Zemstvo


A zemstvo was an institution of local government set up in consequence of the emancipation reform of 1861 of Imperial Russia by Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Nikolay Milyutin elaborated the idea of the zemstvo, and the first zemstvo laws went into effect in 1864. After the October Revolution of 1917 the zemstvo system was shut down by the Bolsheviks and replaced with a multilevel system of workers' and peasants' councils.

History

Zemstvos were created as part of the larger Great Reforms with the specific goal of creating organs of elected, local self-government. The existing system of local self-government in the Russian Empire was represented at the lowest level by the mir and at the regional level by the volost. These institutions continued during the zemstvo period; however, they were seen as insufficient, due to their lack of independent authority. In 1864, the first law on zemstvos was enacted by the Emperor, a law that outlined the powers of the zemstvos. These powers were administrative and focused on local issues that were not being addressed by existing institutions.
In 1865, zemstvos were established in nineteen provinces, and between 1866 and 1876 another sixteen were established, for a total of 35 zemstvos in European Russia and Bessarabia, with some exceptions: there were no zemstvos in the three Baltic governorates, the nine western governorates annexed from Poland by Catherine II, in most of Caucasus, and in Finland. Created in 1875 after much consultation with Cossack officials, the zemstvos of the Don Host Oblast were dissolved after six years of operation. By 1913 there were zemstvos in 43 governorates.
From 1902 to 1905, there were widespread reports of a total loss of independence on the part of the peasant members of the zemstvos, with authority being ceded to the land captains. During this time, local government was more closely connected to the central bureaucracy, such as the governors' offices, the ministers of finance, and the ministers of interior. The special police became more and more involved in zemstvo affairs. This was unpopular with zemstvo officials, many of whom were part of a liberal constitutionalist political movement. Financial and practical burdens, as a result of the Russo-Japanese War, contributed to increased tensions.
Rising distrust between the central bureaucracy and the zemstvos was recognized by the Tsar in his 1903 manifesto on provincial administration. This manifesto supported the reforms led by Minister of Interior Vyacheslav von Plehve. The goal of Plehve's reforms was to bring tighter control of the zemstvos through gubernatorial oversight. These reforms faced significant opposition from the zemstvos, the ministers of finance, and several governors. In Saint Petersburg, Plehve was able to force the governor, who opposed the reforms, to resign. Plehve worked closely with the Police Department of Russia, which he formerly led, to oust many zemstvo members. Several prominent zemstvo figures, including Shipov, were formally reprimanded by the Tsar.
Following the Russian Peasants' uprising of 1905–1906, the zemstvos turned sharply conservative. Georgy Lvov was voted off a zemstvo for being a "dangerous liberal". The zemstvo assemblies, still dominated by nobility, were frightened by the violence of 1905. Many members joined the United Nobility, and the zemstvos became more focused on protecting the interests of the nobility than addressing the grievances of 1905.
The zemstvos were originally given considerable power to impose taxation and to oversee education, medical relief, public welfare, food supply, and road maintenance in their localities. Initially, radicals, such as the Socialist Revolutionary Party and the nihilists, were hostile, believing that the reforms were too minor. Still, in his 1901 article "What is to be done", Lenin advocated for a short-term alliance with the zemstvos against Tsarist oppression.
As Prime Minister, Pyotr Stolypin gave zemstvos the budget and authority needed to carry out many of the projects under his agrarian reforms. His administration expanded the number of the zemstvos from 34 to 43. A new electoral law resulted in 30% of the legislators of the third and fourth Duma coming from the zemstvos. In the period leading up the 1905 Revolution, and throughout Stolypin's governance, the style of debate among zemstvo gentry changed; what began as consensus building and doing favors for friends and family turned into partisan parliamentary politics more typical of 20th century governance.
The All-Russian Zemstvo Union was set up in August 1914 to provide a common voice for all the zemstvos. It was a liberal organisation, which after 1915 operated in conjunction with the Union of Cities.
During the Russian Revolution, the zemstvos lost all authority and the only real authority remaining in Russia rested with the soviets. The zemstvo elections were boycotted because the people considered the soviets as the authority. Many of the third element, the administrators, stopped showing up to their zemstvo-appointed positions and worked for the soviets instead. After the October Revolution, the uniform system of zemstvos was dissolved. In some places, such as Ukraine, the institution remained and took on more nationalist forms.

Jurisdiction

Zemstvos were originally restricted from making rules that were binding on every citizen within their jurisdiction. In 1873, zemstvos were permitted to make regulations binding on every citizen only for the purpose of preventing fires. These powers were expanded in 1879 to allow regulations to prevent the spread of epidemics and zoological diseases.
As time went on, additional gubernatorial oversight was imposed on the zemstvos. In 1867, the zemstvos were prevented from publishing minutes or debates unless given specific permission by the governor. In 1879, the governors were given the power to dismiss, at their discretion, any zemstvo employee. The greatest single change in the zemstvos' powers came under Alexander III's law of. The 1890 law instituted the Bureau of Zemstvo Affairs as additional oversight. Bureau officials were appointed by the emperor, and from local government officials such as Marshall of the Nobility, district prosecutor, and district courts. The bureau overturned 116 zemstvo enactments from 1891 to 1892, with 51 of these enactments being from the Vladimir Provincial Assembly alone.
The 1890 reforms also gave zemstvos the power to issue regulations on a wide variety of issues that were binding on all citizens outside of townships. In return, citizens gained the right to appeal the zemstvo's enactments to the Senate. In the 15 years that followed, the Senate heard 226 of these appeals, which primarily involved tax disputes. The reforms changed the legal status of men serving on the zemstvo, from that of private citizen to government official. Zemstvo officials could enforce these regulations by bringing violators before criminal courts. Prior to 1890, zemstvo sessions were often cut short due to assemblies' not having a quorum. This was in part because officials were not allowed to receive a salary or other compensation.
From 1897 to 1899, the issue of eliminating the district zemstvos and centralizing all functionality within the provincial zemstvo was seriously debated. This debate was especially significant in Moscow where Dmitry Shipov, chairman of the provincial zemstvo, resigned in protest to bring attention to the debate.
In 1902, zemstvo leaders petitioned Nicholas II for the zemstvo to be able to appeal to him, which the emperor refused. The Minister of Interior expressly forbade zemstvo officials from Tver from contacting other provinces on any issue of national politics.

Zemstvo assembly

The main body of the zemtsvo was the assembly, whose members were elected. The assembly generally met once a year to address its docket and to appoint deputies to carry out orders given in response to issues the zemstvo had considered.
Alexander II's 1864 decree established 33 provincial zemstvos corresponding to existing governorships. Each provincial governorship was divided into several districts with each district having its own district zemstvo. The law creating the zemstvos outlined 14 objectives for each zemstvo to accomplish.
  1. Management of zemstvo property and revenue
  2. Maintenance of zemstvo property
  3. Public food security
  4. Management of philanthropy, public welfare, and maintenance of church buildings
  5. Mutual property insurance
  6. Oversight of the development of trade and industry
  7. Economic oversight of public education, public health, and prison systems
  8. Facilitating cooperation in preventing of bovine disease and crop plagues
  9. Fulfillment of civil, military, and postal demands
  10. Distribution of state tax funds disbursed to the zemstvo
  11. Setting, collecting, and allocating local taxes
  12. Notifying the public of local welfare opportunities and civil rights
  13. Hold elections
  14. Special charters

    Elections

The zemtsvo consisted of a representative council and an executive board nominated by the former. The members of the board consisted of five groups:
  • large landed proprietors, who sat in person
  • proxies of the small landowners, including the clergy in their capacity as landed proprietors
  • proxies of the wealthier townsmen
  • proxies of the less wealthy urban classes
  • proxies of the peasants, elected by the volosts
The nobles had more weight in voting even though they constituted a tiny minority of the population. District zemstvos were required to have 40% of their assembly elected by the peasants, but provincial assemblies were elected from the district without such a quota. This resulted in much lower peasant representation at the provincial level.
Alexander III's 1890 reforms expanded the nobility's representation in the zemstvos, from 55% in 1886 to 72% by 1903. Some historians represent the inequality in terms of the amount of land one member of the zemstvo represented. In 1877, each peasant assembly member represented 1.76 times the land a noble member represented. By 1905, each peasant assembly member represented 6.47 times the land a noble member represented.
Persons under 25 years of age, under criminal investigation, convicted criminals, and foreigners were not permitted to be in a zemstvo. Women who owned sufficient property to gain a seat on a zemstvo could appoint a male proxy to vote for them. By 1913, 20-40% of the eligible voters in Tula Oblast were women. Women were de facto denied the right to serve as deputies with this being confirmed de jure in 1903.
Prior to each election, lists of eligible voters for a given zemstvo were published for public comment. Voters could be stricken by the zemstvo or added to the roster, based on public comment. Voters had to be present to vote in person for candidates who were self-nominated. The electoral bodies were not allowed to give instructions on how candidates should act once elected. The governor could object to the proceedings and suspend electoral decisions. Election reform in 1890 resulted in separate electoral bodies for the noble and common voters. At this time, the clergy, Jews, and non-landowning peasants were deprived of the right to vote in zemstvo elections. Part of the motivation for the election reform was a decline in land ownership by the nobles, which resulted in too few nobles to fill the assembly and deputy roles. These election reforms decreased the size of assemblies and number of deputies by 20-30%.
In 1906, each zemstvo was able to elect one deputy to represent them in the State Council. Absenteeism increased dramatically during this period and many zemstvos were considered to be well attended if half their members showed up to meetings. The rules governing elections to the zemstvos were taken as a model for the electoral law of 1906.