THE ZEMSTVOS DURING THE WAR
exterminated and the country merely existed, initiative being replaced
 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 expectations
 were fulfilled. Alexander II deserves the name, “Tsar Liberator,”
 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 principal
 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 submerged
 state in which they were kept by the central government,
and endeavored to make good the time that had been lost. Real creative
 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 institutions
 of local government should take care of local needs and promote
 the well-being of the population. They were divided into provincial
 and district zemstvos. They were given the power of levying
taxes. Their duties included the organization of the supply of foodstuffs,
 administration of charitable relief, upkeep of roads, insurance,
 maintenance of hospitals and administration of public health,
fire protection, improvement of sanitary conditions in villages, promotion
 of education, advancement of agriculture, commerce, and
industry. This enumeration, which is far from being complete, seems