Stolypin reform
Encyclopedia
The Stolypin agrarian reforms were a series of changes to Imperial Russia's agricultural sector instituted during the tenure of Pyotr Stolypin
, Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister). Most if not all of these reforms were based on recommendations from a committee known as the "Needs of Agricultural Industry Special Conference," which was held in Russia between 1901-1903 during the tenure of Minister of Finance Sergei Witte
.
form of Russian agriculture
, which bore some similarities to the open field system
of Britain. Serfs who had been liberated by the emancipation reform of 1861 lacked the financial ability to leave their new lands, as they were indebted to the state for periods of up to 49 years. Among the supposed drawbacks of the obshchina system were collective ownership, scattered land allotments based on family size, and a significant level of control by the family elder. Stolypin, being a staunch conservative, also sought to eliminate the commune system - known as the mir - and to reduce radicalism among the peasants, preventing further political unrest, such as that which occurred during the Revolution of 1905. Stolypin believed that tying the peasants to their own private land holdings would produce profit-minded and politically conservative farmers like those found in parts of western Europe. Stolypin referred to his own programs as a "wager on the strong and sober."
The reforms began with and introduced the unconditional right of individual landownership (Ukase
of November 9, 1906). Stolypin's reforms abolished the obshchina system and replaced it with a capitalist
-oriented form highlighting private ownership and consolidated modern farmsteads.
The reforms were multifaceted and introduced the following:
The Stolypin agrarian reforms were implemented by the state in a comprehensive campaign from 1906 through 1914. This system was not a command economy like that found in the Soviet Union in the 1920s, but rather a continuation of the modified state capitalism
program begun under Sergei Witte
. It was different from Witte's reforms not by the rapid push - which was a characteristic also found in the Witte reforms - but by the fact that Stolypin's reforms were to the agricultural sector, included improvements to the rights of individuals on a broad level and had the backing of the police. These reforms laid the groundwork for a market-based agricultural system for Russian peasants.
The principal ministers involved in the implementation of the Stolypin agrarian reforms were Stolypin as Interior Minster and Prime Minister, Alexander Krivoshein
as Agriculture and State Property Minister, and Vladimir Kokovtsov
as Finance Minister and Stolypin's successor as Prime Minister.
The Stolypin reforms and the majority of their benefits were reversed by the Soviet agrarian program in the 1920s.
and the Caspian Sea
, migration to Siberia
increased. Thompson estimated that between 1890 and 1914 that over 10 million persons migrated freely from western Russia to areas east of the Urals.
This was encouraged by the Trans-Siberian Railroad Committee, which was personally headed by Tsar Nicholas II
. The Stolypin agrarian reforms included resettlement benefits for peasants who moved to Siberia. Emigration department was created in 1906 at the ministry of agriculture. It organized resettlement and assisted the settlers during their first years in the new settlements. The settlers received on average 16.5 hectares of land per man. The total area allocated was 21 million hectares. Migrants received a small state subsidy, exemption from some taxes, and advice from state agencies specifically developed to help with peasant resettlement.
In part thanks to these initiatives, approximately 2.8 million of the 10 million migrants to Siberia relocated between 1908 and 1913. This increased the population of the regions east of the Urals by 2.5 times before the outbreak of World War I
.
, reflecting the lasting influence of Stolypin.
Pyotr Stolypin
Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin served as the leader of the 3rd DUMA—from 1906 to 1911. His tenure was marked by efforts to repress revolutionary groups, as well as for the institution of noteworthy agrarian reforms. Stolypin hoped, through his reforms, to stem peasant unrest by creating a class of...
, Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister). Most if not all of these reforms were based on recommendations from a committee known as the "Needs of Agricultural Industry Special Conference," which was held in Russia between 1901-1903 during the tenure of Minister of Finance Sergei Witte
Sergei Witte
Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte , also known as Sergius Witte, was a highly influential policy-maker who presided over extensive industrialization within the Russian Empire. He served under the last two emperors of Russia...
.
Background to reforms
The goal of the reform was to transform the traditional obshchinaObshchina
Obshchina or Mir ) or Selskoye obshestvo were peasant communities, as opposed to individual farmsteads, or khutors, in Imperial Russia. The term derives from the word о́бщий, obshchiy ....
form of Russian agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, which bore some similarities to the open field system
Open field system
The open field system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe from the Middle Ages to as recently as the 20th century in some places, particularly Russia and Iran. Under this system, each manor or village had several very large fields, farmed in strips by individual families...
of Britain. Serfs who had been liberated by the emancipation reform of 1861 lacked the financial ability to leave their new lands, as they were indebted to the state for periods of up to 49 years. Among the supposed drawbacks of the obshchina system were collective ownership, scattered land allotments based on family size, and a significant level of control by the family elder. Stolypin, being a staunch conservative, also sought to eliminate the commune system - known as the mir - and to reduce radicalism among the peasants, preventing further political unrest, such as that which occurred during the Revolution of 1905. Stolypin believed that tying the peasants to their own private land holdings would produce profit-minded and politically conservative farmers like those found in parts of western Europe. Stolypin referred to his own programs as a "wager on the strong and sober."
The reforms began with and introduced the unconditional right of individual landownership (Ukase
Ukase
A ukase , in Imperial Russia, was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leader that had the force of law...
of November 9, 1906). Stolypin's reforms abolished the obshchina system and replaced it with a capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
-oriented form highlighting private ownership and consolidated modern farmsteads.
The reforms were multifaceted and introduced the following:
- Development of large-scale individual farming (khutorKhutorKhutor or khutir is usually taken to refer to a single-homestead rural settlement of Eastern Europe.In Cossack-settled lands that encompassed today's Ukraine, Kuban, and the lower Don river basin the word khutor was used to describe new settlements which had detached themselves from stanitsas...
s) - Introduction of agricultural cooperative
- Development of agricultural education
- Dissemination of new methods of land improvementLand improvementLand improvement or land amelioration refers to investments making land more usable by humans. In terms of accounting, land improvements refer to any variety of projects that increase the value of the property...
- Affordable lines of creditCredit (finance)Credit is the trust which allows one party to provide resources to another party where that second party does not reimburse the first party immediately , but instead arranges either to repay or return those resources at a later date. The resources provided may be financial Credit is the trust...
for peasants
The Stolypin agrarian reforms were implemented by the state in a comprehensive campaign from 1906 through 1914. This system was not a command economy like that found in the Soviet Union in the 1920s, but rather a continuation of the modified state capitalism
State capitalism
The term State capitalism has various meanings, but is usually described as commercial economic activity undertaken by the state with management of the productive forces in a capitalist manner, even if the state is nominally socialist. State capitalism is usually characterized by the dominance or...
program begun under Sergei Witte
Sergei Witte
Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte , also known as Sergius Witte, was a highly influential policy-maker who presided over extensive industrialization within the Russian Empire. He served under the last two emperors of Russia...
. It was different from Witte's reforms not by the rapid push - which was a characteristic also found in the Witte reforms - but by the fact that Stolypin's reforms were to the agricultural sector, included improvements to the rights of individuals on a broad level and had the backing of the police. These reforms laid the groundwork for a market-based agricultural system for Russian peasants.
The principal ministers involved in the implementation of the Stolypin agrarian reforms were Stolypin as Interior Minster and Prime Minister, Alexander Krivoshein
Alexander Krivoshein
Alexander Vasilyevich Krivoshein was a Russian monarchist politician.- Life :Graduate in law of St. Petersburg University. Worked in the Ministry of Justice and later in the Ministry of the Interior . Assistant Head of the Department of Peasant Colonization , and Head...
as Agriculture and State Property Minister, and Vladimir Kokovtsov
Vladimir Kokovtsov
Count Vladimir Nikolayevich Kokovtsov was a Russian prime minister during the reign of Nicholas II of Russia.- Biography :...
as Finance Minister and Stolypin's successor as Prime Minister.
The Stolypin reforms and the majority of their benefits were reversed by the Soviet agrarian program in the 1920s.
Colonization
As a result of the expansion of the Trans-Siberian Railroad and other railroads east of the Ural MountainsUral Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
and the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
, migration to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
increased. Thompson estimated that between 1890 and 1914 that over 10 million persons migrated freely from western Russia to areas east of the Urals.
This was encouraged by the Trans-Siberian Railroad Committee, which was personally headed by Tsar Nicholas II
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
. The Stolypin agrarian reforms included resettlement benefits for peasants who moved to Siberia. Emigration department was created in 1906 at the ministry of agriculture. It organized resettlement and assisted the settlers during their first years in the new settlements. The settlers received on average 16.5 hectares of land per man. The total area allocated was 21 million hectares. Migrants received a small state subsidy, exemption from some taxes, and advice from state agencies specifically developed to help with peasant resettlement.
In part thanks to these initiatives, approximately 2.8 million of the 10 million migrants to Siberia relocated between 1908 and 1913. This increased the population of the regions east of the Urals by 2.5 times before the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Cooperative initiatives
A number of new types of cooperative assistance were developed as part of the Stolypin agrarian reforms, including financial-credit cooperation, production cooperation, and consumer cooperation. Many elements of Stolypin's cooperation-assistance programs were later incorporated into the early agrarian programs of the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, reflecting the lasting influence of Stolypin.