Regional councils (zemstvos) were established. This local self-government gave nobles the ability to control public health, welfare, and education. With the Zemstvos evolving into such a political might, they could have been problematic for the rigid central government. Also, the judicial reforms helped to set an important precedence: in the eyes of the law, people of all social ranks were identified as being on the same level plane and were given equal access to civil courts.
The Russian military also experienced reform. The government cut the amount of time that soldiers were mandated to serve: the twenty-five year term was condensed to a six-year period. In addition, the government made it a priority that their armed forces receive the proper education needed to ensure that their troops’ fitness and efficiency were equivalent to that of their counterparts in western