The Peasant Land Bank and Stolypin Reform (1906-1915)

<p>Equally important economic, political and social challenge of the Russian Empire to the second half of XIX-early XX century was the agrarian question . In fact, all the domestic political discourse eventually came down to the land issue and the ways of its resolutions.</p><p>In historiography, there are completely different perspectives on the bank&#39;s activities, both prior and during the Stolypin agrarian reform. Particularly controversial is the policy pursued by means of the land fund of the Peasant Bank. By using the land fund, the Peasant Bank in the first two years after the reform has become a major player in the land market. It has caused much controversy among his contemporaries , but the recent historiography lacks detailed studies of the dynamics of the land fund.</p><p>The main puspose of this work is to study the land fund of the Peasant Land Bank in 1906-1915 years. In order to achieve this goal, we have to accomplish several tasks:</p><p>1) To analyze the sources of the Peasant Land Bank</p><p>2) To clarify the dynamics of the new revenue estates in land fund</p><p>3) To examine the process of liquidation of the land fund and the subsequent sale of the peasants</p><p>4) To give an overall assessment of the land fund related activities of the Peasant Bank during the period studied .</p><p>Methodological basis of the study are principles of objectivity, scientific approach and historicism. In addition, we use the methods of deduction , induction , comparative analysis , source analysis .</p><p>This study is based primarily on statistical sources . The main historical source source of our work are the reports of the Peasant Land Bank.</p><p>On the basis of the analyzed material , the activity of the Peasant Bank in 1906-1915 year was a direct continuation and consistent development of what it was until 1906 . Appearing in an atmosphere of skepticism , the Bank continued to work and increased the volume of their work. Stolypin&#39;s agrarian reform has become a major player on the Bank of the land and create a huge land bank .</p><p>Bank to intervene in the land market, and thanks to its capital, was able to prevent a collapse of the market under the influence of socio-political factors as well as subsequent speculative fever .</p><p>While running the stabilizer function of the market in 1906-1909, &nbsp;the bank increased its land fund , which has been successfully continued to be selling&nbsp; throughout the period&nbsp; of our research. The new comfortable land covered about 70 % of the total capital of the bank, and about 80 % of this area was sold to the peasants. Land management in addition to the disengagement involves performing hydraulic and other works, to create suitable space for farming.</p><p>Even before the period of our study the financial rules of the bank led to the emergence of peasant associations &ndash; analogues of the peasant communities that were established in order to purchase land . Stolypin&#39;s reform was interested in the sole land proprietorship , but during the first half of the period , we see a clear trend of the bankruptcies of associations many of which received their allotments until 1906 .</p>