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 XV. The effects of the war upon the work of local government

Collection:: Economics Books

EFFECTS OF THE WAR 295 When we consider that, according to Professor Prokopovich’s calculations, the total income of the Russian peasantry before the War averaged 5,015,000,000 rubles a year and that the cash part of this income was 1,863,000,000 rubles, we shall see how greatly the ability of the peasants to pay their taxes had been enhanced by the War. Of course, we have in mind merely ability to pay taxes, and not real wealth, because the latter was in fact progressively shrinking, owing to the increasing scarcity of labor and of draft ani- mals, and, as a natural consequence, to the decrease in the area under cultivation in 1916. At all events, at the end of 1914 and the beginning of 1915, rural Russia experienced a period of remark- able, even though essentially abnormal prosperity. Effect of the Mobilization. This had a most favorable effect on the financial position of the zemstvos. At a time when the cities were beginning to feel the full weight of the War, the zemstvo institutions were still enjoying a period of financial prosperity, and contemporary newspapers spoke of a very satisfactory flow of tax payments into the zemstvo treas- uries and of a steady stream of deposits in the zemstvo banks. But if the beginning of the War brought the zemstvos a temporary financial relief which enabled most of them to continue their previ- ous activities almost undiminished, we have to admit, on the other hand, that the quality of the work was at once adversely affected by the War, since the number of experienced zemstvo workers was con- siderably reduced by the mobilization. The calling to the colors of each successive class deprived the zemstvos of a rapidly increasing number of their employees and elected members. In the early days of the War it was still possible to find substitutes for the mobilized men among persons of somewhat less experience. In particular, the male members of the medical staffs had to be replaced by women. Soon, however, endless columns of advertisements began to appear in the newspapers, offering employment in the zemstvo institutions; but the rapidly growing army made it increasingly difficult to find persons qualified for the vacant positions. An inquiry conducted by the editors of the Zemstvo Yearbook showed that on J uly 1, 1916, 4 per cent of the vacant posts on the medical staffs, 55 per cent of those on the veterinary, and 41 per cent of those on the agronomical staff had not been filled. It should be noted in this connection that

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