264 GOVERNING R.USSIJ\.'S PR.OVINCESSperansky, as we have noted, was very much aware of the special
conditions of Siberia and of the need for greater administrative flexi-
bility than in Europe. Some areas were too sparsely settled and too
remote for regular and easy communications. It would be quite cum-bersome and disproportionate to their needs if the complex adminis-
trative system were extended to them in full. They were therefore set
up as separate regions (oblast') directly under the Governor General,
on the same level as the provinces. There were three such regions in
Eastern Siberia and one in Western Siberia. 1 They had a much simpler
administrative organization, and usually the chief official in the areacombined military (or naval) and civilian functions. It was considered
to be a temporary arrangement, and the regions would eventually make
place for a regular provincial setup once they had been adequately
settled (somewhat along the idea of the territorial stage in the United
States).
The provincial pattern was repeated on the district (okrug) level.
Provision, however, was made for local differences. There were to be
three types of districts, depending on the density and character of the
population. The district chief (nachal'nik okruga) was assisted by a
council of six members, all of them major local officials. 2 The district
chief was appointed by the governor and the other officials by tlleir
respective functional superiors. The police of the district was taken
care of by the Land Court (zemskii sud) consisting of the Land Police
(zemskaia politsiiaj with a Land Captain (zemskii ispravnik) assisted by
several deputies, depending on the size of the district. The deputies
were assigned along geographical, not functional, lines. The functions
of police were construed in the widest possible sense, and the Land
Court supervised the fiscal administration, kept account of the harvest
and grain reserves, checked on tax evasions, and exet:uted the sentences
of the courts. It had therefore numerous occasions of intervening in
Provincial Procurator (gubernskii j)rokuror), and the three Chiefs of the Police,
Economy and Justice departments of the Council (PSZ 29,125, pars. 21-35).
The three major functions of provincial government - police, economy, and
justice - are taken care of by three separate special agencies. The police and the
administration, in the wider sense, are handled by the Provincial Board (gubernskoe
1Jmvlenie), comisting of several functional departments (PSZ 29,125, pars. 39-44).
The Provincial Chamber of the Treasury (gubernskaia kazennaia palata) takes care
of all matters pertaining to public economy (ibid., pars. 45-53); and the judiciary
is in the hands of the Provincial Court (gubernskii sud) (ibid., pars. 54-56).
1 Iakutsk, Maritime Region, and Troitsko-Savsk in Eastern Siberia; Omsk in
Western Siberia. PSZ 29,125, pars. 321-472.
2 The District Council included: the District Chief, the Police Chief (gorodnichi)
of the District capital, the District Judge (okruzhnoi sud'ia), the Land Captain
(zemskii ispravnik), the District Treasurer, the Clerk, and the elected town 'mayor'
(gorodslwi golova) of the district capital, if there was one. PSZ 29,125, pars. 64-69.