“When studying the history of my country, I noticed that in the historical literature the zemstvo movement (the reasons for its formation, its role in expanding state borders) and the issues of the Stalinist economy (after the notorious XX Congress, this topic is apparently still banned) is very poorly sanctified in the historical literature …"
typer-zoom (Alias TZ)
Bear the burden of the whites, -
Reap all the benefits:
Scolding those who have been raised
You are lush gardens
And the anger of those who
(So slow, alas!)
With such patience for the light
From the darkness you dragged.
(R. Kipling. Translation by M. Frohman)
Milestones in history. Let's start with the epigraph, which says that the topic of the Zemstvo movement is of interest to some VO readers. As well as the theme of the Stalinist economy. Moreover, there is nothing forbidden, by the way, in it. There are many different works. You just need to search. But I am personally not interested in economics. But regarding the history of the zemstvo, I even had to supervise a graduate student, who considered the zemstvo movement in her dissertation. So I know something about him. And what do we usually know about the zemstvo? Basically what Lenin called him "the fifth wheel in the cart of the tsarist autocracy." But how could we learn about this a little more in detail, maybe then something interesting will also be discovered? For example, that the zemstvo in Russia has deep historical roots, and the sovereign himself, the first Romanov, owed his power not to anyone, namely the Zemsky Sobor, which met in 1613. And only with the strengthening of absolutism in Russia, the role of zemstvo self-government fell to almost zero. And suddenly … again, why would it be? By the way, one could recommend reading Lenin's work "The Persecutors of the Zemstvo and the Annibals of Liberalism," but it has 76 pages and it is clearly polemical in nature. And today the polemic of that time is not particularly interesting to us. But it makes sense to get acquainted with the facts. So…
Empire and Self-Government: Friends or Foes?
Among the great reforms that Alexander II the Liberator carried out in Russia in the 60-70s. XIX century, the zemstvo reform occupies a very important place, and no wonder. After all, it, in fact, gave rise to local self-government in Russia. And that was very important. No wonder the well-known Slavophile Aksakov said that the Russian people are not statesmen. He expresses his opinion about power, but he does not want to rule over himself, which is why various impostors are so easy on his neck and sit down. But here it was the best thing - the opportunity for teaching such self-government opened up. However, it was in Russia (if the Zemsky Sobor planted the first Romanov as king!) Even … before Peter I, who actually reduced him to zero. Governors and voivods - that's who now was the power on the ground, and under Catherine II, the captain-police officers became such. Although Catherine gave a lot of powers to assemblies of nobility with elected leaders at the head, this was also self-government, but limited, of an estate character.
But at the same time, self-government existed in the village. Nobody canceled it there. The rural "world" decided all pressing issues and elected representatives for the volost gathering. There were village elders, and with them scribes. Only state peasants could participate in volost affairs, but after 1861 this right extended to all peasants.
Moreover, the zemstvo was created not in a hurry, but in great detail. At the beginning of 1859, Alexander II created a commission, which was entrusted with developing a project for the organization of zemstvo institutions. The Commission was told the following:
"It is necessary to provide the economic self-government in the county with greater unity, greater independence and greater confidence."
The leadership was entrusted to the Minister of Internal Affairs P. A. Valuev, moreover, the tsar demanded from him that this "case" be completed without fail before January 1, 1864. And as it was indicated, they did so: the "Statute on Zemstvo Institutions" was approved on time.
According to the position, persons of all classes, who within their district had land or other property, as well as peasant societies, were given the right, through elected officials, elected to district and provincial zemstvo assemblies, to participate in various economic affairs. Zemstvo councils - provincial and district councils were to conduct business directly. Now the zemstvos, and not the state, had to take care of the most important local objects, be it roads, supplying the population with food, public education and health care. Where to get the zemstvo for all this money? Well - they thought about it too, giving the right to zemstvos to special "zemstvo fees". It is clear that the first place in the zemstvo assemblies was given to the nobles as the most educated people, experienced in management matters and … financially secure. However, there were also zemstvos, in which peasants predominated among the electives (Vyatka zemstvo, Perm). And it was through work in the zemstvos that the peasants learned to feel not only subjects, but also citizens of their country.
The process is lengthy, but extremely necessary
Zemstvo, again, was not immediately introduced in Russia. The first zemstvos were created in the Samara province in February 1865, and then in 17 other provinces. At the time of the death of Alexander II, the zemstvos were already in 33 provinces of the European part of Russia. However, zemstvos were not created in the 12 western provinces and in the very rarely inhabited Astrakhan and Arkhangelsk provinces. There were none in the areas of compact settlement of the Cossacks. They had their own self-government, and it was not canceled.
Zemstvos were very actively engaged in medical work, so much so that in 1877 Alexander II expressed gratitude to many zemstvos for this. Why exactly in 1877? So there was a war, and zemstvos opened many hospitals throughout the country and organized a collection of funds and things to help the wounded soldiers. And if in state hospitals the main contingent of medical personnel were men, then in zemstvo hospitals they were women, and it turned out that their effectiveness not only did not decrease because of this, but, on the contrary, increased! The classics of our Russian literature A. P. Chekhov and M. A. For example, M. A. Bulgakov wrote a simply wonderful cycle of stories "Notes of a Young Doctor", first published in 1925-1926 on the pages of the magazines "Medical Worker" and "Red Panorama".
As for A. P. Chekhov, according to the opinion of the zemstvo doctor of the Serpukhov zemstvo P. I. Kurkin, “Chekhov was an ideal zemstvo doctor. He combined a doctor and a social activist, a scientist and a practitioner."
While practicing in Melikhovo, he tried to establish a special institute for skin diseases in Moscow, but at the same time asked him to keep his "interference in the fate of Moscow medicine" a secret. And here is what he wrote on the pages of his notebook:
"Poor doctors and paramedics do not even have the consolation to think that they are serving the same idea, because they are constantly thinking about a salary, about a piece of bread."
Nevertheless, for the peasants, who were then treated mainly by female healers, even the help of very limited means and capabilities of the zemstvo doctors was a real gift from God, which saved many human lives.
The problem of primary education in the Russian Empire and zemstvo schools
It was in the hands of the zemstvo that most of the primary public education was located. The program of the zemstvo schools provided for the study of the Law of God, the Church Slavonic language, the basics of Russian grammar and literature, arithmetic, drawing, singing, and also, although not always and everywhere, lessons in native history, geography and natural science were conducted. In rural schools, knowledge of agronomy was imparted to children. Textbooks and programs of zemstvo schools were made by such outstanding teachers of Russia as K. A. Ushinsky, F. E. Korsh and F. I. Bulgakov. Accordingly, special teacher's seminaries were created for the children of the zemstvo, designed for four years of study, so that they would prepare teachers for zemstvo schools, Sunday schools for adults were opened, libraries, reading rooms were created, and traveling pedagogical exhibitions were held. This work (as well as the learning process itself) is described in a very interesting way in the book by ID Vasilenko "The Life and Adventures of Zamorysh".
There were two types of zemstvo schools: one-class, designed for a three-year period of study and for fifty students with one teacher (just such a school is described in Vasilenko's book), and two-class, where the course was already four years old, there were more than 50 students and two teachers. Accordingly, everything here depended on the size of the village, the number of school-age children and, of course, on the financial situation of the zemstvo council of the local volost.
In the first decade alone, more than 10 thousand zemstvo schools appeared in Russia. By 1911, there were already 27,486 of these schools, by 1914 there were more than 40,000, that is, in fact, universal primary education in the country was introduced de facto and precisely through the efforts not of the state, but of the zemstvo! At the beginning of the 20th century, a zemstvo teacher earned 30 rubles a month; and with a five-year length of service already 37 rubles 50 kopecks. Moreover, 5 rubles were paid to him by the provincial zemstvo and 2 rubles and a half to the district zemstvo. At that time, a class lady received 30 rubles without lessons in a state gymnasium. But she rented an apartment, and the zemstvo teacher was provided with state-owned housing (as a rule, it was a separate room in the school building itself), or if he rented an apartment in the village, then this rented housing was paid to him. Well, the prices again … At the beginning of the twentieth century in the county towns were as follows: fifty dollars allowed to buy on the market two "chickens" (young chickens who were not honored to become layers and by no means the bluish-skinny appearance we know!), Two buns "franzolki "(They still exist - twisted ones, toasted with a greased egg) and heels of eggs. That is, it was possible to feed, and even not bad at all. In addition, everything in the village was even cheaper, and the teachers, like the priests, and the village clerk were accepted to "carry". A little, but … and no worse than the others brought.
Counter-reforms … and again reforms
After the assassination of Alexander II, Alexander III tried to put the activities of the zemstvos under strict control, since it was argued that, using the zemstvos as a cover, both liberals and even revolutionaries conduct agitation harmful to the state through them. They introduced the position of zemstvo chiefs, responsible to the government, and strict supervision was established for teaching in zemstvo schools so that no sedition would seep there. On the other hand, the zemstvo institutions did not suffer any damage either in the economic, or in the medical, or in veterinary and agronomy spheres. Moreover, in the early 1890s. state aid to zemstvos was already about 60 million rubles a year. Then the zemstvos themselves decided. They spent about a third of this amount on medical care for the population, and one-sixth on public education.
Nicholas II continued the practice of creating zemstvo institutions in Russia. In 1897, he approved the project of the Minister of Internal Affairs I. L. Goremykin to extend them to the Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Orenburg and Stavropol provinces. It was decided to create provincial zemstvo assemblies in nine western Russian provinces, as well as in Transcaucasia.
When the First World War began, the zemstvos organized a wide network of hospitals, in which, again, women worked for the most part: both as doctors, and paramedics, and sisters, since male doctors were drafted into the army. It quickly became clear that the supply of the army was far from being the best, and the zemstvos were also engaged in correcting the situation. It got to the point that the government gave them even a part of the military orders, and … their execution was immediately adjusted.
There were no epidemics either in the Russian army or in the rear during the war, and this is the great merit of the zemstvo. The zemstvo also created the famous "briefings" - the so-called "flying squads" of doctors and nurses, who provided the fastest possible assistance to the wounded - a kind of Russian version of the "MES hospital". They were picked up on the battlefields, quickly bandaged and placed in temporary hospitals. And for all this, it was not the army hospitals and doctors who were responsible, but the zemstvo hospitals, which seriously reduced the burden on the army medical staff.
The Main Committee for the Supply of the Army of the All-Russian Zemstvo and City Union (Zemgor) was created, which decided to supply the army with everything it needed, from provisions to shells, to take into its own hands. But the government was afraid of such dependence on "society" and agreed to transfer to it only the execution of intermediary functions.
"Are you going quietly" and everything will end with a revolution?
Zemstvos kept extremely complete statistics, which became the basis of Russian economic science, gave loans, albeit small ones, to peasants, zemstvo lawyers defended the rights of peasants in courts and quite often successfully. That is, slowly, yes - and no one argues with this, but the Russian society was rightly convinced that the people can solve their problems on their own, without the intervention of the state, and that such intervention on their part is far from healthy. And it turned out that the very creators of Russian reforms forced people to think about a very important question: what is more important in the country - the power of the sovereign or its citizens themselves, and is it possible to somehow limit his excessive power somehow?
Naturally, the Bolsheviks, having come to power, could not admit the existence in their country of such effective, and most importantly, self-government bodies independent of them. Therefore, in 1918, zemstvo institutions of all levels and directions - both conservative and liberal - were liquidated everywhere, their finances were transferred to the respective Soviets, and all zemstvo schools, paramedic posts and hospitals became state-owned overnight.
