The essays in this 1982 volume result from a conference held at Stanford University in 1978, assembled to assess the overall character and significance of the prerevolutionary Russian experiment with the principle and practice of local self-government, the zemstvo, over half of its existence, 1864-1918. The unifying theme of the collection is the rejection of the liberal myth of the zemstvo as an instrument of social integration. The chapters focus on the substantive elements of conflict and tension that existed within the zemstvos, especially between the institutions' two principal groups: the landed gentry, who dominated the zemstvo, and the peasants, who constituted the majority of the population and were intended to the beneficiaries of most of the economic and cultural programs, yet had little part in their formation. Based on the contributors' extensive knowledge of their respective subjects, many of them provide information from previously unpublished materials in Soviet and American archives.

Since Russian tradition and institutions resemble those of Asia and Africa as much if not more than the patterns of Western societies, the pre-1917 industrial history of Russia, as the last part of the tsarist regime, provides one of the most important examples of early industrialization in world history. In this broad, ambitious reconstruction of the early stages of Russia's industrial development—English-Professor Blackwell shows that the period from 1800 to 1860 was one of necessary preparation for the rapid industrialization of the later 19th century. The book is based upon a wide variety of primary and secondary sources in the Russian language. Originally published in 1968. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.