Before the Russian Revolution, in Borisovka, as in many places, the functions of the executive branch belonged to the volost administration. It was established immediately after the abolition of serfdom and existed until 1917.
Representatives of the peasant class were elected as volost foremen, local village starostas (elders) and clerks. They were in charge of almost all spheres of public life: taxes and arrears, budget management, post, and certification of sentences passed at village gatherings. There they were engaged in the distribution of economic obligations and monitored the performance of military and equestrian service; appointed and dismissed officials; engaged in litigation, for instance, sold peasant property and concluded contracts with employees. The administration members provided excise officials with information about tobacco farming, were responsible for issuing patents for tobacco trade and issued transportation certificates. The forest charter obliged them to participate in auctions for the sale of state-owned forests. According to the poll tax charter, they engaged in taxation of state property. The arrangement of the so-called cold rooms and the detention of prisoners were also part of the duties of this governing body.
By the early 20th century, the volost office was so busy that clerks had to hire four or five assistants. Initially, the volost administration was subordinated to a peace mediator, later the county leader of the nobility took over this function, and then zemstvo authorities.
In 1917, the volost administration was replaced by the volost committee, it was headed by a prominent merchant Novikov. The actions of the Provisional Government, which was on the side of the landlords, were not welcome by the local residents, and they engaged in solving land issues even before the victory of the October revolutionaries. In particular, by order of the volost committees, half of all fallow fields and church lands were allocated for public use.
On November 26, 1917, the first Revolutionary Council appeared in the Kursk Governorate, and from the late November to February 1918, local, county and volost soviets — governing bodies — were established.
Representatives of the peasant class were elected as volost foremen, local village starostas (elders) and clerks. They were in charge of almost all spheres of public life: taxes and arrears, budget management, post, and certification of sentences passed at village gatherings. There they were engaged in the distribution of economic obligations and monitored the performance of military and equestrian service; appointed and dismissed officials; engaged in litigation, for instance, sold peasant property and concluded contracts with employees. The administration members provided excise officials with information about tobacco farming, were responsible for issuing patents for tobacco trade and issued transportation certificates. The forest charter obliged them to participate in auctions for the sale of state-owned forests. According to the poll tax charter, they engaged in taxation of state property. The arrangement of the so-called cold rooms and the detention of prisoners were also part of the duties of this governing body.
By the early 20th century, the volost office was so busy that clerks had to hire four or five assistants. Initially, the volost administration was subordinated to a peace mediator, later the county leader of the nobility took over this function, and then zemstvo authorities.
In 1917, the volost administration was replaced by the volost committee, it was headed by a prominent merchant Novikov. The actions of the Provisional Government, which was on the side of the landlords, were not welcome by the local residents, and they engaged in solving land issues even before the victory of the October revolutionaries. In particular, by order of the volost committees, half of all fallow fields and church lands were allocated for public use.
On November 26, 1917, the first Revolutionary Council appeared in the Kursk Governorate, and from the late November to February 1918, local, county and volost soviets — governing bodies — were established.
