in the most arbitrary manner the amount of the budget permitted to each
zemstvo. Since every decision of the zemstvos was subject to veto by the
governors of the respective provinces, the government had at all times a
formidable weapon at hand to use in its fight against the zemstvos. This
weapon Von Plehve used with great effect; the most reasonable actions of
the zemstvos were vetoed for no other reason than hatred of any sort of
representative government.


V

The result of all this was to drive the zemstvos toward the revolutionary
movements of the peasants and the city workers. That the zemstvos were not
naturally inclined to radicalism and revolution needs no demonstration.
Economic interest, tradition, and environment all conspired to keep these
popular bodies conservative. Landowners were always in the majority and in
general the zemstvos reflected the ideas and ideals of the enlightened
wealthy and cultivated classes. The peasant representatives in the zemstvos
were generally peasants of the most successful and prosperous type, hating
the revolutionists and all their works. By means of a policy incredibly
insane these conservatively inclined elements of the population were goaded
to revolt. The newspapers and magazines of the zemstvos became more and
more critical of the government, more and more outspoken in denunciation of
existing conditions. Presently, the leaders of the zemstvos followed the
example of the revolutionists and held a secret convention at which a
program for common action was agreed upon. Thus they were resorting to
illegal methods, exactly as the Socialists had done. Finally, many of the
liberal zemstvo leaders formed themselves into a political party--the Union
of Liberation--with a special organ of its own, called _Emancipation_. This
organ, edited by the brilliant and courageous Peter Struve, was published