State policy in the field of social security for families of soldiers in ethnic military formations during the World War I (1914–1917)

The paper examines the normative legal acts of the First World War period, which regulated the social sphere, studied the social practices and institutions of the charity system in the national regions of the empire. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the measures of state social support and manage its delivery to certain groups of the empire population during the First World War. The relevance of the topic is determined by the fact that the issues of social assistance to families of soldiers and cavalrymen of ethnic military formations have not yet become the subject of deep historical research. The authors, based on the systematization of legal documents of the era and the analysis of archival materials, first introduced into scientific circulation, identify common approaches in the production of cash benefits for food, reveal the features of the implementation of social charity regulations in national regions. A comparative analysis of the social practices of the war period allows us to conclude that the government’s policy in this area was systematic and quite effective. Institutions of power demonstrated timely responses to the demands of society in matters of social security of the family, which provided timely and equal material support to the families of volunteers in the army, regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliation.