The article deals with the history of the formation and development of voluntary non-political associations of Irkutsk in the second half of the XIXth – the early XXth century in the function of one of the most important resources of the formation of citizen advocacy in Irkutsk. The main stages of the formation of public organizations are pointed out, their typology is presented, and the priority forms and directions of the societies' activity are considered. The factors of activization of the societies' activity, the social structure of societies and their quantity are analyzed.