Abstract

In accordance with Russian imperial law, city governments had the right to issue compulsory ordinances on various city issues, including sanitation, to be enforced by all citizens. The first found binding regulations, adopted in Minsk in 1883, were aimed at protection of water. The rules regulated the construction of dams and other structures on the river. At the beginning of the 20th century the regulations were broadened and supplemented by new rules that regulated household activities of citizens on the river, including the prohibition of wastewater discharge into the river and limited fishing in the Svisloch. The city sanitary regulations which were enacted in 1885 and consisted of three sections - arrangement of refuse places, removal and dumping of garbage. By 1913, the compulsory regulations had changed considerably. A number of new documents appeared that regulated separately the issues of clearing and cleaning of city streets, the requirements to maintenance of cesspools and pit latrines were toughened and a number of technical requirements to the construction of pit latrines were set. Separate paragraphs regulated organisation and activity of sewage trucks. During the period under consideration, the city legislation in the field of sanitation and water protection was modernized and the foundations of the environmental and sanitary norms of the city law in Minsk were laid.