Stolypin's resettlement policy: the purpose and results

The era of reign of the Romanov family gave the world many outstanding personalities who created the great historical past of the Russian people. Petr Arkadevich Stolypin - one of the central political figures of the XIX-XX century. The resettlement policy, which is an echo of his reformist activities, contributed to the development of Siberia. It is thanks to Peter Arkadevich that the territory of the Russian Federation extends far beyond the Urals, and Siberia and the Far East are major industrial centers of the country.

The personality of the reformer

Pyotr Arkadievich belonged to a noble family of nobles. In his family there were many outstanding military men who took part in significant battles of the 17th and 18th centuries. Thanks to education and a high position in society, Stolypin received the post of the leader of the nobility, and then, a couple of decades later, the post of Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire.

His appointment also contributed to the revolution of 1905. In the hustle and bustle of discontent, Pyotr Arkadevich acted wisely and decisively. His proposals had an innovative spirit, necessary at that difficult time.

Unfortunately, the lightning-fast developing career of the outstanding policy of imperial Russia was cut off just as quickly. In 1911 he was killed. But as an invaluable inheritance, he left to subsequent generations the industrial potential of the Siberian and Far Eastern regions, the impetus for the development of which was given by his resettlement policy.

Peaceful "revolution" Stolypin

In order to understand what the goals of the resettlement policy were and to objectively evaluate its results, it is necessary to study the reformist activities of Pyotr Arkadievich. Since resettlement of peasants in the territory of Siberia is an integral part of the agrarian reform of Stolypin, which is also called peasant.

In historical literature, many refer to it as a "peaceful revolution," since fundamental decisions have been made - fundamental changes in the sphere of agriculture and the peasant system of life. But they did not provoke dissatisfaction with the masses, as people were given the opportunity to choose their own future - to go to the development of Siberia or stay in the European part of Russia.

The reasons for the peasant reform of Stolypin

The results of the 1905 revolution made it clear that the social structure of peasant life had outlived itself:

• Industrial growth was stalled,
• Russia remained an agrarian power,
• People's displeasure grew.

The cardinal changes and the development of the country's economic potential were required. The main goal of the resettlement policy was precisely the development of new regions.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the effectiveness of public use of land was criticized, as the peasants did not want to invest much labor in the lands that could have been taken from them at any time and handed over to another community. It was necessary to develop private property and private land ownership.

The resettlement policy had the following objectives:

1. Develop private property and reduce the discontent of the peasants.

2. Move the disgruntled masses as far as possible from the capital.

3. To develop new lands in Siberia and the Far East.

4. To create prerequisites for industrial development of the country.

Inheritance by S. Yu. Witte

It is important to note that the need for reform was understood by S. Yu. Witte. In his works he studied all the problems of domestic policy of the Russian Empire and detailed the ways of their improvement. The list of directions of modernization included also agriculture, namely, the need for its intensive development (due to technology, rather than manual labor) and the creation of a competitive product market.

In preparing the reforms Stolypin used the experience of Witte. It can be said that Stolypin embodied the reforms prepared, but not completed, by Witte in connection with his resignation. However, it is impossible to belittle the significance of Stolypin, since it was he who managed to convince Tsar Nicholas II of the need for change and made a fundamental contribution to the organization of the process of their practical use.

Importance of peasant reform

The essence of the resettlement policy is completely interconnected with the importance of peasant reform. In 1905, two problems matured at once:

1. Economic.

2. Social.

The first was expressed in the shortage of food products and in the reduction of the country's agricultural potential. The community economy did not provide the proper level of production. In the market there was no main lever of stimulation - competition.

The second - in malozemelii. The conquered territories of the Empire did not allow peasants to get land for personal use. After the decision on the organization of private land tenure, communal allotments usually remained for the largest figures. Here lies the need for peasant reform, the core of which has become resettlement policy.

Results of the peaceful "revolution"

The result of the agrarian reform was the reorganization of the community and the creation of a layer of landowners. This allowed the Russian Empire to enter the world sales markets for 10 years. From Siberia alone, a record number of butter and wheat was exported. Russia stood at the leading positions on exports.

In the sphere of agriculture there was an industrial revolution. During this time, many oil and wheat processing plants and related products were built.

The development of competition caused Moscow and St. Petersburg entrepreneurs to take care of the quality of their products, and to take responsible measures to organize the leisure of workers.

The settlement of Siberia, and then of the Far East, was profitable from a political point of view. Undeveloped territories could be captured by neighboring states.

Stolypin's Resettlement Policy

40 years before the reforms of Petr Arkadevich, Siberia was trying to settle by sending prisoners to the camps organized on it. However, from an unfavorable stratum of the population, exhausted by camp life, there was no development of the territory as such. Nobody wanted to linger in unsuitable villages.

Back in 1889, the process of resettlement to Siberia was legally eased, but it did not bring the desired effect.

In connection with this Stolypin decided to offer the working peasants to voluntarily go to develop and develop free lands, of course, on a favorable basis for them. In order for the proposal to become tempting, people who agreed to resettle citizens were given salaries and land.

Not everyone was easy, many returned. But thanks to especially enterprising peasants, in the Siberian villages in a few years there was electricity, which could not boast of previously harvested allotments of European Russia. Many families of migrants received the status of merchants, which indicated their worthy life in a new place.

The hard way to free lands

Few people remember, answering the question "What were the results of the resettlement policy?", About another important achievement. The increase in the flow of population, the increase in the number of labor, and the development of industry allowed the construction of the Siberian railway to be completed in a rather short time.

It was the road that became the "gold-bearing route" for Siberia. And not only because it transported the gold mined in gold. Enrichment of the population due to sales of grain, flour, butter and meat was made possible thanks to the railway track. In addition, the presence of the railway message attracted new settlers.

Assimilation of immigrants

Over the entire time, about 16% of the population did not take root in Siberia and returned to the European part of Russia. During the years of reform - from 1905 to 1914 - about 3.5 million people left to develop new territories, and only 500 thousand returned.

Indigenous peoples of Siberia were not happy with new neighbors, often there were skirmishes between the population and visitors. Over time, the Eskimos, Khanty, Mansi and other peoples realized the benefits of cooperation with immigrants, because They taught them to read and write, allowed to work in enterprises, to enjoy the benefits of civilization, including medicine.

If about 18% of the inhabitants of Siberia were literate at the beginning of the migration, then a few years later their number reached 80%. Schools, secondary schools and higher educational establishments were established in the cities.

Directions for development of populated areas

The climate of Siberia was very different from the usual, not all landowners knew the rules of farming in a dry climate. The settlers had a hard time. However, having acquired the experience of the northern countries and the indigenous peoples of the North, people managed to reach the production level of Moscow and St. Petersburg in a record time, the latter being extremely unhappy. Nicholas II was offered to ban the sale of goods from Siberia, but since its territory was an integral part of the Empire, such restrictions were not introduced.

• By 1915 several dozens of mills had been built on the resettlement lands. Siberian rye and flour of the highest grade were extremely in demand in the European market.
• Livestock also developed at a rapid pace. This entailed the production of oil, milk and other dairy products. Siberians sold oil abroad, and as compensation received foreign equipment.
• It is impossible, speaking of Siberia, not to remember gold mining. This region interested investors after its development. A lot of companies for the extraction of gold and metals existed on foreign money, which gave rise to the development of new mines and dredges. Many immigrants, not having received the desired benefits, went to the taiga to try their luck, working as prospectors.

Results of the resettlement policy of Stolypin

The goals and results of the resettlement policy of Peter Arkadievich are treated historically by historians ambiguously. Someone believes that the work on the development of new territories was failed. After all, they never reached their apogee - not found happiness people returned to the European part of the country by beggars, the density of the population of Siberia and the Far East remained low. However, few people take into account the industrial potential, which the reforms awarded this territory.

Therefore, answering the question "What were the goals and results of Stolypin's resettlement policy" stands apart from the results of the peasant reform. After all, Siberia, inhabited at the beginning of the 20th century, is still a large industrial region to this day. This fact can not but be the most important indicator of the effectiveness of peaceful revolutionary reforms carried out by Pyotr Arkadievich, including the resettlement of residents of the European part of Russia.