Land Captain of the 7th area in the Sventsiany district, Vilnius Governorate

Collection

Holding institution (official language):: Lietuvos valstybės istorijos archyvas

Title:: Land Captain of the 7th area in the Sventsiany district, Vilnius Governorate

Title (official language):: Vilniaus gubernijos Švenčionių apskrities 7-ojo skyriaus zemskinis viršininkas

Creator/accumulator:: Land Captain of the 7th area in the Sventsiany (Svencionys) district

Scope and content:: The collection contains materials of the Land Captain of the 7th area in the Sventsiany distict of the Vilnius Governorate. It includes records relating to proceedings in civil matters and criminal cases, documents regarding approval of property rights and crimes related to the forestry sector. The collection includes some records referring to Jews who lived in the rural areas of Sventsiany district. Most of these papers relate to issues of economic life and some of them may shed light on relationships between Jews and non-Jews. Materials dealing with criminal law offences include a case of 1915 on accusations by L.A. Kovshikh against Abram and Hasia-Diska Epshtein regarding 36 rubles concerning rent and eviction from a land plot (inventory 1, file 32). A file from 1914-1915 contains charges against Kh. I. Broido for the theft of timber (inventory 1, file 46). The collection also includes documents related to Jewish traders in timber. A file from 1915 include charges brought by Jewish timber traders Sheinok, Alperovich and others against a non-Jewish resident for the theft of timber (inventory 1, file 50). In the 19th century there was extensive trade in timber from Lithuania to Germany, England, and other countries. Jewish merchants played a significant role in this trade. The collection also includes a case from 1915 with charges against I. O. Gil for clandestine immigration to the US (inventory 1, file 41).

Archival history:: Information on the history of the collection is unavailable.

Administrative/biographical history:: The office of the Land Captain (Zemskii nachalnik) was established in the Russian Empire by Alexander III in 1889. In 1903, The Land Captain of the 7th area in the Sventsiany district was appointed by the Minister of the Interior from the ranks of local landowners. The office was in Vishnevo (Wiszniewo). The main task of the Land Captain was to strengthen state control in the rural areas of Sventsiany district and practically to limit the powers of the Zemstvo institution. The law gave him administrative and judicial power in civil and criminal cases. All elected local officials had to be confirmed by the Land Captain. He could impose penalties and punishments, control peasant self-government institutions, resolve land disputes, deal with appeals against local court judgments and approve local judges. In 1917 the office of the Land Captain was dissolved.

Finding aids:: A detailed inventory is available on the website on the Lithuanian Chief Archivist Service.

Yerusha Network member:: Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People

Author of the description:: Ilya Vovshin; Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People; 2021