Changing trend of peasant behavior in Russia during Stolypin's agrarian reform

Abstract

In this article, the authors aim to differentiate various categories of the peasantry according to the views on property to develop an optimal research approach that will allow for an objective and comprehensive analysis of the attitudes and behavior of the peasant population of Russia during the Stolypin course of agrarian policy pursued by the autocracy. The study shows the validity of using the peasantry's attitude to property as one of the key criteria for assessing the degree of efficiency of the Stolypin reform. The selected criterion allows one to show the evolution of this attitude depending on the social characteristics of a particular category of peasants. Any reform should be assessed from the standpoint of those whose interests are affected first. Property is one of the main guidelines that determine the position of a person in society and the world. Aimed at creating the stratum of steady owners in the village, P.A. Stolypin's reform frees the peasants from the petty fiscal and bureaucratic oversight of the state. As the peasantry realizes the seriousness of the government's intentions and possible prospects for the development of the economy, their attitude to the reform also changes. This change takes place along with the peasantry's realization that the state is interested in steady owners in the village. Those who can and want to be one, accept the reform with enthusiasm, others ultimately see in the reform an opportunity to shift the blame for their failure to the state.