Implementation of the democratic institutions into the culturally diverse periphery of Russia has been always keeping a status of a very complicated process. That's why investigation of historical legacy in the area of making participatory mechanisms still preserves its applicability. The paper examines the election process among the «Inorodtsy» of Turkestan Governor-Generalship and Governor-Generalship of the Steppes in 1906-1907. Why «aborigines» were granted a parliamentary franchise despite the contentious debate in high spheres? How was this privilege implemented? What were the features of the election procedures in the particular districts of the Governor-Generalships during the elections to the First and the Second Duma? What levers of influence over the stump were used by the Imperial administration? All these matters are highlighted in the paper basing on the documents from the Russian State Historical archive.