Draft reforms of the zemstvo electoral system during the revision of the Law on zemstvo Institutions of 1864

The relevance of the study lies in the need for a scientific understanding of the discussions about possible transformations of the zemstvo electoral system during the preparation of the revision of certain provisions of the Zemstvo reform of 1864.The purpose of this article is to identify the essence, content and features of the zemstvo electoral reform projects proposed by jurists, officials, publicists and zemstvo figures of various socio-political views.The objectives of the study are to determine the content and specifics of the projects under consideration on the following issues: the place of zemstvo self-government bodies in the system of state institutions of local government; grouping of voters; the procedure for election to senior positions and the possibility of dividing powers in leadership; the possibility of applying educational qualifications; inclusion of individuals in zemstvo assemblies without elections; introduction of restrictions on election public officials of the peasant administration.The methodology is based on the application of historical-comparative, historical-legal and historicaltypological methods.Results. The totality of the projects and initiatives considered covers a significant number of problems that were proposed to be solved due to the shortcomings of the Zemstvo electoral system, which were noted by all the authors of the projects, regardless of their socio-political views. In particular, proposals were put forward to reduce the electoral principle in the zemstvo; to create a new grouping of voters (including on a class basis) or to unify it so that it could be used simultaneously in volost and city elections.; the introduction of a ban on combining senior positions in order to avoid conflicts of interest; granting the right of deputies without holding elections to certain categories of voters to ensure the protection of their rights in the zemstvo; the application of an educational qualification as an additional condition for election when lowering the property qualification.Conclusion. The socio-political struggle for changing the legislation on elections to zemstvo assemblies was determined by a number of factors: the qualifications of zemstvo deputies; the desire to ensure a specific class or class composition of zemstvo assemblies; attempts to centralize or decentralize local government.