54 THE ZEMSTVOS DURING THE WAR 
and Manchuria, and appointed Prince G. E. Lvov, chairman of the 
zemstvo board of Tula, to direct these activities in the war zone. 
Fourteen zemstvos succeeded in complying with the formalities of 
the law, made the requisite appropriations of funds, and organized 
hospitals and canteens. But at this juncture the Ministry of the 
Interior decided to intervene and apply repressive measures, with 
the object of annihilating this attempt at zemstvos to codrdinate 
their work. Prince Lvov, however, in a personal audience with the 
Emperor, succeeded in obtaining the full approval of the Tsar for 
the new zemstvo enterprise, and the imperial statements to this ef- 
fect received publication. 
To undo what had thus been done was no longer possible, and the 
Minister of the Interior, von Pleve, had to content himself with the 
following measures: (1) He prohibited the remaining zemstvos not 
only from joining the fourteen that had already succeeded in creat- 
ing a union, but even from discussing this subject at their assem- 
blies, and (2) at the very first opportunity that presented itself, he 
removed from the management of the zemstvo organization M. Shi- 
pov, whom he styled a “self-appointed head of the united zemstvos.” 
It was only upon the death of this despotic statesman, in the autumn 
of 1904, that his orders were repealed and all the zemstvos of the 
country were enabled to join the organization. 
The hospitals and canteens fitted out by the united zemstvos met 
with a hearty welcome at the front and, although nominally under 
the jurisdiction of the Red Cross, they were able, thanks to the un- 
tiring efforts of Prince Lvov, to secure almost complete freedom of 
action. After the War they were disbanded, but the united zemstvo 
organization continued to function, rendering to the people the kind 
of aid that they sorely needed at that moment—opening public 
kitchens in areas affected by famine, fighting the epidemics that 
were ravaging the country, doing everything within their power to 
ameliorate the suffering due to the unprecedented forest and village 
fires, and providing food and hospital treatment for settlers on their 
way to new land in Siberia. 
The Outbreak of the Great War. 
In 1914, the united zemstvos were under the leadership of Prince 
Lvov. No sooner was the report of the declaration of war received 
than he went to work. Premises were rented for supply depots.