Tatiana Aleksandrovna Savinova,
Candidate of Economical Sciences, Russian State Archive of Economics, Moscow, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Conditions and Prerequisites for the Emergence of Zemstvo Statistics: Economic and Financial Factors
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2024-4-1
The article examines the difficulties of solving one of the problems of the zemstvo reform – the creation of economic independence of the regions of Russia. In this regard, a significant list of economic tasks facing the Zemstvo is given, and the impossibility of solving them without independent local budgets, the formation of which was determined by the methods of taxation of the value and profitability of taxpayers' property. The activities of the 1859 Tax Commission, the results of which are discussed in the article, also provided minor assistance in solving this issue. The Commission had to review both the structure of zemstvo duties and their management system, as well as the introduction of income tax. It singled out from among the zemstvo all fees going to cover national needs, and divided zemstvo expenses into mandatory and optional. Only a part of the commission's conclusions was taken into account when drafting the “Provisional Rules on cases of zemstvo duties”, which entered into force together with the “Regulations” on January 1, 1864. The imperfection of the taxation system, namely: the presence of taxable class inequality, “natural” duties imposed on peasants, as well as determining the order and size of zemstvo fees from land and property, forced local governments to turn to statisticians to develop uniform criteria for their taxation. The Kaluga, Moscow, Kherson and Tver zemstvos were pioneers in the issues of selective economic research of the province for the purpose of land taxation. Systematic studies of the territory by specialists with the establishment of the post of statistician were made by the Vyatka provincial Zemstvo, whose work served as an example for other provinces. By the end of the 1880s, statistical bureaus existed in 23 provinces of European Russia, and their settlement and household studies, contributing to the development of criteria for property taxation, the creation of local budgets, the study of the economic situation of the province and the economic life of its population, were one of the main economic activities of the zemstvo. The expansion of the network of zemstvo statistical bureaus throughout European Russia, the improvement of research methodology, and the involvement of the best representatives of the intelligentsia in the ranks of statisticians contributed to the development over time of a unique institute of zemstvo statistics in Russia.
Publishing: 28/08/2024
The article has been received by the editor on 19/02/2024
How to cite: Savinova T.A. Conditions and Prerequisites for the Emergence of Zemstvo Statistics: Economic and Financial Factors // Historical Courier, 2024, No. 4 (36), pp. 11–20. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2024/ISTKURIER-2024-4-01.pdf]
Links: Issue 4 2024
Keywords: zemstvo reform; local budgets; zemstvo duties; Tax commission; methods of taxation of property; zemstvo statistics