Discussions on the introduction of a small zemstvo unit in the Russian Empire at the turn of the 19th—20th centuries
Alexander A. Sorokin, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Leading Researcher, Associate Professor
Lobachevsky State University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, skaliger1989@yandex.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1710-0801
Abstract
The purpose of the study is to identify the essence and content of discussions about the possibility of organizing a small zemstvo unit in late Imperial Russia. The research is based on a body of research by a number of Russian publicists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, materials from the activities of zemstvo assemblies, the legal community, and the periodical press. The arguments of supporters and opponents of the establishment of a small zemstvo unit are considered in the context of attracting a wider range of people to participate in zemstvo self-government, the elimination of separate peasant management and the creation of a wide network of zemstvo institutions in the counties. The main approaches to the principles of territorial organization of a small zemstvo unit have been identified. The main concepts of the participation of the bodies of a small zemstvo unit in the election of deputies to district zemstvo assemblies are presented.
Keywords
Zemstvo elections, zemstvo self-government, electoral law, peasant self-government, small zemstvo unit.
For citation:
Sorokin A. A. Discussions on the introduction of a small zemstvo unit in the Russian Empire at the turn of the 19th—20th centuries. Vestnik of Orenburg State Pedagogical University. Electronic Scientific Journal, 2025, no. 3 (55), pp. 211—228. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32516/2303-9922.2025.55.13.
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