Governor and rural government in Russia in the second half of the XIX-early XX century (on materials Middle Volga region)

It is known that an important role in the activities of the governors took control over the work of Zemstvo institutions, which the government feared, as in agrarian leaders environment gradually matured opposition mood autocratic system.The governors were entrusted with the management of the zemstvos and tight control over it. As you know, January 1, 1864 was approved by the «Regulations on the provincial and district zemstvo institutions», its introduction was no alternative, because the local royal administration, as shown by the experience of the reign of Emperor Nicholas I, could not ensure sustained socio-economic development of the country. The abolition of serfdom greatly accelerated the idea of some government circles on the introduction zemstvos as the institutions that can «make a socio-economic breakthrough» in the country's development, as planned in the interests of preserving autocracy bet on «initiative and diligence the most active segments of the population» - merchants, rich peasants, rural and urban intellectuals, progressive-minded bureaucrats. The tsarist government seriously hoped that the district council will be able to raise and chronic problem of public charity, which is also behind the modern requirements. Frequent fires, drought, epidemics, epizootic largely showed the impotence of the Tsarist government in overcoming these phenomena that has brought suffering to millions of Mount citizens.Autocracy hoped that the district council will be able to establish a system of insurance and thus significantly reduce the severity of the consequences of these phenomena. The government is also expected from the zemstvos «miracle» in solving accumulated problems of education and health, a breakthrough in the trade and industry development. However, pursuing largely selfish purpose of self-aristocratic-bourgeois dictatorship, the tsarist government realized that if Zemsky institutions in addressing these issues will be successful, as it generally happened, then representatives of zemstvos, sooner or later there will be a number of issues, the main of which will be the question «about the future of power», i.e. its change, as was the case during the bourgeois-democratic revolutions in Western Europe, as well as the inability of outdated autocratic form of government to provide a solution to all of the great social problems that faced the country.