Zemstvo councils: a brief description

Zemstvo councils are the executive body that was created as a result of the reform of 1864 during the reign of Alexander II. These institutions were formed as part of a series of reforms that were carried out in the second half of this century.

Characteristics of the era

Immediate impetus to the transformation in all spheres of Russian society was the abolition of serfdom. This most important step required immediate changes in the social, administrative, judicial systems, as well as innovations in the spheres of education and culture. Therefore, literally in one decade a series of measures was taken to reform the administration and judicial institutions. In 1864, the emperor signed a decree on the establishment of special zemstvo institutions. The same model was later carried out and the city reform. A new liberal university statute was introduced, granting these institutions wide autonomy. So, the creation of local self-government was an important step in the transformation activities of Alexander II.

Prehistory

Zemstvo councils were not new: the draft of such reforms was prepared at the beginning of the century. Alexander I instructed Speransky to prepare a reform to expand the rights and powers of local authorities. The plan developed by this statesman envisaged the creation of three levels of power: volost, uyezd and provincial. At each of these levels, the creation of doom was envisaged: the local noblemen-landowners and peasants constituted the volost Duma, which elected the district council, the latter, in turn, formed the provincial, and that-all-Russian State Duma. This draft elective all-Russian authority, perhaps, was Speransky's most important project, despite the fact that privately owned peasants were not allowed to vote. However, at the beginning of the century, this plan was not implemented and with very significant changes embodied in the reform of Alexander II.

Basic Provisions

Zemstvo councils were an important part of the new system of self-government. According to the regulations, administrative provincial and district Zemstvo assemblies were created on the local level, which, in turn, elected executive bodies - administrations. The population participated only in the selection of county assemblies. Voters consisted of landowners, urban population and peasants. Their participation was limited by the property qualification. For the first group - land ownership of at least 200 acres, real estate no less than 15 thousand rubles. Or a certain annual income.

City voters should have owned trading or industrial enterprises or an annual income of at least 6 thousand rubles. Peasant elections were two-stage: rural society and rural municipality. Thus, preference was given to large landowners and the bourgeoisie, while the rights of the main part of the population were limited.

Structure

Zemstvo councils were elected by provincial and district zemstvo assemblies. Leaders of the nobles led these meetings. Thus, this estate took the main positions in these bodies of local government. But these bodies did not have political power, their functions were limited to solving local needs and landscaping. Moreover, their activities were controlled by the central and local authorities. Thus, the chairman of the zemstvo council in the province was confirmed by the Minister of Internal Affairs. There have been many such cases when the activity of this local government was even limited. In addition, they did not have their own punitive and protective organs and, if necessary, were forced to appeal to the police and the administration, thereby acknowledging their dependence on them. Nevertheless, the reform contributed to the activation of the social activity of the intelligentsia on the ground.

Functions

The fact of who the chairmen of the zemstvo boards approved was proving how much the authorities were interested in establishing control over these bodies. The head of the county government was appointed with the approval of the governor, who monitored the activities of local government. The task of the new bodies included the organization of public amenities: in their charge were the means of communication, hospitals, public education, the improvement of agricultural technology and assistance in the development of agriculture. They formed their own budget, based on taxes on real estate, with the bulk falling on the peasantry. Nevertheless, many representatives of the intelligentsia took the reform with enthusiasm: many talented doctors, teachers, medical assistants, engineers went to work in the countryside and contributed to its economic, social and cultural development.

Value

In this new system, the zemstvo councils were the main executive cell, since it directly dealt with local needs. She was elected for three years and consisted of a chairman and about three members. But despite the obvious positive significance of the reform, it had a significant shortcoming compared to Speransky's plan, which provided for the creation of an entire electoral system, from the smallest public unit, the volost Duma to the all-Russian body, the State Duma, in which almost all sections of the population participated. According to the reform of 1864, provincial and district zemstvo councils, along with the meetings, in fact, were the only elected bodies without a foundation, volost level and the All-Russian Duma.