zemstvo

American  

[zemst-voh, zyem-stvuh] / ˈzɛmst voʊ, ˈzjɛm stvə /

noun

Russian History.

• zemstvos
  plural

1. one of a system of elected local assemblies established in 1864 by Alexander II to replace the authority of the nobles in administering local affairs after the abolition of serfdom: became the core of the liberal movement from 1905 to 1917.

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zemstvo British  

/ ˈzɛmstvəʊ, ˈzjɛmstvə /

noun

1. (in tsarist Russia) an elective provincial or district council established in most provinces of Russia by Alexander II in 1864 as part of his reform policy

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• zemstvos
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of zemstvo

1860–65; < Russian zémstvo, derivative of zemlyá land, earth; see humus

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

zemstvo zemstvos

One reason: officials, lest they appear to lack revolutionary fervor, stayed at their offices 24 hours a day, were consequently too sleepy to tell a kulak from a zemstvo.

From Time Magazine Archive

Finally, many of the liberal zemstvo leaders formed themselves into a political party—the Union of Liberation—with a special organ of its own, called Emancipation.

From Bolshevism The Enemy of Political and Industrial Democracy by John Spargo

The zemstvo of Kiew had done this previously; but suddenly it discharged them from the municipal offices.

From The Modern Woman's Rights Movement A Historical Survey by Kaethe Schirmacher

It is said that the manuscript was given to Nilus by Sukhotin, the notorious zemstvo official of Chernsk.

From The History of a Lie 'The Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion' by Herman Bernstein

A town-duma or zemstvo member is supported by the amorphous mass of electors, which entrusts its full powers to him for a year and then breaks up.

From From October to Brest-Litovsk by Leon Davidovich Trotzky

Half of the members of the Imperial Council were to be appointed by the Czar and the other half elected from universities, zemstvos, bourses, and by the clergy and the nobility.

From Bolshevism The Enemy of Political and Industrial Democracy by John Spargo

Landowners were always in the majority and in general the zemstvos reflected the ideas and ideals of the enlightened wealthy and cultivated classes.

From Bolshevism The Enemy of Political and Industrial Democracy by John Spargo

It embraced delegates from Soviets of peasants, soldiers, and industrial workers; from municipalities, from zemstvos, co-operatives, and other organizations.

From Bolshevism The Enemy of Political and Industrial Democracy by John Spargo

It must be remembered that the zemstvos were the only representative public bodies elected by any large part of the people.

From Bolshevism The Enemy of Political and Industrial Democracy by John Spargo

At that time there was a perfect riot of graft, corruption, and treachery, much of which came under the observation of the zemstvos of the border.

From Bolshevism The Enemy of Political and Industrial Democracy by John Spargo

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