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Zemsky Reform of 1864

Local self-government in Russia before the reform of 1864 was organized in accordance with the features that governed the feudal system. The central figure in it was a landowner, in whose hands was the administrative, judicial, political and economic power over his peasants.

The first zemstvo reform of Ivan the Terrible, held back in 1550, was already at that time aimed at eliminating "feeding" and creating elected public authorities.

But in the 19th century this task was not completely solved in full. At the head of the provinces were governors, endowed with extremely broad powers: police, supervisory, administrative and economic and other functions. The next most important people in the province were the provincial leader of the nobility and the district leader of the nobility. That is, such a management system could reflect only the interests of the landlords. The needs of not only the population but also of local industry and trade were not taken into account. The undivided nature of judicial, administrative and economic powers further exacerbated the situation.

To carry out the peasant reform, it was necessary to restructure the system. To this end, the Zemstvo Reform of 1864 began to be prepared. Zemstvo institutions were to be entrusted with local and public functions. Control over them was to be carried out by the state in the form of government supervision or special supervision and the assignment of specific regulations. Orders of the zemsky bodies themselves could be implemented with the help of tax and fiscal bodies or through the police.

Zemsky reform was hampered by attempts by the authorities to concentrate local power in the hands of bureaucratic bodies. Openly embody the desire to form new bodies of local government on a class principle, the organizers of the reform did not dare. Universal suffrage was unacceptable to them. Therefore, it was decided for the elections to divide the district population into three curiae (parts), each of which was dominated by representatives of a certain estate. Due to the existence of the property qualification, the curative system allowed the government to plan the number of electors in zemstvo institutions, providing the majority to representatives of the ruling class.

On January 1, 1864, the authorities approved the "Regulations on Zemstvo institutions." From that day on, they were entrusted with the management of the capital, money and property of zemstvos, the maintenance of communications and buildings, charity events, participation in health and education, mutual property insurance, custody of local industry and commerce.

The Zemstvo reform provided for the creation of three curiae: county landowners, townspeople and representatives of the village. The executive body of the zemstvo assembly, the council, was elected for two years. Members of the provincial zemstvo assembly were elected at district meetings.

The Zemstvo reform did not create a centralized harmonious system: in its implementation, there was never formed an organ that would coordinate the work of all zemstvos. An attempt was made in 1865 by the provincial assembly of St. Petersburg, but in response to such an initiative the government dissolved it. Thus, the existence of local government was allowed only at the level of provinces and counties. Also, the lower level - volost departments - was not created.

The new self-government bodies were dependent on the government because of limited funds and lack of executive apparatus. Nevertheless, the Zemstvo reform contributed to the improvement of the state of the local economy, communication facilities, the system of public education and public health. Zemstvos became a kind of political school for representatives of democratic social and liberal movements. In this respect, reform can be characterized as bourgeois.

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