The Peasants' Land Bank Activities in the Post-reform Russia (1884-1895) (on the Example of Tambov Province)

Abstract

The authors prove that the establishment of the Peasants' Land Bank was the result of abolition of serfdom in Russia and the ensuing reform of an agricultural sector aimed at assisting liberated serfs in the purchase of land offered for sale. Liberated serfs had to be given land and, for this purpose, to be provided with the possibility of obtaining a land loan on preferential terms. The authors scrutinize the activities of the Peasants' Bank on the example of the Tambov Province and the regulatory acts lying at the heart of that activity. The final results of the land mortgage are subjected to thorough analysis. It turns out that the Peasants' Bank failed to achieve the goals of the reform of land relations, as the land use regime has not resulted in high yields and, consequently, limited the ability of peasants to pay mortgages back. The growth of debts prevented the development of agriculture and bankrupted the bank itself.