Social and Demographic Portrait of Peasant Representative in Zemstvo in 1890s: Materials from the State Archive of the Kirov Region
| 29 January 2026
Posted in
Publication of archival documents
УДК 94(470.51)?18?
DOI 10.28995/2073-0101-2017-4-183-193
Anna M. Subbotina
Udmurt State University, Izhevsk, Russian Federation
Social and Demographic Portrait of Peasant Representative in Zemstvo in 1890s: Materials from the State Archive of the Kirov Region
Abstract
The article studies composition and activities of peasant representatives in the Vyatka gubernia Zemstvo. It provides a detailed social and demographic portrait of peasant representatives. Most authors focus on representatives from the nobility, as information concerning this strata is better represented in published sources. The research methodology is based on quantitative and qualitative analysis of archival documents. The study draws on materials of the Zemstvo elections in 1894 from the fond of the Governor of the Vyatka gubernia in the State Archive of the Kirov Region. From these archival documents the author turns up data on age, education, profession, and confession of the peasant representatives. The study helps to create a generalized socio-demographic portrait of peasant representatives in the Zemstvo. Their majority were Russian men of Orthodox denomination, active, educated, with a background in rural, volost, or zemstvo administration, respected and of high account with their constituents, as well as uezd and gubernia administration. This portrayal significantly changes the traditional characterization of peasant representatives in the Zemstvo. In 1890s the peasant representatives had sufficient knowledge and experience to influence Zemstvo decisions and their implementation in the constituent rural societies. Having compared the data on rural elections, reports of uezd ispravniks, and lists of peasant representatives approved by the Governor, the author concludes that administration and peasants saw eye to eye concerning the desired characteristics of a Zemstvo assembly candidate. The study contends the value of documents on the Zemstvo elections for studying the history of the Zemstvo self-government in Russia, and understanding its role in the community life. The author hopes that further search for such documents in the national archives will provide a basis for creating a comprehensive and holistic view on the Zemstvo and its representatives.
Keywords
Archival documents, Zemstvo, peasants, Russian history, State Archive of the Kirov Region.
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About the authors
Subbotina Anna Mikhailovna, PhD in History, associate professor, senior researcher, Udmurt State University, assistant professor, Izhevsk, Russian Federation, +7-341-291-60-35, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Grant information
This article has been prepared under the comprehensive program for fundamental research of the Ural branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (UB RAS) ‘Traditions and innovations in history and culture,’ project no. 15-13-6-6 ‘Modernization strategies in social transformations of the Russian periphery (18th ? early 19th century).’