The role of Zemstvo Reform of Alexander II in formation and development of Russian local selfgovernment
Abstract
The article analyzes the zemstvo reform of 1864 and its positive role in the formation of the Russian local selfgovernment. The views of various researchers on the system of local selfgovernment in Russia are presented. The authors give an objective assessment of the reform. The formation and development of the local selfgovernment is important in the Russian state policy, and it is an urgent research topic. Studying one's own historical experience of local self-government is of particular importance. The study is based on the study of the document − "Regulations on provincial and district zemstvo institutions on January 1, 1864" and a complex of archival sources, including archival materials from the history of regions such as the Kemerovo region. This makes it possible to assess the impact of the zemstvo reform in different parts of the Russian Empire, the unevenness and inconsistency in the organization of zemstvo institutions on the ground, the specifics of their activities in different territories of the country. The study provides a historiographic review of the Zemstvo reform, including pre-revolutionary, Soviet and post-Soviet historiography, analyzes opinions on the effectiveness of the Zemstvo self-government. Attention is drawn to the established stereotype in the negative assessment of the Zemskaya reform, including due to the dominant criticism of the reform in Soviet historiography. In the article, the authors assess the reform of 1864, to a greater extent, not from the organizational and legal side, but from the point of view of the role of zemstvos in improving the economic and economic situation of Russia in the 19th century. The authors note the significant role of zemstvos in improving the situation in almost all social spheres of the state: culture, education, health care, communication, etc. © 2021 International Network Center for Fundamental and Applied Research. All rights reserved.
