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| Земский собор | |
.svg) | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1549 |
| Preceding agency | |
| Dissolved | 1684 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Headquarters | Moscow Kremlin |
| Parent department | Boyar duma |
TheZemsky Sobor (Russian:зе́мский собо́р,IPA:[ˈzʲemskʲɪjsɐˈbor],lit. 'assembly of the land') was aparliament of theTsardom of Russia'sestates of the realm active during the 16th and 17th centuries.
The assembly represented Russia'sfeudal classes in three categories:Nobility and the highbureaucracy, theHoly Sobor of theOrthodox clergy, and representatives of "commoners" including merchants and townspeople.[1] Assemblies could be summoned either by the tsar, thepatriarch, or theboyar duma, to decide current agenda, controversial issues or enact major pieces of legislation.[2]
In the 16th century, TsarIvan the Terrible held the firstZemsky Sobor in 1549, holding several assemblies primarily as arubber stamp but also to address initiatives taken by the lower nobility and townspeople.
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TheTime of Troubles saw the Zemsky Sobor electBoris Godunov as Tsar in 1598 during thesuccession crisis after the end of theRurik Dynasty. Assemblies were held annually afterMikhail Romanov was elected Tsar inZemsky Sobor of 1613, but lost influence as theRomanov dynasty became more established, with the assembly to ratify theTreaty of Pereyaslav in 1654 the last for thirty years. The last Zemsky Sobors were held in the 1680s to abolish themestnichestvo system and to ratify the"Eternal Peace" with Poland-Lithuania.[citation needed] As theRomanovs grew more powerful, the importance of the Zemsky Sobor decreased, and by the reign ofPeter the Great, the council was never again summoned[3]
TheZemsky Sobor of Amur region (Приамурский Земский Собор) of theProvisional Priamurye Government was convened inVladivostok on July 23, 1922, byMikhail Diterikhs during theRussian Civil War. Diterikhs was a general of theWhite Army in theRussian Far East and convened the assembly four years after themurder of the Romanov family to proclaim a new monarchy, namingGrand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich as the Tsar of Russia, withPatriarch Tikhon as the honorary chairman of the Zemsky Sobor. Neither Nikolai or Tikhon were present at the assembly, and the plan was cancelled when the region fell to theBolsheviks two months later.
