The article analyzes the regulatory and legal regulation of the organization and holding of agricultural exhibitions in Ukrainian provinces within the Russian Empire. The rules and circulars that governed the organization and holding of exhibitions, as well as the awarding of exhibitors at them, are considered. The regulatory and legal regulation of agricultural exhibitions in the period 1906-1914 is highlighted.

Problem-chronological, comparative-historical, retrospective methods and the method of systemic analysis are used, the comprehensive application of which allowed obtaining unbiased conclusions.

Based on the rules and circular orders from the Department of Agriculture and selected reports of agricultural exhibitions held, a comparative analysis of the rules of organization and arrangement presented in them was carried out both in the Ukrainian provinces and in other parts of the empire. The rules of the exhibitions under analysis are taken for one time period - 1906-1914, but, in addition to the Ukrainian provinces, – and from other regions of the empire: the Caucasus, the Baltics, Siberia, and the Central part of Russia. This made it possible to compare the rules of exhibitions within the entire empire and to find out the difference between them and the general rules from the Department of Agriculture.

The chronological framework of the study coincides with the time of the active phase of the Stolypin agrarian reform of 1906-1911. This indicates signs of the reform of popularization work in the field of agriculture, namely exhibition activity, at that time.

Based on the presented primary sources, it was found that the rules of various exhibitions did not contradict the general rules of the Department of Agriculture, but only supplemented them to solve problems in organizing and holding events.

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2. (1914). Otchet o pervoi vistavke-bazare semyan (15-20 yanvarya 1914 goda) [Report on the first seed fair (January 15-20, 1914)]. Lebedin [In Russian].
3. (1906) Otchet o selskokhozyaistvennoi i kustarno-promishlennoi vistavke, bivshei v m. Novoi-Basani s 8-go po 12 sentyabrya 1906 g. [Report on the agricultural and handicraft-industrial exhibition held in the town of Novaya Basani from September 8 to 12, 1906]. Kozelets [In Russian].
4. (1909). Polozhenie o pervoi Zapadno-Sibirskoi selskokhozyaistvennoi, lesnoi i torgovo-promishlennoi vistavke v g. Omske i programma vistavki [Regulations on the first West Siberian agricultural, forestry and industrial trade exhibition in Omsk and the exhibition program]. Omsk [In Russian].
5. (1911). Polozhenie i programma XIII selskokhozyaistvennoi i remeslo-promishlennoi vistavki, ustraivaemoi Revelskim estonskim selskokhozyaistvennim obshchestvom v gor. Revele s 3-go po 6-oe sentyabrya 1911 goda [The Regulations and Program of the XIII Agricultural and Industrial-Handicraft Exhibition, organized by the Reval Estonian Agricultural Society in Reval from September 3rd to 6th, 1911]. Revel [In Russian].
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7. (1909). Poltavskaya selskokhozyaistvennaya vistavka, ustraivaemaya Poltavskim obshchestvom selskogo khozyaistva s 5-go po 20-e sentyabrya 1909 goda: polozhenie o vistavke i programma [The Poltava Agricultural Exhibition organized by the Poltava Agricultural Society from September 5 to 20, 1909: the exhibition regulations and program]. Poltava [In Russian].
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9. (1911). Pravila i programma Oblastnoi selskokhozyaistvenno-promishlennoi i kustarnoi vistavki, ustraivaemoi Smolenskim obshchestvom selskogo khozyaistva: v 1912 godu, s 15-go avgusta po 8-e sentyabrya v g. Smolenske [Rules and program of the Regional Agricultural-Industrial and Handicraft Exhibition, organized by the Smolensk Society of Agriculture: in 1912, from August 15 to September 8 in Smolensk]. Smolensk [In Russian].
10. (1912). Pravila i tsirkulyarnie rasporyazheniya, kasayushchiesya selskokhozyaistvennikh vistavok [Rules and circulars concerning agricultural exhibitions]. Saint Petersburg [In Russian].