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

Etymology

Origin of zemstvo

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

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

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

But I work for the zemstvo, I am a member of the district council, and I consider my service as worthy and as high as the service of science.

From Plays by Anton Chekhov, Second Series by Julius West

The zemstvo of Saratov was one of the best in Russia.

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

The assembly appointed an executive committee which is in permanent session, but the zemstvo assembles once a year.

From The Story of Russia by R. Van Bergen

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

That the zemstvos were not naturally inclined to radicalism and revolution needs no demonstration.

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

It has come to my attention that recently some people have been carried away by senseless dreams that the representatives of the zemstvos should take part in internal affairs.

From The Russian Revolution; the Jugo-Slav Movement by Robert Joseph Kerner

Some of the zemstvos were suspended and disbanded for certain periods of time.

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

The building up of autonomous democratic local governing bodies, in the shape of a new type of zemstvos, was rapidly progressing.

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