Directions of activity of zemstvo bodies of the Russian Empire in the XIX century: historical and legal research
The presented study analyzes the activities of zemstvo governing bodies in the Russian Empire in the 19th century. It is noted that this historical period is one of the key in the history of local self-government in Russia. For the first time in the history of Russia, a system of local government bodies was created, legally independent of state power, and the legal basis for their activities was formed. It was established that the main areas of activity of zemstvos are largely similar to modern issues of local importance of local governments. An author’s analysis of the positions of pre-revolutionary legal scholars and modern researchers on the main aspects of zemstvo self-government is given. The study used both general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, deduction) and special legal methods (historical-legal, formal-legal, comparative-legal).