Information About

Zemstvo




After the October Revolution , the zemstvo system was shut down.

The institution of the zemstvo provided provincial and district government councils in Russia between 1864 and October 17 1917 . Many different classes, including the peasants, took part in elections concerning the zemstvos. They were created as part of the Great Reforms instituted by Alexander II . The zemstvos took up matters of education, medical relief, public welfare, food supply, and road maintenance in their localities, but were met with hostility by Radical s, such as the Socialist Revolutionary Party , the Intelligentsia , and the Nihilists who wanted more reform.

The nobles were given more weight in voting for a zemstva, as seen in the fact that 74% of the zemstvo was made up of nobles, even though less than 5% of the population were made up of nobles. Even so, the zemstva did allow the greater population more say in the ways they wanted a small part of their lives to be run.