INTRODUCTION 
strength of the zemstvos. But national emergencies such as war and 
famine created conditions which called for enthusiasm and codpera- 
tion. The strong emotions they provoked sought to translate them- 
selves into action, and the nation refused to remain indifferent to the 
shortcomings of governmental organization. 
When the Russo-Japanese War broke out, the zemstvos knowing 
the unsatisfactory conditions of the army medical service, decided to 
help the army by sending field hospitals and detachments to the Far 
East. Of course this work was outside the sphere attributed to the 
zemstvos by law, but patriotic feelings refused to be damped by 
legal technicalities. Fourteen zemstvos entered into an agreement, 
kept secret from the Government, to send field hospitals to the Far 
East, and at once began the necessary preparations. In spite of the 
strictest secrecy the news reached the Government which at once 
prohibited the organization of the hospitals on the ground that it 
was illegal. This decision was met with a feeling of natural indigna- 
tion by the zemstvos, who in the meantime had equipped their hos- 
pitals. They succeeded in sending the field hospitals to the Far East, 
and the Petrograd authorities confronted with a fait accompli did 
not dare to order them back. Nevertheless, the other zemstvos were 
forbidden to join in the work of relief. This instance shows clearly 
how desperate was the struggle waged by the Government against 
the zemstvos and indicates that it was ready to take any risks and to 
make any sacrifice rather than allow the zemstvos to enlarge their 
sphere of influence. In this particular case the Government feared 
not only the strengthening of the zemstvos but also their participa- 
tion in work of national importance and that criticism of official 
methods which would naturally result from the experience. 
During the Russo-Japanese War, von Pleve, Minister of the In- 
terior and one of the staunch supporters of the principles of abso- 
lutism—the very man who prohibited the formation of the zemstvo 
field hospitals—was murdered. As a concession to public opinion 
Prince Svyatopolk-Mirsky was appointed his successor and “one 
could feel the breath of the spring.” The Commander-in-Chief of 
the army informed him of the brilliant work of the zemstvo hos- 
pitals and he issued an order permitting the other zemstvos to join 
the organization. However, the war proved unsuccessful and soon 
ended, and the zemstvo hospitals returned home. 
Eventually the Government became reconciled with the idea of the