Expenditures of Uyezd Zemstvos in the Vologda Province in 1871–1916

Abstract

The article highlights one of the little-studied issues in the regional history of zemstvo selfgovernment, namely, the structure and dynamics of mandatory and discretionary expenses of uyezd zemstvos in the Vologda Province during the period of 1871–1916. The study aimed to, based on unpublished sources from the State Archives of the Vologda Region and published legislation documents, shed some light on the structure and dynamics of expenditures in the uyezds of the Vologda Province, demonstrate how they were influenced by laws and identify the cost value in different categories of mandatory and discretionary expenses. The practical significance of this research lies in studying the financial activities of zemstvos in order to make Russian self-government more effective. The data from the abovementioned sources show how changes in the share of expenditures affected the development of the uyezd zemstvo economy in the Vologda Province. The object of research are budget estimates of 10 uyezd zemstvos of the Vologda Province that include mandatory and discretionary expenses. As a result of the calculations, the author identified some characteristic features of zemstvo expenditures, the key ones being the gradual increase in the share of discretionary expenses in relation to mandatory expenses. The decrease in the share of mandatory expenses was mainly due to the new laws adopted by the government of the Russian Empire. A detailed study into the budget estimates of zemstvos allowed the author to determine which expenditure categories were allocated larger sums of money. For instance, within mandatory expenses, the main funds were allocated for the maintenance of magistrates’ courts, road construction and repair, as well as provision of carts for governmental needs. When it comes to discretionary expenses, most of the funds were allocated to public education, medicine and maintenance of uyezd administrations.