zemstvos
/ˈzɛmstvəz/
noun
- Plural of zemstvo; elected local government councils in rural areas of pre-revolutionary Russia.
- By the early 1900s, many zemstvos had become centers of liberal political activity.
- The zemstvos provided important services like healthcare and education to rural communities.
- Historians study the records of zemstvos to understand life in Tsarist Russia.