Zemstvo was a form of local government instituted during the great liberal reforms performed in Imperial Russia by Alexander II of Russia. The idea of zemstvo was elaborated by Nikolay Milyutin and the first zemstvo laws were promulgated in 1864. After the October Revolution, the zemstvo system was shut down. Local governments are administrative offices of an area smaller than a state or province. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... Alexander (Aleksandr) II Nikolaevitch (Russian: Александр II Николаевич) (born April 17, 1818 in Moscow; died March 13, 1881 in St. ... Nikolay Alekseyevich Milyutin (1818—1872) was a Russian statesman remembered as the chief architect of the great liberal reforms undertaken during Alexander IIs reign, including the emancipation of the serfs and the establishment of zemstvo. ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Bolshevik (1920), by Boris Kustodiev. ...

The institution of the zemstvo provided provincial and district government councils in Russia between 1864 and October 17, 1917. Many different classes, including the peasants, took part in elections concerning the zemstvos. They were created as part of the Great Reforms instituted by Alexander II. The zemstvos took up matters of education, medical relief, public welfare, food supply, and road maintenance in their localities, but were met with hostility by radicals, such as the Socialist Revolutionary Party, the intelligentsia, and the nihilists who wanted more reform. 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... October 17 is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Alexander (Aleksandr) II Nikolaevitch (Russian: Александр II Николаевич) (born April 17, 1818 in Moscow; died March 13, 1881 in St. ... Social welfare can be taken to mean the welfare or well-being of a society. ... The term Radical (latin radix meaning root) has been used since the late 18th century as a label in political science for those favoring or trying to produce thoroughgoing political reforms which can include changes to the social order to a greater or lesser extent. ... The Socialist-Revolutionary Party (SRs, or Essaires; Партия социалистов-революционеров (ПСР), эсеры in Russian) were a... The intelligentsia (from Latin: intelligentia) is a social class of people engaged in complex mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them (e. ... Nihilism, literally, means belief in nothing. ...

The nobles were given more weight in voting for a zemstvo, as evidenced by the fact that 74% of the zemstvo was made up of nobles, even though they comprised less than 5% of the population. Even so, the zemstvo did allow the greater population more say in the ways they wanted a small part of their lives to be run.