The Zemstvo in Russia
An Experiment in Local Self-Government

The essays in this 1982 volume result from a conference held at Stanford University in 1978, assembled to assess the significance of the Russian zemstvo.

Terence Emmons (Edited by), Wayne S. Vucinich (Edited by)

9780521201575, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 11 August 2011

466 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.6 cm, 0.68 kg

The essays in this 1982 volume result from a conference held at Stanford University in 1978, assembled to assess the overall character and significance of the prerevolutionary Russian experiment with the principle and practice of local self-government, the zemstvo, over half of its existence, 1864–1918. The unifying theme of the collection is the rejection of the liberal myth of the zemstvo as an instrument of social integration. The chapters focus on the substantive elements of conflict and tension that existed within the zemstvos, especially between the institutions' two principal groups: the landed gentry, who dominated the zemstvo, and the peasants, who constituted the majority of the population and were intended to the beneficiaries of most of the economic and cultural programs, yet had little part in their formation. Based on the contributors' extensive knowledge of their respective subjects, many of them provide information from previously unpublished materials in Soviet and American archives.

List of contributors
Editorial preface
Note on terms, abbreviations, transliteration and dating
1. Introduction Wayne S. Vucinich
2. Local initiative in Russia before the zemstvo S. Frederick Starr
3. Zemstvo organization and role within the administrative structure Kermit E. McKenzie
4. The zemstvo and the peasantry Dorothy Atkinson
5. The zemstvo and politics, 1864–1914 Roberta Thompson Manning
6. The zemstvo and the education of the people Jeffery Brooks
7. The zemstvo and public health Samuel C. Ramer
8. The politics of zemstvo medicine Nancy M. Frieden
9. Liberal professionals and professional liberals: the zemstvo statisticians and their work Robert E. Johnson
10. The All-Russian Union of Zemstvos and World War I William Gleason
11. The zemstvo in 1917 and its fate under Bolshevik rule William G. Rosenberg
12. The zemstvo in historical perspective Terence Emmons
Index.

Subject Areas: Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], European history [HBJD]