Regional Effects of the Stolypin Reform

The main goal of P. A. Stolypin’s reform was to increase yields in peasant farms. The unification of peasant allotments into farms opened the way for the use of more advanced agricultural machinery. Historians argue about the extent to which the reforms affected the dynamics of yields on the eve of the First World War. In recent years, mathematical methods have been used to solve this problem. However, the application of these methods requires careful selection of both independent and dependent variables. In this paper, the share of consolidated lands in the total area of allotment lands in different provinces is used as an independent variable, and the dependent variable is the net grain yield on allotment lands. Correlation analysis shows that, in general, in 43 provinces of European Russia, land consolidation explained 30 % of the yield dynamics. But at the same time, there were very large regional differences. In 26 provinces of Great Russia, the reform did not have a significant impact on yields; in many provinces, yields decreased. The failure of the reform in Great Russia was due to the presence of strong peasant communities here, who practiced land redistribution and resisted the spread of farms. On the contrary, in 11 marginal western and southern provinces, the reform was marked by success. For a long time, communities with hereditary home ownership dominated here, and these communities generally supported Stolypin’s program. The spread of farms has led to a significant increase in yields here, and 50 % of this growth is due to the consolidation of peasant allotments.