Zemsky headman - the original post,which became known in the territory of Russia, starting from the 16th century. The emergence of this type of officials is directly related to the reform of local self-government. The further development of these institutions enshrined the rights and obligations of the Zemstvo elders, who continued their activities until 1917. Despite all attempts to liberalize the local authorities, they still worked the old-fashioned way. Why did it happen? Let's try to figure it out.
Ancient Russia
Эта должность была известна еще со времен Kievan Rus. At that time, Zemstvo elders, they were princely serfs and loyal servants, were appointed by the prince or his closest supporters to exercise leadership of the lower classes. In the laws of Yaroslav the Wise, rural and warlords are mentioned. The first dealt with the rural population of the princely patrimony, dealt with quarrels, litigation, collected taxes. The second was in charge of land issues, disputes over communal and patrimonial lands, dismantled property troubles. Later, the institute of elders moved to the territory of the northeastern principalities.
Reform of Ivan the Terrible
For a long time, labial and zemstvo headmenappointed princely decree. In essence, they did not exert any influence on the local population, but they ran according to the method of Tatar raids: they galloped up, collected, took them away. Although it was they who were entrusted with keeping order in the most remote places of the Russian lands, they performed their duties reluctantly. Arbitrariness and monstrous corruption reigned everywhere, and there was neither local government nor chief over the local kings. It took the iron will of a separate ruler to break the existing system and develop a new principle of functioning of the local administration.
During the reign of Ivan the Terrible arosethe urgent need to completely reorganize the administrative system of the Russian state. The general code of laws tied to this political process is called local government reform. The main reason for their occurrence was the need to abolish the so-called feeding - an archaic relic of ancient times, which gave the right to visiting officials to live with the income (that is, feed) of a certain area.
Stoglavy Cathedral
В 1551 году Стоглавый собор дал добро на the introduction of the charter of the district charter, according to which the institute of governors was completely liquidated. Instead of appointees in all corners of the Russian state, Zemsky headman was elected at the local level. The royal decree of 1555 ordered that the feeding be annulled and the local officials be elected. The focus of the local government became Zemsky huts, which personified the executive branch. The judicial and management system was completely reformed, and Zemstvo elders under Ivan the Terrible were vested with new rights and powers.
Career Zemstvo elders
The transformation of local government has completely changedprofile of the administrative system of the Russian kingdom. Zemsky warden began to have a wide range of powers. He was in charge of local courts, which dealt with not only civil cases, but also minor criminal violations of the law. Particularly high-profile criminal offenses were handled separately. The headman dealt with the problems of the population, the management of lower classes and the collection of taxes. The main type of tax became the “mercy”, which was obliged to pay the entire adult male population of the country. This collection has replaced the outdated governor. The money began to flow directly into the royal treasury, and from there the content of local officials and visiting auditors was paid.
Zemsky elder stood at the head of Zemsky hut. He dealt with the problems of using communal lands, writing in taxes, collecting and distributing state taxes, and carried out other tasks.
Election and control
Candidate for this wonderful post was electedfrom among the most influential and wealthy locals. With a good set of circumstances, he prepared a career for metropolitan officials and boyars. Of course, many small nobles sought to make such a career. Zemsky elder was elected on the spot, and directly obeyed the central order, which was in charge of the nearby counties. The period of his authority lasted from one to two years. Simultaneously with the re-election, the entire state of Zemsk house was revised. The most famous local leader was A. Minin.
В 1699 году Земские избы становятся похожи на local councils of small European cities. Zemsky headman became burgomaster with a significant expansion of his responsibilities. But in remote places of the Russian Empire, the old form of local government existed even further. The next reorganization of institutions of local self-government was carried out in 1719.
Provincial Reform
Changes in central authority over twocenturies (from the 16th to the 18th century) were periodic and non-systemic. Peter the Great sought to give the dense Russian administration a civilized European appearance. Of course, the self-sufficiency of European local governments was not discussed, rather, about the imitation of the Swedish system of self-government, but in fact all power was still concentrated in the hands of the royal appointees. Lip and Zemstvo elders seemed to have been elected locally, but a separate decree of the tsar was required for their approval in office.
Why did not work?
City government reformed in Swedishmodel, but the rural Zemsky huts reluctantly succumbed to innovations. First of all, this was due to the lack of an educated population and severe class restrictions, which did not give the right to occupy elective posts to the cadre class. Therefore, the state for the new local government was recruited from the old clerks and podyachih who could not and could not reorganize their work on a given pattern. Therefore, the Petrine reform of local government did not fulfill the tasks entrusted to it, but became only the autocratic decoration of existing European freedoms.
