, 1876-07-08
Tho Russian Village Commune.

4uC 1hunhlhN fNIhkD AQHttHUnC+
As an organ Of local administration, the rural
Commune In Russia Is very simple and prlrnl
tive, Thcro te commonly but ono oGico-bcarcr,
tho Village "Etdcr" (starosta, from stary old);
but III The larger Communea there ia also a COM
munal tax-gathcrcr. The oiBcc-bcarors aro simple
peasants, chosen by thclr fcllow-vllagcrs for
ono. two, or three years, according 10
local custom. Their salaries are fixed by
the Commune, and nrc 80 small that
"oi1lce" iu these village dcmocraedcs Is re-
gnrlcd rather nA burden than 81 MI honor;
but 4 peasant, whon once chdten, must scrvu,
whether lio desires It or not. II he can show
good and sufficient reaso1i-such as ll.hcalth VI
frequent abscnce--why he should be exempted,
the Commune will gcncrnliy FREQ him from the
burden OIL condition TINT be treats tho members
present with vodka (rye.splriD; but the simple
desire to escape trouble and annoyance Is not
ch!si duties Of to Elder src to nroservs
order, and to act - = connecting link
between the Commune and the higher authori-
tics.. beyond this he las very little power. Tor
Assembly" This Village Assembly {stssA
skhod}, ii the wider sense Of tho term, COM
pltses all tho adult members Of the Commune.
When matters ct great Importance arc under
an active part in the dssc,,sslon. i say the
heads Of houses, anl not tic father. Of fatnf-
lies, because tho Rus8taa term k1ototn (hcad
OF tho llousehold) docs not indicate blood ro-
lit 1t0n.aP . aud ia! + frequently Y 11Rpans aas tS;s
of the oldest brother or Of tho mother.
Thus, strictly speaking, tho Assembly Is COLL.
posed Of the representatives Of families, and
when the head Of e family happens to 10 absent
member Of the household, male OF fetna1o- In
the Northern Provinces, where large part Of
tho adult mule population annually leaves home
In search Of work, the female representatives
f11N n1ntofffv Tho
aru l,cld In tho opon alr by tie sdc of the churl,
OF in front Of tile Eldcrs house, or In soIns other
convenient plaee where there r. plenty Of room
q sPa atss!. ls %a %h ND % ssssp ns p a' Il asay
they take place On Sunday or on holiday.
Toward afternoon, when al have enjoyed their
after-linner sicsfa-or, i may bc, Immediately
after tho morning servies1sae Villagers may
point Arrived at the village Forum, they clus-
Ter together in little groups, md Talk in homely
fashion sbout tho matter they have met 70 con
slider. >, The various gEoups pay no Intention 70
containing somo Of the more Intelligent aud
influential members, beg1ns to exercise an At
tEa4tve foFce and tue othe1s KS gFaxisa:s towarl
sslI'ssaking, sls spontansoa.ly constitutes Itself;
and tic same absence OF formality
continues all through tho proceedings. Two,
three, or 1norc peasants often speak ut once and
probably use freely such unparltaMentasy e..
GiiS) }csSbis1], a5oisaaI" (sssrecrow}; .omss'nc.
even stronger expressions, ut,Aulted 10 cars po-
lite. Strange to say, these strong terms never
rut}le the good nature Of those TO wtloul they
ara Addressed, aud At most evoke rutort Of The
tu quoque kind, which, II well put. produces
roars OF laughter. Ii We hear \ shrtll female
| voice rising above the general hun, wu may he
suse 1t is that Of q widow, Or wife whose l,ls-
band Ia absent Some Of these ta1nala members
possess great volub,lity, and aconslicrahlo power
| Of pungent lnycctivo; unfortunately, thcr dla-
lectica efforts arc In part counteractcd by tel-
| dcncy To wander from the subject, md TO lnnke
| lnt1eiicate, Irrelevant alusions to tho priyntc
lifo and domestic conccrns of thcts opponents,
| In general there are no attempts at spcccl.nnk-
| Hampdcn," who has bcen to Moacow OF ~ Pc
| tcrsburg, and has brought back With him u
iaunty afr and a large dose Ut scltconce!t. makes
e%sng St n 1 ks 'sss s sf sn9ys ts aS d eSu1a %
course, appreciated oily by tue younger mum
bcrs, and makes no impression on tho bulk
Of tho audience Very soon It Is sure to
y Sens p5asusba oiT sei5 oa win You1
tongue, flno talkcrh and tho abaslsod orator,
heating tho tItter Of his former applauders,
mulnblcs out rctort, OF hidos hIs diminished
head bohind tho broad shouit!urs Of conlrH'c.
ot tho niost varied kind, for the Village AseeHs-
lily has M ldca Of laws limiting its con'potenco
aid ts ever sendy to discuss anything affecting
directly or indirectly thu communal wclfar.s
It Mny bc that All order has bccn rucctyctl from
tho higher authorities, or recruit has to
| be given for the copscription, or I
hcrl-boy has to bo hired, Or :
DAY for tho commencement Of tho plowing
l,as to bo f,xrd or tho dran across the stream L
In need of repairs. 6uel are fcw examples OF
matters discussed. The ma,,ncr Of deciding
them is quite az Informal The node OF disc.ls-
sion. Rarely, II ever is it necessary to put the
question 70 tic vote. As soon AZ Il Ia. becone
SAYS to tic crowd; " We'll, Orthodox you havc
decided sot'' 'tLadaoi Lddtol" taRfccd D 70
plies tbs crowd, and the proceedings terminate,
contingency, In which caso Il Is committed to
writing aud duly signed by all ptcscut-.Aae-
mtitan'i Nayazt!e.