Stolypin reforms in agriculture

The Stolypin reforms in agriculture were a set of measures designed to improve the condition of the peasants in the Russian Empire and, on the whole, to optimize the agrarian life of the country. Reforms were carried out at the initiative of the tsarist government, as well as Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin.

Stolypin reforms in agriculture: the prerequisites

By the beginning of the 20th century, Russia had become a peasant archaic country. The gap between Western European states and the United States in the spheres of industry, economy, and social development became more and more obvious. Even the efficiency of agriculture remained at the level of several past centuries. The thesis of Pyotr Valuev of the middle of the 19th century, which had literally blatantly gained relevance, was getting bigger: by this time, "From above shine, from below rot." Thus, the Stolypin reforms became obvious necessity to reform all spheres of reactionary Russian statehood, including agriculture. Otherwise, the unenviable destiny of Iran or Turkey might await the country: these states, once fearsome throughout Europe, turned into semi-independent colonies of the English crown by the beginning of the 20th century.

Agrarian Stolypin reform: briefly on the objectives and conduct of the

The head of the government, Pyotr Stolypin, was at the height of the revolution, in the turbulent year 1906. It was then that the tsarist autocracy began to tremble for the first time, and therefore the need for large-scale reforms appeared with all evidence. Stolypin's reforms were directed at various spheres of state life, but the main one was in the agrarian sector. The main purpose of these reforms was to create a new layer of well-to-do peasantry that would be independent in their activities - in the manner of North American farming. The main problem of the peasants of that time was that, after the abolition of serfdom in 1861, they never got rid of community management. The reform was aimed at creating private competitive farming properties that would work for market demand. It was calculated that this would give an incentive to their development and revive the agrarian and economic life of the country. For these purposes, the state credit bank issued a large number of enterprising peasants debts to buy land at a low enough interest. Non-return of the debt was punishable by selection of the purchased land.

The second program of the reform was the development of territories in Siberia. In this region, and at all, the land was distributed free of charge to peasant use, and the state itself contributed to the creation of an infrastructure there. For the transportation of families to the east, special "Stolypin cars" were created, which are quite well known today. Reform really began to give results in the form of economic revival before the First World War. However, it was never completed, interrupted by the death of Pyotr Arkadyevich in 1911, and then broke out into a continental conflict.

The results of the Stolypin reform

As a result of government actions, just over 10% of the peasant population was separated from the community, starting independent economic activity. Modern historians note the positive significance of reforms: the qualitative dynamics in the agrarian sector and economic life, the partial development of Siberia, the emergence of a number of competitive peasant estates and so on.