Abstract
The article shows the role of personnel centers, which at the initial stage played the role of not only educational organizations, but also strategic institutions that formed the foundations of state and municipal management at the local level. The article describes in detail the processes of forming the material base and content of the activities of personnel centers, analyzes a number of contradictions that have developed during standardization of educational programs of state and municipal administration. The author reveals the connection of the events of 1993-1995, taking place in the highest echelons of power, with how the position of personnel centers changed in relation to the general system of training specialists in state and municipal administration. The conclusion is made about the importance of the experience of personnel centers for the final formation of the public service system in the Russian Federation.