Land Captains

• In 1889, Alexander III introduced Land Captains as a new position of authority.
• Land Captains had to be members of the nobility and replaced the previous office of Justices of the Peace.
• They could overrule the peasant commune (mir) as well as the local zemstvo if they felt it had overstepped its area of responsibility.
• They could override zemstvo elections and reverse zemstvo decisions if needed.
• They could intervene in judicial cases and impose punishments if they were not satisfied by the original outcome of a trial.
• The Land Captain was responsible directly to the Minister of the Interior and therefore represented a significant increased in centralised control over local areas.
• In many ways, Alexander III was aiming to restore the nobility to the position of authority and influence that they had before the emancipation of the serfs.