zemstvo

American  

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

noun

Russian History.

plural

zemstvos

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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Etymology

Origin of zemstvo

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

Example Sentences

Resolutions of protest were also passed by the Municipal Council and the local Zemstvo.

From Project Gutenberg

Zemstvo, zems′tvō, n. in Russia, a district and provincial assembly to which the administration of the economic affairs of the district and the province was committed in 1866, but whose rights were much curtailed in 1890.

From Project Gutenberg

The most diverse people came to Chekhov: scholars, authors, Zemstvo workers, doctors, military, painters, admirers of both sexes, professors, society men and women, senators, priests, actors—and God knows who else.

From Project Gutenberg

“Let him come and see how our Zemstvo doctors work and what they do for the people.”

From Project Gutenberg

If I were asked what he was like at first sight, I should say: “A Zemstvo doctor or a teacher of a provincial secondary school.”

From Project Gutenberg