province in the studied period were located on the first or second floors of stone or first floors of wooden residential buildings. According to available data, several cinemas were operating in detached buildings, deliberately erected taking into account public cinema screenings in them: "Furor" and "Giant" in Tyumen, "Bio" and "Modern" in Tobolsk, "Lux" in Tara, "Progress" in Kurgan.

The device of full-fledged Siberian cinemas was common with the central ones and consisted of: an auditorium with a screen of various sizes, accommodating seats in the stalls and balcony boxes, a hardware booth with specialized equipment and a technician's workplace placed in it, a waiting room (foyer) used both for relaxing visitors during intermissions and for events and performances, buffet, main and emergency emergency exits for the evacuation of the public, other service and sanitary rooms.

Of course, not all cinematographers of the Tobolsk province had such conditions, some had rather modest opportunities. For example, the cinema "Lux" by A. N. Korikova-Mikhailova received visitors in a one-story cold room only in the spring and summer period ^{[37, p. 456]}.

According to the "Normal Rules", lighting in cinemas located in cities where there was electric power for public use was allowed only electric. In settlements where there was no electricity, the use of light sources other than acetylene was allowed ^{[62, p. 4]}.

Many cinemas acquired their own electric stations, so at the turn of the century these new leisure enterprises became a kind of symbol of technological progress in the peripheral regions of the Russian Empire. The inhabitants associated with their functioning hopes for further improvement of the infrastructure of Siberian cities. In 1910, on the eve of the opening of the third cinema in Tobolsk, the correspondent of the newspaper "Siberian Leaf" expressed the opinion that one of the owners, whose electric theaters have their own electric lighting, would eventually begin to serve private individuals, because by that time there was no large power plant in the city that could satisfy all the needs of the population and state institutions ^{[63, p. 2]}.

The details of the organization of electric lighting were strictly controlled both for stationary film productions and for temporary electric theaters. The list of documents should have included not only the projects of the premises, but also the layout of electrical installations, drawings of switchboards indicating the exact locations of light bulbs and wires, as well as explanatory notes with a detailed description of the lighting device.

As an insulating material for laying wires inside the premises, cinema owners were required to use Bergman tubes that protect the wires from damage ^{[48, L. 51]}.

All technical materials were pre-checked by electrical engineers of the Omsk Postal and Telegraph District in accordance with the current rules of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and returned to the Tobolsk Provincial Administration for further approval.

At the beginning of the XX century. the mandatory procedure preceding the introduction of cinematograph into operation were inspections of their premises by special commissions. The inspection reports of these commissions, which included bailiffs, city engineers and architects, technical workers of the Construction Department, members of the city council, serve as an important source in reconstructing the device of cinemas of that time.

Numerous fires were a real disaster in the conditions of the prevailing wooden buildings of cities, cultural and entertainment institutions often became sources of fires. Cinemas were in a zone of special risk due to the use of highly flammable fuel for the operation of engines, nitrocellulose film and ether-oxygen burners when showing films, unacceptable lighting devices, large crowding of people during sessions, unsuitability of halls and exits.

After the terrible tragedy at the Bologoe station in February 1911, checking the premises for compliance with fire safety standards became the main basis for accepting buildings, and ensuring the safety of cinema screenings, minimizing the risk of fire and proper organization of evacuation actions were essential conditions for the further operation of cinemas ^{[37, p. 461]}.

In order to ensure the safety of visitors' lives, each cinematograph, according to the standards, had to have at least two exits to the street or to two fireproof, separate from each other, stairs. Cinematographic theaters were ordered to be equipped with independent staircases and exits isolated from other institutions and residential premises. The width of all the doors should have been sufficient for the admission of 150 people and be at least 1 arshina 12 vershkov ^{[62, p. 2-3]}.

In accordance with these rules, entrance groups, staircases, emergency exits, doors of Siberian cinemas of the early XX century were equipped. For example, the electric theater "Lira" in Kurgan had three exits – two permanent and one spare, and the Tyumen "Palace" of V. A. Girman had 6 exits – 5 spare and the main one on Podaruyevskaya Street ^{[48, l. 3 vol.-4 vol.; 45, l. 7]}. Cinematograph "The Whole World" I. S. The Shuster was equipped with two external exits and three exits from the auditorium to a corridor 0.99 fathoms wide, the width of the doors was 0.70 fathoms. The main external exit had a concrete staircase and led to Tsarskaya Street, the width of the stairs and the door was 0.81 sazh., the second exit was a spare with a wooden staircase 0.70 sazh wide. and a door of 0.63 sazh. ^{[43, l. 17]}.

Especially carefully in the circular of 1911, the device of a hardware camera (booth) was prescribed, which had to have internal walls, floors, ceilings and doors made of fire-resistant material. Wood upholstered with iron on the inside was allowed only with asbestos or felt lining. The width, length and height of the hardware chamber should be at least 3 yards, and the door equipped with a spring should open outwards ^{[62, p. 2-3]}.

During the reception events, the participants of the commissions paid special attention to the organization of the hardware rooms. So, as a result of the acceptance of the cinema "The Whole World" by I. S. Shuster, experts determined that the hardware booth is separated from the auditorium by a concrete wall 5 inches thick, and from the corridor by a wooden plastered bulkhead, the floor in the booth is concrete, the door is upholstered with iron, but does not have an automatic device. The room was certified quite suitable for work ^{[43, l. 17]}. The technical room of the projectionist of the Kurgan electric theater "Lyra", located between two stone walls with wooden partitions, lined with felt from the inside with iron, with a metal floor, was recognized as safe in terms of fire ^{[48, ll. 3 vol.-4 vol.]}. There were no obstacles to the opening of sessions in the house of merchants Bryukhanov, because the hardware booth V. A. Girman's Palace cinema was made of concrete ^{[45, l. 7]}.

It is characteristic that fire safety measures in the cinemas of the Tobolsk province were not limited to reception inspections and regular inspections. In some cinematographies, the presence of firefighters at the cinema show was practiced for preventive and observational purposes. The attendants had to keep a post during the demonstration of paintings at the screen, the emergency exit and at the hardware booth. As follows from the statement of the head of the team of the Kurgan Volunteer Fire Society dated September 26, 1913, the question of the location of duty posts sometimes became the cause of disagreement between the ranks of local departments. The latter did not agree with the opinion of the bailiff of the second part of the Kurgan city that the responsible vigilantes should be in electric theaters not at the screen, but at the hardware booth, believing that the presence of a firefighter only at the screen and an emergency exit is sufficient for duty. In view of such diverse opinions, the head of the team of the Volunteer Fire Society insisted on the formation of a commission of knowledgeable persons to establish the place of firefighters on duty in electric theaters ^{[48, L. 18]}.

The "normal rules" recommended central heating of cinema buildings, but Siberian cinematographies were most often heated by several ordinary or calorific furnaces, their proper use was discussed separately ^{[43, l. 17]}. According to the established rules, the furnace was stopped 4 hours before the start of the performance ^{[62, p. 3]}.

An important part of the infrastructure of recreational facilities intended for public film screenings was the problem of ventilation, improvement of air exchange, elimination of unpleasant odors and creation of a comfortable microclimate. Due to the possibility of a one-time large crowd of people in cinemas and auxiliary rooms of cinematheaters, the use of furnace heating, as well as the danger of the release of substances harmful to the human body during the operation of cinema equipment, the owners of the establishments tried to organize an electric ventilation system. Shortly before the opening of the Tobolsk cinema "Bio", its owners proudly reported in the press that "the room will be decorated according to the type of the best metropolitan cinemas, and among other advantages it will have electric ventilation" ^{[64, p. 2]}. Regulatory authorities also urged theater owners to install machines of such power to ventilate the premises with electricity ^{[47, L. 6]}.

In addition to compliance with the established standards, in technical terms, considerable importance was attached to the sanitary and hygienic conditions of cinematographers. The commission, which inspected the Tyumen electrotheater "Palace" on November 9, 1914, found the room, located on the lower floor of a stone building, clean, dry, bright, with a properly functioning water closet ^{[45, l. 7]}.

In the process of periodic inspections of cinemas, cases of violations of the adopted regulations were often found out. According to the requirements, the basements of the buildings in which the cinemas were located should not have been used for housing or commercial and industrial purposes ^{[62, p. 1]}. However, on February 28, 1915, during the next inspection of the Kurgan cinema "Lira", it was discovered that the basement of the building was occupied by Mr. Kotovinsky's bakery. The Commission, pointing out the violation of the first paragraph of the "Normal Rules", nevertheless formally allowed the further operation of the cinema with the prerequisite of transferring the bakery within a month ^{[48, L. 31]}.

Stationary cinematographs of the Tobolsk province at the beginning of the XX century were equipped with electric alternators – dynamos of European production, internal combustion engines running on kerosene, oil or gasoline.

All cinema equipment and the required technical equipment for the work of cinematographers of the Tobolsk province were issued from large cities of the Urals and Siberia, such as Yekaterinburg, Omsk and others. Local entrepreneurs collaborated with the Ural Technical and Industrial Partnership of L. A. Krol and L. V. Mekler, the rental office of V. L. Metenkov in the city of Yekaterinburg. The outstanding Ural photographer Veniamin Leontievich Metenkov, a businessman and the founder of cinematographic filming in the region, had a wholesale and retail photographic store, the assortment of which included not only the widest range of photographic goods, magic lanterns for homes, schools and public audiences, but also cinematographic devices. Since 1906, it has been possible to purchase complete equipment for electric theaters here and use the service of mechanics on business who helped to arrange the installation of theatrical equipment on the ground and organize the screening of the first sessions.

The German Otto Dietz oil engine was used in the Lux cinema in the city of Tara ^{[51, l. 1-30]}. The Kurgan cinema "Progress" by M. A. Goloviznin had in its arsenal a dynamo machine, which was used not only during film screenings, but also to set the bell mill in motion with the permission of the Kurgan City Council ^[32]. With the help of the dynamo system, oil and kerosene engines, films were shown in the Tobolsk "Isker", "Bio", the Tarsky cinema "Eureka", Kurgan "Modern", "Echo", "Lira", "Progress" and other film productions of the Tobolsk province.

The installation of specialized equipment and power plants, their transfer to a new location and further use in cinematographs were also in the focus of attention of provincial and municipal regulatory authorities.

The owner of the earliest Kurgan cinema, G. F. Shvenzov, before putting it into operation, was going to equip the institution with an Ursus oil engine with a capacity of 10 horsepower, for which he asked for permission from the Construction Department, providing an engine installation plan ^{[46, l. 1-12]}. On September 15, 1909, by telegram, he informed the provincial administration about the completion of the installation. After the inspection of the cinematograph, the device of the power plant, lighting and the operation of all necessary equipment were found satisfactory ^{[46, ll. 30-35]}.

The landlord E. Ya. Malysheva, during the organization of the Echo cinema theater in her house by M. D. Selivanov on November 25, 1909, petitioned for the possibility of setting up an electric installation for lighting the room, an oil engine and a 60 ampere 10 volt dynamo system ^{[47, l. 2 volts]}. Initially, the Echo cinema was equipped with a motor the brand "Bandini" of Italian production and the dynamo engine of the factory "Bruni" in 30 amperes. In May 1910, replacement of these installations was required, by September of this year Malysheva received permission to install a 10-horsepower Perkun oil engine, issued from Warsaw and a 56-ampere dynamo from the Sirius Leipzig plant ^{[47, l. 6-18]}.

The owner of the cinema "Eureka" A. I. Kucherevsky on March 3, 1911 received a certificate from the Tarsky district police officer Levitsky for the installation of an oil engine of the Bolinder system with a capacity of 12 forces for electric lighting of his institution ^{[50, l. 11]}.

In the Siberian cinematheatres of the beginning of the XX century, two types of cinema cameras produced by the French firms Pathe and Gaumont were used.

It is characteristic that at the beginning of the XX century the cinematheaters of the Tobolsk province often became conductors of novelties of technical progress, not limited to innovation only in the field of cinematography. In order to comply with fire safety rules in cinemas, the installation of a special alarm system or telephone was prescribed. Some film factories had a telephone connection.

The capacity of cinemas in the Tobolsk province and the size of the auditoriums varied on average from 100-230 to 600 seats. One of the first stationary cinemas in the province "Lux" in Tobolsk was designed for less than 100 people, "Modern" for 320 visitors, the Kurgan cinema "Echo" had an auditorium for 250 seats and a foyer for 75 people, the Tyumen "Whole World" on Tsarskaya Street accommodated 230 visitors, the neighboring cinema hall "Luch" it could take 250 people at a time, "Voldemar" by A. I. Romashov – 380 spectators. The absolute advantage in the category of auditorium capacity belonged to the cinema "Giant" by I. S. Shuster and "Apollo" by A. G. Goryachkin, designed for 600 seats.

The appearance of the foyer and other related details of the improvement of cinemas, as well as new recreational elements marked a new stage in the development of the domestic film industry, a qualitative change in the very nature of the cinema show. Over time, broadcasts in the cinemas of the Tobolsk province become longer, suggesting an intermission break between departments. The audience's forced expectation of a change of paintings forced the owners of establishments to include additional entertainment, buffet services, etc. in the main program to fill the pause.

The capacity of rooms for the waiting public was determined by the "Normal Rules" of 1911, taking into account the accommodation of eight people per square fathom ^{[62, p. 3]}. According to available data, foyers existed in Tobolsk cinemas "Bio", "Isker", "Modern", Tyumen "Giant", "Apollo", Kurgan "Echo", "Lira", "Progress", etc.

The phenomenon of cinema has become one of the defining markers that formed the cultural codes of Russian society at the beginning of the XX century. Representatives of journalism, formulating the meaning of "kinema", noted that it was "the most accurate expression of modern culture, a symbol and synthesis of modern life", assigned the chrononym "century of kinema culture" to the current era ^{[65, pp. 16-17]}. The repertoire of cinemas of the studied period can be considered as a kind of visual document illustrating the main ideas prevailing in society.

By the end of the first decade of the XX century, almost all film factories in the cities of the studied region are switching to a daily working week. On holidays and weekends, the demonstration of paintings began at one o'clock in the afternoon and lasted until five o'clock in the evening. On weekdays, only evening broadcasts took place, starting at 5-6 pm and sometimes ending at 11-2 am. Thus, the Sunday program consisted of about seven separate film screenings, the weekday of four. The duration of each session averaged one and a half to two hours. In the seasonal theater "Grand-Electro" of the Tobolsk Ermak Garden, broadcasts took place twice a day: the afternoon session opened at four o'clock, the evening one at nine o'clock ^{[66, p. 1]}.

The transition to regular cinema screenings in stationary cinemas provided for constant updating of the repertoire. In 1907, there was a film rental in Russia, in the next year – the release of domestic artistic cinematographic products.

In the period 1908-1914, the rolling system was improved in the country. The basic rental companies were concentrated in the central region, and district offices supplied paintings for provincial cinemas, serving several provinces that were part of the rental district.

The owners of local film factories were given the opportunity to access cinematic novelties through cooperation with regional rental companies. According to the established practice of cinematographic business and district distribution, Tobolsk province belonged to the Yekaterinburg rental district ^{[57, p. 70]}. The main sub-distributor who worked with cinemas in the cities of the Tobolsk province was the enterprise of V. L. Metenkov. The Yekaterinburg entrepreneur not only offered paintings for rental in electric theaters, but also sold "missed paintings" from 10 kopecks. per meter, as well as paintings with views of the Urals of their own production.

In the conditions of regular broadcasting of films, the process of complicating the program began, including in Siberian cinemas. The metropolitan magazine "Blue-Fono" advised entrepreneurs to change their repertoire two or three times a week in order not to lose the audience ^{[65, p. 14]}.

In the period 1910-1916, the program of film studies of the Tobolsk province changed at least once a week. Before the mass release of full-length Russian films in 1913, both foreign and domestic films were included in the film screenings. The daily evening session of the Tobolsk Province cinemas lasted about two hours and consisted of 7-9 short films: one historical picture and a drama of serious content, one or two comic pictures and melodramas of French or Italian production, one specific film. Less often, popular science tapes got into the repertoire.

The entrepreneurs promptly updated the repertoire, competing in the brightness, wit and attractiveness of advertising announcements, while using strong epithets and figurative turns of speech. The daily program of cinematographies included paintings of various genres, designed for every taste of the viewer.

Cinematographic products of foreign and domestic companies of the Brothers Pathe, Gomon, Eclair, Vitograf, Ambrosio, Edison, Chines, Nordisk, joint-stock companies A. Khanzhonkov and A. Drankov, Persky trading house, I. Ermolyev partnership, etc. were broadcast on the screens.

The owners of different cinemas in the same city tried not to repeat the range of film products of their competitors, almost in all cinematographies the repertoire content was original. However, provincial entrepreneurs were often forced to rent the products of the same film studios in their establishments, so sometimes sensational novelties and especially popular films could be broadcast in several cinemas at the same time.

The basis of the program of pre-revolutionary cinemas were cinematic dramas. Probably, the persistent interest of the provincial moviegoer, brought up on the repertoire of the drama theater, was explained by the familiar language of the narrative of this genre for most visitors of cinematheaters, the accessibility of the plot series. Household themes, proximity to life events, a variety of conflict situations disposed the public to this kind of films, providing cinema owners with high profits from the rental of dramatic tapes. In the structure of newspaper announcements advertising this film production, the owners separately focused the viewer's attention on the realism, topicality of the reproduced problems.

It should be noted that the plots of these films usually reflected deviant attitudes and pathological phenomena of modern society, shown in an exaggerated acute form. In Siberian cinemas there were pictures with such talking titles as "The Darkness of Life", "Modern Golgotha", "Dark Personalities", "Woe to the Vanquished", "In the Abyss of Evil", "Threw a Secret to the Wind", "The Geisha Groom", "Revenge and Self-immolation", "The Thorn Path", "On a sloping plane", "The traps of our life", "A woman in 40 years or a dangerous age", etc. ^{[59, p. 1; 61, p. 1; 67, p. 1]}.

The comedic content of film screenings, which was the second reason for the mass audience's addiction to cinematography, was based on the broadcast of comic serial short films united by the presence of a permanent character. In Siberian cinemas, farcical miniatures were mainly shown with the participation of French eccentric actors who exploited recognizable screen images - "Silly at the ball", "Silly on a visit", "Silly Pants" with Andre Did, "Prince remains a gentleman", "Prince and his bride", "Prince is looking for an engagement" with Charles Seigneur (stage name Prance Rigaden) ^{[67, p. 1; 68, p. 1]}.

An indispensable highlight of the Siberian film screenings of the studied period were the premiere screenings of comic scenes by Max Linder – "Max is a heartthrob", "Max is getting married", "Max and his mother-in-law", "Max divorces his wife", "Max is recovering", etc. In January 1914, the movie "The Arrival of Max Linder in Moscow" was shown in the cinemas of the Tobolsk province with great excitement ^{[69, p. 1]}.

The adventurous and adventurous repertoire in the cinemas of the Tobolsk province, which also gathered full halls, was represented by the works of this genre on duty. In 1914-1916, the multi–part film "Sonka the Golden Pen" by A. Drankov joint-stock company was shown here with great success, in 1915 - a four-part picture from the adventures of Moscow robbers "Sashka the Seminarian" by I. Ermolyev.

A special genre in the cinemas of the early XX century were spectacular costumed historical peplums, which were necessarily included in daily film screenings throughout the studied period. The provincial public was mainly attracted by pompous paintings, most often shot on the themes of ancient and biblical history, replete with luxurious panoramic shots, battle scenes with the presence of many characters. At the same time, the reliability of the historical events presented in the paintings was not the main condition for their positive assessment by the Siberian viewer. In 1912, a three-part film "Liberated Jerusalem" based on the work of the Italian medieval poet Torquato Tasso, which rather loosely interpreted the history of the first Crusade, was shown on the screens of the cinematheaters of the Tobolsk province ^{[70, p. 1]}.

Specific and scientific documentaries of Siberian cinemas appealed not only to the emotional and sensual sphere, but also to the thinking abilities of viewers, expanding their horizons and enriching their intellectual baggage.

The range of full-scale genre films in local cinemas was very diverse, including paintings on various topics: ethnographic – "Wedding at the Serbian Gypsies", social – "Children's Shelter in Berlin", geographical – "Surroundings of Naples", "A Walk through Munich", "Waterfalls of French Guinea", "Captain Scott's Journey and the discovery of the South Pole", "Caiman breeding in California", "Georgian Military Road", "Journey through Lapland" ^{[71, p. 1; 84, p. 1]}.

Popular science paintings gave an idea of the novelties of modern science, technology and medicine. The innovator of this cinematic genre in the Tobolsk society was the co-owner of the very first and modest-sized cinema theater "Lux" N. K. Dingilstedt.

Among the Tobolsk cinematographers, the electrotheater "Bio" stood out favorably with a thorough approach to the formation of programs based on paintings of serious content. The directorate of the cinema, under the influence of the authority of N. K. Dingilstedt, more often than others introduced specially written popular science films into the repertoire, such as "Fish-sepia", "Life of microbes", "Development of a chicken egg", "Operation Duane", "Examination of the stomach with X-rays", "In stagnant waters", "The Panama Canal" ^{[50, p. 1; 72, p. 1; 73, p. 1; 74, p. 1]}.

The latest issues of the "Pathe-magazine" introduced Siberian inhabitants to world news, spectacular Parisian fashions and entertainment of the bourgeois world ^{[75, p. 1; 76, p. 1]}.

The announcements announced in advance that the latest sensational novelties would soon be shown. In 1910, a picture about the conqueror of Siberia "Ermak Timofeevich" was broadcast in the cinemas of the Tobolsk province, in 1913 – the historical action film "Kamo Grydeshi" by the Italian company "Chines" ^{[77, p. 1]}. The first full-length film of domestic production "Defense of Sevastopol" was shown late from January 1913. The picture was shown without intermission, in order not to reduce the artistic impression.

A wide resonance was caused by the release of the anniversary film "The Reign of the House of Romanov" produced by the company of the Brothers Pathe. In order to attract the largest number of visitors, it was noted in the advertisement that the painting was viewed by the emperor and awarded his highest approval ^{[78, p. 1; 79, p.1]}.

The structure of the repertoire was influenced by the political situation in the country. With the beginning of the First World War, the military chronicle was a mandatory section of the cinema show, and the war tax was included in the ticket price. In 1916, the cinemas of the Tobolsk province showed the "Patriotic Magazine", the chronicle of the company Gaumont, the tapes "The Emperor in the active army", "The Retreat of the Austrians", "The stay of General Joffre at the front", "Trophies of our troops", etc. ^{[80, p. 1; 81, p. 1; 82, p. 1]}.

The owners, wanting to give the sessions of their cinemas the greatest attraction, practiced re-screenings of the most popular films. At the request of the public, especially favorite parts of the film could even be shown several times a day. In addition, to attract the public, the foyers of theaters were decorated with art posters and photographs with individual winning scenes of a film, and sets of postcards with portraits of famous actors were sold at the box office ^{[68, p. 1; 83, p. 1]}.

When forming the cinema program, there was a system of age restrictions. Thus, the administration of the Tobolsk cinema "Bio", advertising in May 1912 a movie novel in two parts "The Dance of Life", presenting unusual scenes from the life of "merry Paris with its revelry, reckless entertainment and wild orgies", warned about the prohibition of visiting this picture by children ^{[70, p. 1]}.

In 1912, the owners of "Bio" offered the audience the staging of paintings from the life of the Tobolsk province – the solemn consecration in the presence of the governor of the dam in the village of Chervishevsky, built by peasants in 1911 and the Tyumen jubilee celebrations on August 26, 1912, the Modern cinema provided visitors with a rare opportunity to see themselves on the screen in the picture "Views of the city of Tobolsk in the summer time" ^{[84, p. 1; 85, p. 3]}. I. S. Shuster in his cinematheaters before the main session showed newsreels of his own production, reflecting the daily life of the local population, as well as outstanding city events: "Children's festivities in the Spassky Garden", "Flight of aviator A.V. Vasiliev", "Celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov House in Tyumen", views of the Tyumen hippodrome, etc. ^{[86, p. 3; 87, p. 3; 31, p. 134]}.

During the period under study, dramatic theaters, circuses and other institutions for mass entertainment of the public competed with cinemas in the struggle for the viewer. Mobility and flexibility of actions, prompt response to consumer requests and market conditions were important competitive advantages of electric theater owners in the business community of Tobolsk province at the beginning of the XX century. Cinemas moved from one building of the city to another, moved to neighboring cities. Theater owners did not miss the opportunity to extract as much profit as possible from their business.

In the history of the development of the cinematographic business of the studied region, there have been attempts to extend the activities of the same entrepreneur to several cities of the Tobolsk province. For example, I. S. Shuster, who was a clear representative of the passionate type of business behavior, managed to create a kind of network of cinematic leisure establishments. The Tyumen businessman successfully conducted business in several cities of the province, rolling pictures in cinematographic halls of other cities, opening new cinematographic institutions, receiving additional income. He actively worked in the city of his residence, owning stationary cinemas "Modern", "The Whole World" and "Giant", in addition, by telegraph dated May 30, 1913, he was allowed to demonstrate paintings in the Gilevsky Garden, where he opened a summer cinema ^{[45, l. 27]}. In the same year, he negotiated the permission to rent the painting "Kamo Gryadeshi" for five days in the stone winter room of one of the Tyumen clubs, as well as in the Tobolsk People's Auditorium or the clerks' club ^{[43, l. 6-7]}. Two years later, I. S. Shuster rented the theater of merchant A. I. Tekutyev in Tyumen.

Without stopping there, the entrepreneur was looking for new forms of work, using any options for business development. Seeing the unprofitability of the collapsible wooden theater "Modern", arranged according to the type of a farce, which could not withstand competition with more comfortable cinematographies of the city, he dismantled the building and, together with the projection equipment, sent it to Ishim, where the electrotheater reopened on June 15, 1913. In 1916, the businessman closed his Tyumen cinema "The Whole World" and He moved all the equipment to Tobolsk, intending to continue his activities there ^{[31, pp. 132, 134]}.

Very energetic, although not so consistent and carefully planned, and therefore not always successful, were the actions of another Tyumen entrepreneur, the Warsaw philistine Franz Yuzefovich Machusky. He owns the greatest activity in submitting petitions for permission to demonstrate films in various points of the city of Tyumen, explained by the expressed desire to make quick money on cinematography.

On September 16, 1911, he submitted an application to the Construction Department, intending to open a "Photoscope-Cinematograph" in Shmyrev's house on Tsarskaya Street. A month later, he changes his mind and asks for permission to establish an electric theater in the house of F. S. Kolmagorov in the second part of Tyumen across the river Tura ^{[44, ll. 1-2]}. The Tobolsk governor allowed the entrepreneur to demonstrate cinematography in Kolmagorov's house, however, according to the applicant's testimony, "his conditions did not agree with this house," and in 1914 he again petitioned for a demonstration of cinematographic paintings in the open air in the Tyumen country garden ^{[44, l. 10]}. This time, the Construction department of the provincial administration, focusing on the report of the Tyumen police officer, refuses Machusky to issue a permit "in view of the observed negative aspects in the life of the named garden" ^{[44, l. 17]}.

In an effort to make the most profit, businessmen in the summer or during religious holidays and regular mass trade events, tried to organize a demonstration of films in the places of the greatest concentration of people.

The same F. Y. Machusky, wishing to demonstrate cinematography from the Easter holiday and throughout the summer season in the circus building owned by Anna Vasilyevna Koromyslova, on March 16, 1915, petitioned the Tobolsk provincial administration to legitimize these actions. Attaching the circus plan, the businessman described in detail the premises intended for the screening of the cinema. The wooden circus building, small in size, with a diameter of only 48 arshins, but located in the center of the fairground in the third part of the city of Tyumen, was a very attractive object for organizing public film screenings in it. F. Y. Machusky planned to equip a cinema room in "a booth adapted for this, upholstered in the middle with sheet iron and asbestos" ^{[44, L. 21]}. Fearing delays, on April 9, Machusky earnestly asked to speed up the consideration of his case, as well as "send him a preliminary diagram of the necessary devices in the circus, so that even before receiving the drawing to begin the arrangement of the premises and the demonstration of paintings, without missing the Easter holidays" ^{[44, l. 22]}.

Public city organizations of the Tobolsk province also did not stay away from the opportunity to make a profit through technical innovations of the early XX century, trying to coincide the opening of cinematographies with event events. On November 29, 1911, the head of the Tobolsk province received a statement from the chairman of the Yalutorovsky district Committee of Guardianship on people's sobriety about the opening of a cinema in the building of the People's House. The applicant also insisted on a prompt resolution of the issue and granting permission to open a cinema by telegram in order to "avoid losses and have time to earn money during the fair festivities" ^{[52, ll. 1-2]}.

An essential component of the formation of the film business and the further stages of its development in the Tobolsk province was intense competition between the owners of electrobiographs of one city.

A classic technique of negative competition was the practice of filing denunciations and anonymous letters to municipal authorities and the Tobolsk provincial administration outlining technical shortcomings and violations in the opponent's theater. In the archive file on the work of the Tobolsk cinema "Modern" there is an anonymous letter addressed to the city police chief, indicating that in addition to "Isker" there are no emergency exits in any cinema theater, which may cause a tragedy similar to the one that occurred in 1911 in the city of Bologoye ^{[41, l. 7]}.

The modern sphere of leisure was developing no less intensively in Kurgan, where one of the features of the work of cinematographers was also the presence of a rather powerful competitive component and the use by businessmen of unworthy ways to achieve their goals. Fierce rivalry led to the disappearance of establishments and a rapid change of owners of cinemas: the first electro-cinematographic theater of the city "Modern", unable to withstand competition, was closed, its niche in July 1910 was occupied by the cinema of the Biysk philistine M. D. Selivanov "Echo". After two film seasons, this cinema was replaced by the next one called "Lira", which was located in the same house, but had a different owner, I. M. Malyshev. The newly-minted entrepreneur, in the process of obtaining permission to rebuild the premises, accused the former tenant of the house and the owner of the Echo cinema, M. D. Selivanov, of deliberate sabotage and delaying the device of the next electric theater by submitting a denunciation to the Construction Department with fictitious information that the room allegedly poses a danger due to the possibility of "collapse of the ceiling queens" ^{[48, l. 1]}.

Nevertheless, the main form of rivalry in the history of the competitive policy of film entrepreneurs of the studied region was a constructive functional struggle for the audience. The owners tried to improve the infrastructure of cinemas, applied technical innovations, sought to change the repertoire frequently, a variety of genres of the pictures presented.

In Tobolsk, the most well-equipped for the period 1910-1913 was the cinema "Bio", it had a vast and high room, three times larger than in the cinema theater "Lux", its own electric lighting, a dynamo with a kerosene engine, an increased size of the projection screen, a spacious parterre, several boxes, electric ventilation, a private buffet with "a decent" dining room and a waiting room for the public. In addition to an ordinary movie camera, a device was issued for demonstrating paintings with singing ^{[88, p. 3]}. However, the trembling of the light during the demonstration of films was more noticeable here than in the first city electrobiograph "Lux" ^{[73, p. 2]}.

The cinema "Isker", located opposite the building of the People's Auditorium, also equipped with a cinema hall, was certainly a serious competition for other film factories in the city. "Isker" had a large screen and a spacious foyer, was illuminated by an autonomous electric installation, the cinema equipment was represented by a dynamo and oil engines issued from the Ural Technical and Industrial Partnership of Yekaterinburg. Among the special equipment of the theater there was also a projection lantern, a grand piano for musical accompaniment of film performances and much more. The entire property of the Isker cinema was estimated at 1,394 rubles. The ground floor of the cinema auditorium was prudently equipped by the owners with a characteristic structural element – the lifting of rows of seats, specially constructed for unobstructed visibility from the audience seats ^{[89, p. 2]}.

The building of the cinema "Modern", built of wood in the pseudo-Russian style, was the only one in Tobolsk in the pre-revolutionary period originally designed for public demonstrations of films. The room, illuminated by electric arc lamps, had a high ceiling and was better filled with air compared to the auditorium of the Isker cinema, the parameters of the cinema screen also exceeded the size of the latter.

Theater owners worked not only on the content of the movie show itself, but also tried to make waiting periods as convenient as possible for customers and improve the technical side of broadcasts. The shortest intermissions were in the "Modern", the audience almost did not have to wait, the orchestra sounded in the "Isker" during breaks, the quality of the image transmission on the screen during the demonstration of paintings in both cinemas was recognized as distinct and clear. In December 1910, "Isker" introduced a novelty in the form of performances in the intermissions of actors Ukraintseva and Chernomorets, who left the theater troupe Karmelyuk-Kamensky, which attracted a lot of the public ^{[90, p. 2]}.

The great advantage of the electrotheater "Modern" was the constantly serviceable operation of the machine, and the opportunity provided to visitors during the intermissions of the evening session to get acquainted with the fresh press, which ordinary citizens received only the next day, was one of the "know-how" of the owners. In a private buffet, the newspapers "Russian Word", "Speech", "Stock Exchange Vedomosti", "Ural Life", "Satyricon" were offered to the attention of customers ^{[91, p. 2]}. The Directorate of "Moderna", claiming to be the first-screen cinema, concluded a long-term contract with the rental office of V. L. Metenkov, striving to obtain the most recent films. For several years, during intermissions, the balalaika orchestra played in the foyer of the Modern ^{[61, p. 2]}.

Musical and sound accompaniment during the demonstration of films was an integral attribute of cinema in the period under review. This part of the film screenings, as a rule, was provided by improvisational playing on the piano, violin or other instruments of the so-called "musical illustrators" hired by the performers, who were often professional musicians. In the electric theater "Lux" of the city of Tara during the First World War, the accompaniment of films was carried out with the help of a captured German musician, and in the Tyumen kinemateatre "Palace" V. I. Shuster, who graduated from the conservatory, served as a taper ^{[36, p. 142; 6, p. 121]}.

In the Bio cinema, "talking pictures" were held in front of the audience, voiced not by a device, but by real people. An important stage in the history of the transition from silent to sound cinema, when the technique of dubbing film characters with the help of an actor was used, is associated with the person of Ya. A. Zhdanov, who owned the very idea of dubbing cinema in Russia, the first experiments of sound cinema and the appearance of "talking pictures".

In 1911-1913, Ya. A. Zhdanov repeatedly visited Tobolsk on tour, during one of these visits, the cinematographer collaborated with the Bio electrotheater in staging the paintings "Dead Souls" by N. V. Gogol, "Surgery" by A. P. Chekhov, "Krechinsky's Wedding" by A.V. Sukhovo-Kobylin ^{[92, p. 2]}.

The original commercial method of attracting the public to new institutions of socio-cultural urban infrastructure was the opening of instant electric photos at a low price. Such a service has been available to customers of the Bio cinema in Tobolsk since September 1912, a dozen miniature pictures cost them only 50 kopecks ^{[85, p. 2]}. In 1914, the owner of the photographic pavilion, Penza philistine Vladimir Alekseevich Kartashev, received permission to work with electric photography at the Kurgan Progress cinematograph. Moreover, initially the photographer intended to cooperate with the cinema "Lira", but the owner of "Progress" M. A. Goloviznin on more favorable terms lured the specialist from his direct competitor I. M. Malyshev ^{[48, ll. 12-15]}.

Pricing in the field of cinematographic services of the Tobolsk province depended on market conditions, the level of the cinema, its orientation to a certain audience, the degree of novelty and exclusivity of the pictures presented, and the diversity of the program. The price range was also determined by the number of visits to cinematheaters and the period of the film season, the order of the session. The first session usually cost less than each subsequent one.

In addition to the usual paid tickets, a system of counter-stamps and passes was used in Siberian cinemas, checks were in use, honorary tickets issued by the theater administrator to individuals providing free passage to the session, as well as discounted subscription tickets.

In order to attract more viewers, as well as under the pressure of public opinion, cinemas could provide benefits for certain categories of visitors.

In the 1910s, the electrotheater "Bio" was recognized as the most "expensive" of all Tobolsk film productions. On the day of its opening, the prices for seats ranged from 20 kopecks in the stalls to 3 rubles for four-person boxes. Despite the high price status of the cinema, almost half of its stalls were occupied by cheap seats for 20 kopecks. Tickets for children and students cost 10 kopecks, but the editorial board of the newspaper "Siberian Leaf" expressed hope for the introduction of an even more flexible system of discounts. By the end of 1910 , the lower price limit was 8 kopecks . The price in seasonal cinemas ranged from 1 rub to 40 kopecks.

Due to the high costs of the owners to extract any "sensational films" or in the case of a premiere screening, the minimum ticket prices increased from about 10 to 75 kopecks. In 1912, the directorate of the cinema "Bio" reported that due to the high costs of acquiring the popular picture "Half–Dead", the prices of the seats would not be lowered, but would remain the usual - from 15 kopecks, the stalls from 40 kopecks, the 1st session from 10 kopecks ^{[93, p. 1]}.

During the tours of famous actors who performed during the intermissions between movie shows, as well as on the days of their benefits, the prices of seats also increased, checks and honorary tickets in these cases were invalid ^{[93, p. 1]}.

The reason for dumping prices could be a drop in fees during a certain period of cinema operation, as happened with the Tyumen cinematographies, which in May 1910 did not even save two-thirds of the costs in two weeks of work and had to reduce ticket prices to 8 kopecks for all categories of viewers ^{[94, p. 2]}.

In addition to a decrease in earnings and attendance, rivalry from fellow competitors, drama theaters and other leisure institutions, the owners of provincial cinemas faced a number of objective and subjective problems.

One of the difficulties was the bureaucratic obstacles that became an obstacle to the opening of new cinemas. It is known that on November 16, 1913, Kurgan philistine Mikhail Avksentievich Kryzhanovsky asked to be allowed to open an electric theater in his own house with an extension of a wooden room for an auditorium in the station settlement between the station and the city of Kurgan, providing a plan for the proposed construction ^{[49, L. 1]}. The requirements for the registration of technical documentation by the Construction Department of the Tobolsk Provincial Administration, they turned out to be so difficult for the petitioner that in September 1914 he abandoned his intentions ^{[49, l. 6]}.

Periodic fires remained the most important problem for theater owners of the Tobolsk province at the beginning of the XX century. In addition to the fact that the fires carried a direct danger to the health and life of the audience, tangible movable and immovable property of the owners, which, of course, negatively affected the operation of cinemas, jeopardizing their continued existence, fires in cinemas were the cause of conflicts with the local population and cause for complaints.

In April 1911, in the first cinema of the city of Tara "Zarya", which worked in a wooden Public Assembly building and was illuminated with oxygen, a gas explosion occurred, from the ignition of the tape in an instant the entire building was engulfed in fire. Despite the fact that the fire was promptly extinguished, this event caused a resonance among the urban inhabitants. The news chronicle reported that if the fire had happened in the presence of the public, it would not have been without human casualties, because the building is not at all adapted in case of fire ^{[95, p. 1-2]}.

Just a few days later, a collective statement on the fire hazard of the Eureka cinema was sent to the head of the city government. In this document, it was reported that the owner of the said cinema, located in an outbuilding of a common courtyard not far from neighboring residential buildings, violated several paragraphs of the current rules at once: the room was equipped with only one entrance door; an oil engine, a dynamo and a sufficient amount of flammable fuel were placed in a wooden barn just 2 yards from the cinema hall with the public and 2/4 arshins from the neighboring residential building; the electric wires of the cinema, passing through the entire courtyard, were located only 4 arshins from ground level; the window openings of the cinema hall were tightly closed; the working cinema camera during the sessions was placed right next to the entrance doors and blocked the passage to the audience. In addition, the applicants expressed doubts about the professionalism and awareness of the technical workers who were attached to the cinema camera and the oil engine of the Eureka cinematograph ^{[50, l. 19]}.

As a result of the proceedings, the mayor of Tara, Shansky, in his report confirmed concerns about the fire hazard of the cinema, since it was located in the central populated quarter of the city surrounded by wooden buildings ^{[50, l. 18]}.

The case was given a move, the controlling provincial authorities were informed about the received application. However, the Tarsky district police officer managed to resolve the conflict. On May 15, 1911, he reported to the Construction Department that, "despite the concerns of the public, there was never a fire in the Eureka cinema of the owner A. I. Kucherevsky on the estate of the landlady Yulia Marmelyuk, who works in the city of Tara on Alexandrovskaya Street. Only once a few sparks of ignited soot accumulated in the grid of the engine pipe flew into the air, but this was immediately noticed by the driver and eliminated" ^{[50, l. 17]}.

Another reason for the incidents were specific inconveniences caused to residents of surrounding houses due to the work of institutions – an unacceptable noise level produced by engines. In September 1910, G. F. Shvenzov had to prove to the bailiff of the second part of the Kurgan city that the demand for the destruction of the noise allegedly produced by the engine of his cinema was unreasonable, since "the broadcast of paintings was allowed by the provincial administration, and all equipment was examined by the commission, which did not find any inconveniences" ^{[46, L. 92]}.

A significant concern of theater owners at the beginning of the XX century was the problem of maintaining their film productions during the entire period of their work in proper form. Periodic repairs of buildings were also under the scrupulous supervision of supervisory authorities.

By the beginning of 1915, the Kurgan cinema "Lira" comes into disrepair, there is a need for major repairs of the premises. In June 1915, I. M. Malyshev sent a project for the reconstruction of his cinema, on July 6, the document was approved by the Construction Department ^{[48, l. 38-39]}.

As a result of the control examination, it turned out that most of the shortcomings were eliminated by the owners, but the arrangement of the cinema balconies was performed incorrectly. The height of the balcony according to the design documentation should be five and a half arshins from the floor level, in fact, the structure was four arshins away from the floor, there were also no supporting parts for fixing the structure. Due to the First World War, there was a shortage of building material in the regions, so the owner telegraphed to the governor that "for lack of consumables in the city, it is impossible to strengthen the balcony now" ^{[48, l. 51]}. He petitioned for permission for the actions of the cinema, provided that the balcony was closed to the public, which would only be allowed into the stalls. The governor of the province allowed the opening of the cinema with the condition of restricting access to the balcony for viewers ^{[48, ll. 53-54]}.

On August 18, 1915, during the final inspection of the work done under the supervision of technician V. K. Ivanov, the commission summarized that the danger to the public had been eliminated – a wooden beam with a thickness of 4 by 4 vershka was placed under the edge of the balcony in full length, which was supported by cast-iron columns in the amount of six pieces every two fathoms. On September 1, 1915, with the permission of the governor, public access to the cinema balconies was resumed ^{[48, L. 56]}.

It is characteristic that during the period under review, the clientele of cinematographers is formed, the initial design of the taste preferences of the public and, as a result, its differentiation according to consumer needs, intellectual interests and artistic preferences. A kind of specialization of individual cinematographic institutions is planned to work with certain categories of viewers, different in social, cultural, age, educational, property characteristics. This process can be clearly traced in the work of the Tobolsk cinemas of the studied period. Thus, the electrotheater "Bio" attracted a large number of wealthy and intelligent audience, distinguished by a competent selection of paintings, well-organized musical accompaniment, contributing to the integrity and strength of the impression. In "Isker", on the contrary, due to inexpensive tickets, the "democratic spectator" prevailed, and the first cinema of the city "Lux", due to high competition, by 1910 almost ceased to be visited by the bulk of the public, but became very attractive to pupils of public schools, to whom the directorate "gave up seats for free" ^{[73, p. 2The owners of cinematographies arranged gratuitous performances addressed to a certain contingent of viewers, for example, for primary city schools during the Easter holidays. Off-site cinema screenings were also practiced, as was done for Tyumen students in the building of the real school [31, p. 132]}.

To consider the transformation of the socio-cultural infrastructure of the cities of Tobolsk province from the standpoint of modernization, it is of great importance that the social functions of cinemas become more complicated during the period under study. These institutions are beginning to be used not only as places for actual film broadcasts. The practice includes holding events dedicated to traditional secular and religious holidays in the cinema premises by representatives of public organizations, various faiths and national communities of the urban community. The Christmas days of 1914 in Tobolsk were marked by the installation of a Catholic Christmas tree for children and adults in the electrotheater "Modern" by the forces of social activists of the Polish diaspora A.V. Pechokas and Yu. N. Kuzikovskaya, who attracted almost the entire Catholic population of the city and children of other faiths. In addition to the usual Christmas entertainment (games and contests for children, gift giveaways, youth dancing, an amateur production of a comedy in three acts in Polish), the festival program also included a demonstration of the daytime repertoire of the cinema ^{[96, p. 2]}.

The buildings of the electrotheatres also hosted tours of nonresident artists, significantly increasing fees: the famous transformer Mary Ernaldo in the Kurgan cinema "Progress", plastic dances by A. Shpakovskaya and the illusionist "King of Chains", the famous opera Ukrainian-Russian singer T. G. Piddubny in the Tobolsk "Bio", etc. ^{[74, p. 3]}.

Gradually, cinema became the main source of dissemination of advanced scientific ideas in a generally popular form on the periphery of the empire, and cinema directorates contributed to the development of constructive intelligent leisure, including an increasing number of documentary scientific and educational films in the program, as well as allowing organizing various educational lectures and meetings on their sites. In April 1918, a series of lectures on gardening, developed by the Tobolsk women's club ^{[97, p. 2]}, was presented to the attention of the townspeople in "Modern". Cinema owners willingly cooperated with initiative citizens and numerous public associations, most often providing halls for events free of charge, realizing that these actions would help attract more and more people to cinemas. the number of the public.

In addition, cinemas were not only a key link in the mass entertainment segment of urban everyday life, but also took an active part in the public and charitable sphere. In the cinematographies of the cities of the Tobolsk province, sessions were constantly held, the proceeds from which went to the benefit of insufficient students and high school students, local urban and rural canteens of the county branch of the Red Cross, hospitals for the poor, etc.

Conclusion.Thus, the beginning of the XX century in the Tobolsk province was the time of the formation, development and rooting of cinematography as a fundamentally new leisure and communication form in the structure of urban everyday life.

The emergence of a network of stationary cinemas and the demonstration of cinematographic sessions on a regular basis significantly enriched the socio-cultural infrastructure of the region, largely transformed the system of mental attitudes and social relations, collective cultural stereotype and, in general, the lifestyle of the population of the West Siberian region.

The arrangement of premises, technical equipment, fire-fighting measures and all aspects of the functioning of the Tobolsk Province film factories were mainly in accordance with the regulatory rules in force in the Russian Empire, and were also subject to the control of the supervisory provincial and municipal authorities.

The essential advantages of the owners of electric theaters in the business community of the Tobolsk province were the mobility of their actions, prompt response to consumer requests and market conditions.

The key trend of the genesis of the cinematographic sector at the beginning of the XX century and an important factor in the progressive development of the film services industry in the studied region was intense competition between cinemas of the same city. In the course of constructive competition for the audience, the owners of the establishments improved the infrastructure of cinemas, using technical innovations, regularly updated the repertoire content, resorted to intensification and forcing the advertising component in business development.

In the early 1910s, due to the active development of the Russian film distribution and the emergence of regional rental offices, the owners of cinematheaters of the Tobolsk province were able to access cinematographic novelties. During the same period, the public's taste preferences are formed according to intellectual and consumer needs, level of education, artistic interests and social affiliation.

Differences in the quality of the organization of the sessions, the repertoire policy, the degree of comfort of the cinemas of the Tobolsk province led to the differentiation of the audience and the specialization of cinematographic institutions to work with certain categories of visitors.

Over time, the structure of the cinema show became more complicated through the appearance of an intermission and the inclusion of additional entertainment events in the main program, the social functions of cinema expanded due to the popularization of advanced scientific ideas and the development of local intelligent leisure. By the end of the studied period, cinemas are involved in social and charitable activities, turning into the most important objects of the social, cultural and leisure sphere of the cities of the Tobolsk province.

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