THE ZEMSTVOS DURING THE WAR 
exterminated and the country merely existed, initiative being re- 
placed by the orders of officialdom. 
A strong feeling of disaffection, a desire for freedom from the 
yoke of autocracy were rapidly gaining strength. The liberal ideas 
which were spreading in western Europe found favorable ground in 
Russia. The Russian liberal movement may be traced to the reign of 
Nicholas I and it counted among its followers persons intimate with 
the Tsar, some of whom were leaders of the movement. Their ideas 
inspired Alexander, the heir to the throne; and when his father died, 
the whole of Russia, expecting from the new Tsar and his advisers 
far-reaching changes, drew a deep breath of relief. These expecta- 
tions were fulfilled. Alexander II deserves the name, “Tsar Libera- 
tor,” given to him by the grateful country which he freed from the 
chains in which it was kept by his predecessors. In the history of 
Russia his reign is known as the Era of Great Reforms. The princi- 
pal among these reforms were the abolition of serfdom, the reform 
of the law courts, and the introduction of local government. These 
three reforms completely changed the life of the country. Russians 
came to feel that they were citizens. The rights and duties now 
vested in them brought to an end their passive acceptance of orders 
from above and made them realize the dignity of free human beings. 
The thirty-four provinces where local government was introduced 
made a gallant effort to free themselves from the ignorance and sub- 
merged state in which they were kept by the central government, 
and endeavored to make good the time that had been lost. Real crea- 
tive work, the building of the nation by the people themselves, was 
now in full swing. 
The fundamental idea of the zemstvos was the decentralization of 
the Government and the transfer of certain rights and duties to the 
population itself. The Zemstvo Act provided that the new institu- 
tions of local government should take care of local needs and pro- 
mote the well-being of the population. They were divided into pro- 
vincial and district zemstvos. They were given the power of levying 
taxes. Their duties included the organization of the supply of food- 
stuffs, administration of charitable relief, upkeep of roads, insur- 
ance, maintenance of hospitals and administration of public health, 
fire protection, improvement of sanitary conditions in villages, pro- 
motion of education, advancement of agriculture, commerce, and 
industry. This enumeration, which is far from being complete, seems