Encyclopedia of Russian History

pathized with the downtrodden and the oppressed, and opposed autocracy. An active participant in the populist movement, she was imprisoned from 1869 to 1871 and was in administrative (internal) exile from 1871 to 1875. She spent most of her life in poverty and poor health, with a bohemian lifestyle. Her partner, Lev Deich, was arrested in 1884 for smuggling revolutionary literature to Russia and was exiled to Siberia, where he remained until 1901. While in Siberia, he married another woman. Za-sulich achieved fame and heroine status for shooting Fyodor Trepov (Governor of St. Petersburg) in 1878, in an assassination attempt (Trepov survived). Acquitted at a jury trial, she fled abroad to escape rearrest and lived in political exile (in Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany) from 1878 to 1905 (with the exception of two brief returns to Russia for four months in 1879-1880 and for three months in 1899-1900). She corresponded with Karl Marx and was a friend of Friedrich En-gels. She was one of the founders of the first Russian Marxist organization, the Liberation of Labor (Osvobozhdenie truda) group in Geneva in 1883. Author of numerous books, articles, and translations, she was an editor of Iskra (“Spark”) from 1900 to 1905. A participant in the 1903 second congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party, she helped found the Menshevik movement and made frequent attempts to reconcile factions of the revolutionary movement. After 1905 Zasulich retired from revolutionary activities. She was in her late fifties, in poor health, and there was an amnesty for political exiles. She subsequently supported Russian participation in World War I. As an old Menshevik and supporter of the war, she naturally opposed the October Revolution. See also: ENGELS, FRIEDRICH; MARXISM; MENSHEVIKS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bergman, Jay. (1983). Vera Zasulich. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Shanin, Teodor, ed. (1983). Late Marx and the Russian Road: Marx and “The Peripheries of Capitalism.” New York: Monthly Review Press.

MICHAEL ELLMAN

of the people by reforming popular religious practices, improving the liturgy, introducing sermons, and strengthening the role of the clergy. The reformers gathered around Stefan Vonifatiev, arch-priest of the Annunciation Cathedral in the Kremlin and confessor to Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich. Individuals associated with the Zealots included leading figures at court, such as the Boyar Boris Ivanovich Morozov and gentrymen (dvoryane) Fyodor Rtishchev and Simeon Potemkin. The head of the Printing Office, Prince Alexei Mkhailovich Lvov, supported the Zealots, as did several of the correctors (spravshchiki), including Mikhail Rogov (arch-priest at the Archangel Cathedral), Ivan Nasedka (priest at the Dormition Cathedral) and Shestak Martemianov (layman). Nikon, archimandrite of the New Savior Monastery in Moscow (patriarch from 1652) was also a participant. Ivan Neronov, a provincial reformer, became archpriest of the Kazan Cathedral in Moscow in 1649 and took his place among the Zealots of Piety. Other representatives of the provincial secular clergy active in the group included the archpriests Avvakum of Yurev, Daniil of Temnikov, Login of Murom, and Daniil of Kostroma. Traditional historiography opposed the Zealots to Patriarch Iosif and the Church Council, although some historians have questioned this opposition. Nikon, a leading Zealot, became patriarch in 1652, and his actions split the circle. Av-vakum led several members of the group in opposition that ultimately led to schism and the emergence of Old Belief. See also: AVVAKUM PETROVICH; MOROZOV, BORIS IVANOVICH; NERONOV, IVAN; NIKON, PATRIARCH; OLD BELIEVERS; RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lobachev, S.V. (2001). “Patriarch Nikon’s Rise to Power.” Slavonic and East European Review 79(2):290-307.

CATHY J. POTTER ZEMSKY NACHALNIK See LAND CAPTAIN. ZEMSKY SOBOR See ASSEMBLY OF THE LAND.

ZEALOTS OF PIETY

The Zealots of Piety (1646-1653) were a group of clergy and laity who energetically sought to elevate the religious consciousness and spiritual life

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RUSSIAN HISTORY

ZEMSTVO

Zemstvo was a system of local self-government used in a number of regions in the European part of Russia from 1864 to 1918. It was instituted as

1721

ZEMSTVO

a result of the zemstvo reform of January 1, 1864. This reform introduced an electoral self-governing body, elected from all class groups (soslovii), in districts and provinces. The basic principles of the zemstvo reform were electivity, the representation of all classes, and self-government in the questions concerning local economic needs.