On Peasantry Economy Of The Central Black Soil Regions In Russia During The Later Of The 19～(th) Century

The later half of the 19th century is the rapid development moment which transition from a feudal society to a capitalist society in Russia. As a symbol, which the transition began, is the peasant revolution in 1861. Czar Alexander published "Act on February 19", which like a breaking of Tomahawk and abolish the feudal serf system in Russia. And it makes Russia embarked on the road of capitalist development. Meanwhile the Act is a double-edged sword, while it promotes social progress in Russia, it is also a disaster for the majority of peasants. In this paper, the redorm in the six provinces of the Black Soil agricultural regions in Russian conductes in-depth research. Thus we will be more profound understanding of the historical significance of this reform. I will illustrate the problem in three parts.Part I The basic situation of countries in six provinces of black central belt before the reformBefore the reform, the Russian serf system has been breathing its last, this has reflected at all levels. As one object of exploitation The retainer, which is a object exploited by serf system, has emerged that the number of people increased in most of the provinces before the reform. The fundamental reason is that landlords want to be reduced to farmers from the land. The proportion in the total farmers in the region have reduced, but the absolute number of farmers has increased. This inevitably leads to the decrease in the per capita share of land, poor protection of farmers from the land, especially agricultural corvee, a large number of landless before the reform. Before the reform black belt in the middle, there are still a few farmers (mainly agricultural quit) in possession of private land, but the number is very small and basically in the counties of poor soil, it would be any significant impact to the whole feudal system .Farmers have suffered various forms of exploitation, including quit-rent, corvee rent, mixed rent and the rent coming from corvee. The feudal form of exploitation by which feudal landlords are in oeder to grab the surplus labor of farmers in the form of money or products is quit-rent. The first generation of quit rent is paid in kind in Russia, but it later becomes currencies quit rent, which is the result of the development of commodity money. Before the reform the quit rent in every provinces is significant differences. Feudal dependence farmers use their own tools, in suzerain economic activities, the free labor of them in a certain period is corvee rent, also known as "rent servitude." Under the exploitation of corvee, corvee farmers devote their all time to his masters, therefore it's difficult to determine the extent of exploitation of the peasants by corvee. In the early part of 19th century, it's the crisis period of Russian serfdom, it has arisen a phenomenon that quit rent and corvee rent mixed on the land of the landowners, that is "mixed" rent, the author divides it into three categories: The first species is money to pay rent and rent in kind; the second is to account for quit rent, rent in kind and services corvee; the third category is to account for quit rent and corvee service. Feudal obligations is heaver than corvee rent, and it restricts the initiative of farmers. But this form of exploitation not only liberates the peasants from the feudal rent, but aslo liberates the peasants from quit rent.Part II After reform acted, the changs have taken place in rural areas, the major have to analyze on the changs of obligations of farmers and the fen-landFarmers depend on land for survival production, land is as well as a tool of exploitation of the peasants by the landlord, so it has become the focal point of reform. After reform 67.8% of the fen-land has been divided, 27.5% has no change, only 4.7% has increased. This situation is not only subject to forms of exploitation of the peasants, but aslo affected by the differences on the soil quality in every provinces. The entire black belt in central Russia has been divided 935,544 acres 1,386 square Shasheng, accounting for 16.3% of the fen-land before the reform, and there are largest owners of the land in the province of Woluonie Japan. In the case of landless peasants, landowners think of a good way to ease the contradiction, that is to give farmers the fen-land as a largess. The number of the fen-land is different because of the different provinces.According to the reform, the farmers'quit rent has decresed, even though the maximum quit rents is also lower than before. The quit rent of the whole farmers in the middle black belt has been lower than before the reform by 16 Gaubil 354,125 rubles ( 10.5%), and the quit rent per head is 26 Gaubil 7 rublest, 93 Gaubil less than when it was prior to reforms. The actual situation is diffrernt because of the differences in every province. At the same time of the quit rent reducing, the land price of the market has risen; The law also stipulates that the farmers have became the corvee farmers or the quit farmers. The mixed farmers were abolished by laws, changing into quit farmers. In fact, mixed rent has restored soon, in order to the debt, the quit farmers agreed to get the disadvantageous pasture and farmland which are generated by the divided land. The faemers are transition from mixed rent to quit rent, and the payments per head has increased, which has to raise reasonable, because farmers can avoid the corvee. But the rent of the mixed farming has risen. After the serfdom reform, the exploited forms of mixed farming has changed, but it did not lessen the extent of the exploitation of the farmers suffered, somewhat enhanced. The time that the corvee farmers transite to the quit farmers lastes longer. Before February 19, 1861 decree published, farmers transiting to quit rent must be approved by the landlord, but the decree published after two years, farmers can transit to the quit rent without the agreement of landlord. However, the farmers must apply to the landlord the year ahead, and within six months prior to the transition, they have to pay quit rent. The burden of the corvee is heavier than other farmers, which is the reasons why corvee system is enduring. Part III The situation of redeem land in the reformAfter the reform, farmers become a free man in law, and are free from the bondage of the landlord. But it is conditional that farmers liberated and it's subject to considerable ransom. The ransom either depended on the price of land in land market, or on the land for farming income, but on quit rent. Peasants foreclosing from the landlord is not only land, but their own liberty, that is to remove the bondage relations of the serf system. The redemption process is not unified in every provinces. In 1861-1865, the number among farmers is more than any time in all of redemption, in 1871-1880, the rate of redemption generally slows down. Therefore, the government promulgated mandatory redemption decree on December 28, 1882. In black belt of the center the activities of redemption continued for a total of 30 years. The redemption process is not only different in a whole of every provinces, but the redemption process is different because the farmers suffered from different forms of exploitation. In the redemption process, the overall amount of land to farmers has not changed much, and the quality of the land worsen because of redistribution of land and forcing farmers to move further. The phenomenon of peasant land criss-cross landowners land reaches an appalling level, and all of the heavy burden imposes on peasants.In the process of buying land, farmers are unable to pay the huge ransom, loaned to the farmers by the government. The land owners can get the ransom directly from the organs of those loans by selling land to farmers. Landowners in the central black belt get the buyout loan of nearly 180 million from the State by land selling, but it will not be completely appropriate for themselves. Because they must repay the debt owed to the country's 64 million rubles nearly 100 years. Corvee economy is a non-profit, it only can be maintained by the government loans, and has simple reproduction, so it owed so much debt. The total ransom is far greater than the actual purchase loans, with adding additional payment, ransom and interest on loan. The farmers in the central black soil zone are actually paying about 295 million rubles, 115 million rubles more than the buyout loans. Nevertheless, the tax of redemption is lower than the tax of the quit rent by 19-24% (in the case of all farmers handing up the quit rent). As a result, the redemption can go down orderly.Through the actual situation of the reform in six provinces in the central black belt, we can come to this conclusion: the reform of serfdom in 1861 have indeed progress, and abolish the serf system, so that Russia transites from the feudal serf system to the capitalist development road. So it is the first step towards modernization in Russia. It determines the political and socio-economic development in a long run after more than half a century in Russia. But we have a dialectical view of history, it is also not turn a blind eye to its deficiencies. The remnants of serfs system is still existence. It is an undisputable fact that the farmers are still in extreme misery. After the 1861 reform, the fundamental task of the bourgeois revolution in Russia is to eliminate all vestiges of the serf system.