The sources for the history of the Kremenchuk District Zemstvo

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Ostrogradsky National University

The Sources for the History of the Kremenchuk District Zemstvo

V.O. Krot

V.V. Shabunina

Abstract

The article deals with the analysis and classification of the historical sources representing the Kremenchuk district zemstvo's activities from the second half of the XIX to the beginning of the XX centuries. Particular attention is paid to the local government institution's accounts, the legislative basis, minutes, materials of the periodicals, memoirs. Part of the documents is presented in two systematic collections, which inform about activity of the Zemstvo in 1865-1899 and 1900-1909. The statistic reference books expose the Zemstvo's activities in the social sphere. In the article there are used memoirs of the persons having participated in the epidemic prevention measures in our region. The wide source base allows us to consider the manysided activity of the Kremenchuk district zemstvo.

Key words: Zemstvo, district, board, sources, reports, journals.

Анотація

Джерела до Історії Кременчуцького повітового земства

В. О. Крот Кременчуцький національний університет імені Михайла Остроградського В. В. Шабуніна Кременчуцький національний університет імені Михайла Остроградського

В статті проаналізовані історичні джерела, що відображають діяльність Кременчуцького повітового земства, починаючи з другої половини XIX до початку XX століття, проведено їх класифікацію. Особлива увага приділена звітній документації органу місцевого самоврядування, законодавчій базі, журналам засідань, матеріалам періодичної преси, мемуарам. Частина документів представлена у двох систематичних збірниках, які інформують про роботу земства протягом 1865 -1899 р.р. та 1900 -1909 р.р. Статистичні довідники відобразила заходи земств в соціальній галузі. Використані спогади осіб, що були причетні до боротьби з епідеміями в нашому краї. Широка джерельна база допомагає розкрити багатогранну діяльність Кременчуцького повітового земства.

Ключові слова: земство, повіт, управа, джерела, звіти, журнали

The problems of local government formation are urgent in modern conditions of Ukraine's transition to democratic principles of organizing and functioning of the society and the state. For some time past we have been much told about the necessity of reforming the authorities in regions and districts. In 2014 the process of decentralization of authority was begun in Ukraine; the task was to expand the rights and powers of local government institutions. It is no coincidence, as village and district councils play an important role in the political system of our state, have an influence on every citizen's life. The inhabitants make just them responsible for solving the urgent problems. At the same time local government institutions favour the formation of political and legal consciousness of citizens, impel them to take responsibility for their own actions.

Today the search of adequate modern forms of local government is still in progress. For the successful realization of the task it is necessary to use historical practice, first of all, more than half-century's experience of the Zemstvos that existed equally with provinces and districts and favour the wide involvement of various strata of society in public affairs. The Zemstvos were represented by nobles, petty bourgeois, peasants and Cossacks. Regional problems, which concerned such important areas as education, medicine, agriculture, were the first and foremost of the Zemstvos' activities. These areas were developing at the expense of taxes of provinces and districts' inhabitants and independently disposed of the funds received.

The aim of the article is to analyse complex of the sources on the history of the Kremenchuk district zemstvo's activities from the middle of the XIX to the beginning of the XX centuries.

The documents of zemstvo institutions, the legislative acts of the Russian Empire, the materials of periodicals, the memoirs of zemstvo public figures, etc. are the subject of the research.

Zemstvo institutions came into being in the Russian Empire owing to the reforms of the Russian tsar Alexander II, which had been started in the 60- ies of the XIX century. The peasant reform was the first one, and the zemstvo reform was the next. The Zemstvos have been reformed since 1864. In 1865 the province and district zemstvo institutions came into being, in particular the Poltava province zemstvo and the Kremenchuk district zemstvo.

Complex of the sources on the history of the Kremenchuk district zemstvo's activities is quite diverse, and depending on the classification criteria it can be divided into published and unpublished documents and materials. The first ones, in their turn, can be classified in the following groups: legislative documents regulating the Zemstvos' activities; minutes of the district and province Zemstvo Assembly and boards' reports; systematic summaries of decrees and orders of the district and province zemstvos; statistical collections; periodicals; memoir literature.

The Regulations of 1864 and 1890, which define the Zemstvos' rights and duties, are the main legislative acts on the history of the Zemstvo [1]. Analysing these documents, we can draw a conclusions how the change of legislation has influenced on a staff of town-councillors and the main activities of local government institutions. The Regulations of 1890 ("Polozhennia 1890") has gone down in history as "counter-reform", an attempt of the tsarism to restrict the Zemstvos' rights and to put them under control of the government. The laws and decrees of government institutions in such areas as education, medicine, and agriculture are of a great value.

The annual reports of the Kremenchuk district zemstvo's board are an important historical source. Their particular value lies in the fact that they allow to observe the internal life of the local government institution. In the reports there are elucidated the issues of the practical activities, in particular, in the field of education, medicine, agriculture. Unfortunately, not all the zemstvo board's reports have been survived. At our disposal there are the documents for 1886, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914, 1915 years. They consist of separate parts, which include the following: 1) an information about activities of the Zemstvo Assembly and its decrees fulfilment by the Board; 2) data on the Board's implementation of an estimate, in particular, of income and expenditure; 3) a special capital, amounts and a state of the Board's accounts; 4) the zemstvo insurance. The annexes to the report provide with information about securities, real estate, factories and plants worked in the district. In the reports of the XIX century information is provided mainly in digital form, but the next documents contain analytical articles on the main areas of the local government institution's activity; its activity compared with the past years, as well as with the other district zemstvos of Poltava province is being analysed. Thus, in the report of 1914 of the Kremenchuk zemstvo board the work on the creation and financing of various cooperative societies has been quite thoroughly presented; the data on the number of educational institutions, the students being educated there, and the information on the medical institutions' activity has been adduced there [2].

The minutes of the Zemstvo Assembly are the most important of the published documents. In the Poltava regional universal library we have succeeded in finding only three of them: for 1907, 1908 and 1909 [3]. However, in the minutes extremely interesting data have been represented. The minutes consist of such sections as the list of town-councillors for the three-year period; shorthand records of the Zemstvo Assembly; annexes include acts of the Inspection committee, reports of the Inspection committee's members, discussions of reports by zemstvo town-councillors, explanatory reports of the Inspection committee's members, and a detailed analysis of the zemstvo budget expenditures. The minutes of the Zemstvo Assembly allows renewing the atmosphere in which certain decisions have been made. Analysing these documents, we can observe some town-councillors' mood and their political convictions. The reports of the Inspection committee's members demonstrate the true situation in some educational and medical institutions, the attitude of the zemstvo officers to their duties, etc.

Sistematicheskiy sbornik postanovleniy Kremen- chugskogo uyezdnogo zemskogo sobraniya 18651899 godov ("The Systematic Collection of Decrees of the Kremenchuk District Zemstvo Assembly of 1865-1899") has become a valuable source of our study. The decision to create it was made in 1896, and the implementation of this idea began from 1897. In two years this laborious work had been completed. The zemstvo officer 0. M. Bondarenko is a compiler of this Systematic Collection [4].

The Zemstvo Assembly's minutes (partially handwritten, partially printed) have served as the main source for the Systematic Collection...; the Zemstvo board's reports presented for the Zemstvo Assembly's consideration, and estimates of incomes and expenditures, committee's reports, general annual reports of the Zemstvo board and the correspondence with different departments have used as the additional sources.

The Systematic Collection contains decrees of the Zemstvo Assembly of all districts from 1865 to 1899. For convenience they are systematically arranged and consist of ten sections, such as "Finances of the Zemstvo", "the Zemstvo obligations", "Education", "Medicine" and others. Each of these sections divides into subsections. For example, the section "The Zemstvo finances" has such subsections as general resolutions on estimates; division of monetary obligations; debts and capital; accounts; book-keeping and savings; various resolutions concerning the second section.

In the Collection almost every resolution divides into two parts: 1) a report of the board, a statement of the town-councillor, the Government's circular, somebody's petition, etc.; 2) a content of the resolution. The first part is stated as briefly as possible and contains a heart of the question, but in some cases it is given in full. At the end of each resolution the original source with reference to the pages is pointed out. The summary of town-councillors' speech concerning the most important problems were often published there.

The annexes to the Systematic collection included tables of the sessions and lists of Zemstvo Assembly's heads, lists of the zemstvo town-councillors, summary estimates of expenses and profits, and alphabetical index. In 1910 this edition was continued, and there were published regulations of the Kremenchuk district zemstvo from 1899 to 1909 [5].

As the most of the original sources haven't been kept hitherto, the materials of these systematic collections are of particular value. With the help of them one can see the following information: how the lists of town-councillors were being changed from elections to elections; the class affiliation of town-councillors; resolutions on the certain questions which had been approved by the Zemstvo during the 60-90-ies of the XIX century; the zemstvo revenue and the cost estimates.

Useful information on the subject one can get from the systematic codes, resolutions and decrees of the Poltava provincial zemstvo. In Systematic collections there were sections devoted to some branches of the zemstvo activities. Not only resolutions of the Zemstvo Assembly on certain issues were published there, but also the process of discussing important questions was presented. Some of the issues applied directly to Kremenchuk district, for example, the desire of the zemstvo inhabitants to open a male gymnasium in the town in 1868.

Important materials were included in periodicals. They can be relatively divided into newspapers and magazines of the Zemstvo and the government, as well as those, which were published with the assistance of the Zemstvos and agricultural associations. During 1883-1885 the Poltava provincial zemstvo had been publishing the newspaper Zemskiy obzor ("The Zemstvo Review"), in which information about the district and provincial Zemstvo Assembly, the zemstvo statistics, the local government institutions' measures, aimed at improving agriculture in our region, was adduced. In the edition the government communications and decrees were posted; the activity of the local provincial board was highlighted; statistical, economic and agricultural researches, socio-economic information on about resettlement of peasants, agriculture in Poltava region were presented. The minutes of the Poltava provincial Zemstvo Assembly were published too. They provided information on the activity of the Zemstvos in different regions of the Dnieper Ukraine.

A detailed review of the Kremenchuk district Zemstvo's Assembly, which took place in 1883, is of particular value for our study. There are fragments of the assembly's shorthand report, from which we can understand sentiments of the zemstvo inhabitants, their attitude to education and care of public health [6]. The 0. Bogaievskyi's articles on the state of medicine in Poltava province, as well as his reporting from the doctors' congresses are of great interest [7]. In the weekly magazine there are articles of the Ukrainian public figure and writer 0. Konyskyi devoted to problems of popular education development. These articles provide interesting data on Kremenchuk district, in particular, about the number of schools before the Zemstvo reform, and statistics on the number of teachers, their educational level and financial status [8].

The government local press, in particular, Pol- tavskiye gubernskiye vedomosti ("Poltava provincial gazette") published a lot of interesting information on the life of the Zemstvos. The daily paper provided materials on the organization and main activity of the Zemstvos, contained reviews of zemstvo life in the districts, highlighted the financial state of the province, published information about expenditures of the Zemstvos. Sometimes issues concerning the methods of carrying out various zemstvo studies and the most convenient ways of zemstvos organizing were proposed for discussion in the daily papers, and interrelations with the institutions of local government were considered there [9]. The newspaper paid considerable attention to social activities of the Zemstvos, such as inaugurating museums or exhibitions.

Professional editions are of great interest for the proposed study. The weekly Hutorianyn ("The Farmer") was especially popular among them. It appeared in 1896 in Poltava and was a body of the local agricultural society. This periodical edition has become a mirror of the social and scientific life of the region. The articles on agriculture, industry and trade, bibliographic reviews of the Russian and foreign agricultural literature, as well as information of activity of local and regional societies and Zemstvo institutions were inserted in it. The magazine Hutorianyn ("The Farmer") paid much attention to the activities of the Zemstvo institutions of Poltava province; in particular, on its pages there were published reports on the work of the Zemstvo Assembly and the economic councils' meetings. The expenditures of provincial and district zemstvos for agricultural needs were analysed in the magazine. The weekly paid much attention to activities of small agricultural societies. In articles of the magazine the measures which had been carried on in 1912 by the Kokhnivskyi and Kryvorudskyi field-crop societies were highlighted [10]. county zemstvo epidemic

Since 1913 provincial agricultural societies together with the Zemstvos have begun publishing Poltavskiye agronomicheskiye izvestiya ("The Poltava agronomic news"). This magazine elucidated the Zemstvos' activities in the agro-economic sphere [11]. For example, there was a heading "From the co-operative life of Poltava region", in which a protocol of the meeting of credit societies of different districts of our region was placed. In the annex to the journal of 1913 there was a list of agronomic staff that had been in the government zemstvo public service of Poltava province for January 1, 1913. In 1916 the research of S. Mazlakh "Small Agricultural Societies of Poltava Province in 1913 [12]" was published in the magazine; an interesting information about development of the cooperatives in Kremen- chuk district was provided in it.

Analysis of the periodicals shows that they have paid great attention to the activities of zemstvo institutions, especially to economic problems, since 1906, that is, since the time of Stolypin's agrarian reform.

The Year-books of the Poltava provincial zemstvo ("Yezhegodniki Poltavskogo gubernskogo zem- stva") and since 1901 - the Statistical year-books ("Statisticheskiye Yezhegodniki Poltavskogo gubernskogo zemstva") are an important source throwing light on the activity of the Zemstvo institutions of our region. They had been publishing for the space of 1895-1917. The most diverse aspects of the Zemstvo's activity and the province inhabitants' living were considered in those year-books. The book had a statistical-economic part and a zemstvo one. Its first part for 1895 included sections, such as general geographic information; population; agriculture; cattle-breeding; some information on property valuation; debts of private landownership; industry; distillation, beet-sugar production; tobacco production; trade; migration; land tax and the Zemstvo duty on other real estate [13]. The second part of the book consisted of 7 sections, such as the Zemstvo estimates of expenditures for 1875-1895; food-stuffs; the Zemstvo insurance; popular education; public health; veterinary medicine, ways of communication. In the first part of the book the section including data of the Poltava province population, the property status of its inhabitants and the division of land among various social strata is of great interest. In the second section there is important information about popular education which included the ministerial, zemstvo and parish schools as well literacy schools. The numerous annexes cite resolutions of the Zemstvo Assembly of 1898-1899 on public education, information on the newly opened people's schools, their maintenance order, the teaching staff, school libraries, teacher's courses, book stores, the Zemstvos publishing activities, etc. [14].

Economic themes are continued in the Statistical year-book ... of 1901, in which there are published substantial data on the main economic measures of the Poltava provincial zemstvo for 18981899. These measures have been closely associated with the economic activity since the foundation of Zemstvo institutions [15]. The book also provides information on the Poltava provincial zemstvo's annual allocations for economic services from 1878 to 1900, as well as this institution's expenditures for individual economic activities, such as improving farming and cattle-breeding, disseminating agricultural knowledge [15]. Statistical year-books contain information and summary tables of provincial and district zemstvos' expenditures for education, medicine and agriculture. In the edition for 1905, the economic activity of the provincial and district zemstvos for 1900-1905 is analysed in detail. It is a continuation of earlier initiated publications [15].

The Zemstvos' activities aimed at care of public health are presented in some sections of the statistical year-book. These sections contain data on the number of hospitals and medical staff in each district, the Zemstvos' measures on epidemic prevention, and the expenditures for public health care. In general, statistical year-books of the Poltava provincial zemstvo are a valuable source providing a significant amount of information on Kremenchuk district. As the data of other districts of province are published in them, the comparative analysis is possible.

Address-calendars, reference books of Poltava province («Adres-kalendar'», «Spravochnaya kniga po Poltavskoy gubernii») and memorable books of Poltava province («Pamyatnyye knigi Poltavskoy gubernii») are a special kind of the sources. The first such a reference book, edited by P. Bodianskyi, appeared in 1865 [16]. It provide data on the population of our region, the amount of land, the Zemstvo duties paid in kind and money, the inhabitants' educational level, the medical maintenance, etc., that is, there is information on the development of Poltava province just before the local government reform.

In reference books issued later, you can find information on the Zemstvo district board's staff, the member's names of the board, as well as the names of the Zemstvo doctors, doctor's assistants, midwives and the Zemstvo school-teachers. The Zemstvo calendars of Poltava province are reference books too [17]. Various statistical data about Kremenchuk district and general articles on the province's agriculture are cited in them. The Poltava province statistical reference book for 1915 contain a valuable material concerning activities of small agricultural societies and participation of Zemstvos in their organization and further work.

A reference book of the Department of Agriculture has extremely valuable information. In 1896 the three-volume edition Review of the Zemstvos' Agricultural Activities for 1865-1895 ("Obzor deya- tel'nosti zemstv po sel'skomu khozyaystvu 18651895") (compiler H.P. Sazonov) was issued. In the edition the Zemstvos' participation in various areas of agricultural production is analysed according to the thematic principle. The research consists of three volumes, each of them has nine sections, which are divided into subsections and some paragraphs [18].

Since 1895 the Department of Agriculture have published the year-book Reference information on the Zemstvos' Agricultural Activities («Spravochnyye svedeniya o deyatel'nosti zemstv po sel'skomu khozyaystvu»). It consists of two parts and annexes. The first one provides a general overview of such areas of the Zemstvos' activities throughout the Russian Empire as the Zemstvo expenditures for agriculture and economics; agronomical organizing; disseminating agricultural knowledge; improvement of the natural conditions of agriculture; scientific researches and observation; improvement of cattle-breeding; economic measures (financing of credit and cooperative institutions); support and development of domestic crafts.

The Zemstvo expenditures for different services are analysed in the year-book. Numerous schemes and tables are used for visual proof. The agrarian and economic activities of each province and district of the Zemstvos are analysed in the second part. The information about the district zemstvos of Poltava province is of a great value for our research. The annexes include the tables representing an agronomic staff of the Zemstvo institutions, the Zemstvo agricultural educational institutions, and so on. The tables contain materials directly concerning the agricultural situation in Kremenchuk district.

The reference books mentioned above are valuable sources for the analysis of the Zemstvo agricultural activity as they allow us to retrace it in general and to carry out a comparative analysis of Kremenchuk zemstvo with the other districts of our region.

Memoirs literature is represented by reminiscences of some doctors having struggled against epidemic diseases in Poltava region. A. Volken- stein has outlined a terrible diphtheria epidemic in Kremenchuk district and ignorant peasants' attitude to medical staff [19].

Thus, the Kremenchuk district zemstvo's activity have been disclosed in various sources such as documents of the local government institutions created by the boards, protocols of the Zemstvo Assembly, materials of the Zemstvo and government press dealing with the society's attitude to the Zemstvo and government. Memories of the direct participants of the events serve as an important element of our research. All the sources require a thorough study to understand the events of the Ukrainian history of the second half of the XIX - the beginning of the XX century.

References

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3. Zhurnaly 43 ocherednogo sobraniya 1907 goda s dokladami upravy і prilozheniyami. - Kremenchug, tipografiya I. A. Dokhmana, 1908. - VII s. + 317 s. + 104 s. + 50 s.

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10. Khutoryanin. - 1913. - 10 kvitnya. - №12.

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13. Yezhegodnik Poltavskogo gubernskogo zemstva na 1895 god. God pervyy. -Poltava, tipografiya N. A. Dokhman, - 188 c. + 84 c.

14. Yezhegodnik Poltavskogo gubernskogo zemstva na 1896 god. God vtoroy. -Poltava, tipografiya N. A. Dokhman, - 230 + 100 c.

15. Statisticheskiy yezhegodnik Poltavskogo gubernskogo zemstva. God 5-у. - Poltava: Tipo-litografiya I. A. Dokhmana, 1901. - 536 s. + 205 s.

16. Pamyatnaya knizhka Poltavskoy gubernii za 1865 god / Sostavitel' P. Bodyanskiy. - Poltava, Poltavskiy gubernskiy statisticheskiy komitet, 1865. - 1334 s.

17. Poltavskiy zemskiy kalendar' na 1908 god. Izdaniye Poltavskogo gubernskogo zemstva. - Poltava: Tipo- litografiya I. A. Dokhmana, 1907. - God 1-у. - 136 s.

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19. Volkenshteyn A. V sanitarnom otryade Poltavskogo gubernskogo zemstva. Putevyye zametki // Zemskiy vrach. 1893. - №31. - 15 sentyabrya.

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