Zemstov

Definition: Zemstovs were elected rural councils in Russia, established in 1864 Russia by the Tsarist government. As voting rules favoured the well off, and as they were set up at provincial and district levels and no lower, they became – deliberately - dominated by larger landowners and, towards the end, liberals. Indeed, the increasingly liberal and reforming zemstovs became the target of concerned, and increasingly taxed, rival non-liberal landholders, along with the reactionary government of Alexander III, leading to a law in 1890 which reduced who could be elected, and gave provincial governors control over them, including vetoes and caps on work. Meanwhile police obstructed the liberal reforms through general persecution. Their legacy with the Russian Revolution are still discussed.