Russian local government during the war and the Union of Zemstvos

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1794855874

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-179223

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Polner, Tichon I. http://d-nb.info/gnd/172311195

Title:: Russian local government during the war and the Union of Zemstvos

Place of publication:: New Haven

Publisher:: Yale Univ. Press

Year of publication:: 1930

Scope:: XXV, 317 S.

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter XII. The Central Committee of the union of Zemstvos in the third year of the war

Collection:: Economics Books

262 THE ZEMSTVOS DURING THE WAR prepared and submitted to the committee. Owing to lack of experi- ence, however, it was only natural that the estimates should fall short of actual requirements, and changes therefore had to be made even while the orders were being executed. The actual expenditure incurred by the committees of the front differed greatly from the figures set down in the estimates, yet the uncertain position of the Zemstvo Union, lacking a strict legal status under the law, made it imperative that its leaders should act with more than usual circum- spection and caution. The Government merely tolerated the Union as a necessary evil. The enormous amount of work accomplished by the Unions of Zemstvos and of Towns in organizing the active ele- ments of the population was looked upon by the Ministry of the Interior as a conspiracy directed against the Government. Public sympathy was with the unions, however, and this helps to explain in part the failure of practically every measure adopted by the Government to duplicate their work, such as the relief of refu- gees and of the disabled, and similar efforts. It was anticipated that, as soon as the War was over, the Government, embittered by the failure of its measures in this direction, would certainly take venge- ance on the most popular public leaders. The Mayor of Moscow, M. Chelnokov, who acted as the high commissioner of the Union of Towns, was right when he told the government officials on one of the commissions : Today you are calling upon us, asking us’ to help you, and you are readily granting us the funds. But presently you will cease to give us money as readily as you are doing now, and then you will begin to re- fuse it to us. A little later, again, you will commence to obstruct us and to fight against us. The end will be that you will do that which you have always been doing to public organizations, that is to say, you will attempt to drag them into court. We have been through nearly all these stages already, and there remains only the last.” The most convenient excuse that the bureaucracy would find for 9ringing public leaders into court would be to accuse them of mis- asing the funds allotted by the Government and, in particular, to allege that the actual expenditure exceeded the estimates approved by the authorities. To avoid the possibility of conflicts on such grounds, the Central Committee of the Union endeavored to place the audit of expendi- 10 Jewestia (Bulletin) of the Zamgov, Nos. 18-19, p. 23.

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