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 II. Activities of the zemstvo institutions on the eve of the war

Collection:: Economics Books

50 THE ZEMSTVOS DURING THE WAR 4,890 versts of former state highways, 11,448 versts of macadam- ized or paved roads, 90,378 versts of improved, and 83.166 versts of unimproved earth roads. To maintain these roads in proper con- dition, the zemstvos employed large staffs of engineers, craftsmen, and laborers. Postal and Telephone Service. Russia did not possess a very dense network of railways until a comparatively recent time. Consequently, the conveyance of mails by road was an extremely important business. In most parts of Rus- sia, it was in the hands of private firms acting as contractors for the Government. But a considerable number of district zemstvos oper- ated their own postal service. The postmasters of these zemstvo offices were required to carry the mails within their respective dis- tricts, besides furnishing horses for the conveyance of the local agents of the Government and the zemstvo employees. The organization of telephone communication by the zemstvos proceeded mostly during the few years immediately before the War. In 1914, the zemstvos had already been granted permits to open 219 new telephone systems, and 163 of these were already in operation, covering a distance of 65,344 versts, with a total cable length of 150,998 versts. Conclusions. With this we conclude our survey of the more outstanding activi- ties of the zemstvos previous to the War. This survey is, naturally, far from complete. We have confined ourselves in the main to those features of their work which were typical, and have ignored others which were characteristic only of isolated zemstvos (such as main- tenance of secondary schools, participation in the establishment of higher scientific institutions, organization of museums of natural history, and soil investigation). If we add to this the fact that a large number of provincial zem- stvos had printing plants and published periodicals, in which their work was discussed and which helped to diffuse useful knowledge through the rural districts, we can see clearly how powerful they were and what an immensely important part they played in the life of the Russian State. It is natural, therefore, that these bodies, con- trolling practically the entire medical service of the nation, carrying

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