INTRODUCTION 
which overcame all obstacles placed in its path. In the opinion of 
the Government the zemstvos should have developed those aspects of 
their work which were in the nature of tutelage over the population, 
while the zemstvos themselves were particularly eager to emphasize 
that side which promoted initiative and freedom. 
The organization of the service of public health by the zemstvos 
gave Russia full right to be proud of it. The network of free hos- 
pitals and dispensaries, preventive measures against epidemics, sani- 
tation, lunatic asylums, sanatoriums—all these institutions for the 
protection of the health of the nation were built on a harmonious 
scheme with due regard to local requirements and needs. Elementary 
education, to the development of which the Government was particu- 
larly opposed, was effectively promoted by the establishment of a 
rapidly increasing number of schools where instruction was given 
free of charge. The advancement of agriculture could be seen in the 
rapid increase in the amount of agricultural machinery, the larger 
sale of seeds from zemstvo depots, and the organization of model 
cattle-breeding farms. Insurance and credit on easy terms for small 
farmers were new departures which laid the foundation for the fu- 
ture prosperity of the rural community. 
The limits of the zemstvo work which were merely outlined by the 
law showed a pronounced tendency to extend. In every direction the 
zemstvos were ready to go much farther than was intended by the 
law. There was no limit to the natural expansion of local govern- 
ment. The various economic aspects of life were strongly interde- 
pendent and they were all elements in the progressive movement of a 
country. The Government soon became aware of the tendency of 
local government to encroach upon what it considered its preroga- 
tives, a tendency which was deemed dangerous. 
As it always happens in history, a period of liberal ideas was fol- 
lowed by one of reaction. It originated among the landed gentry who 
took part in the institutions of local government and brought with 
them the traditions of the bureaucracy who had formerly looked to 
the Tsar for direction and expected their recompense from him. De- 
prived of their serfs, with whom they now met in the institutions of 
local government on a footing of equality, the members of the gen- 
try felt humiliated and unjustly deprived of their wealth and looked 
for an opportunity to recover their former privileges. This reac- 
tionary section of the zemstvo assemblies found support among the 
or