The Economics of the Russian VillageHourwich, Isaac A. (Isaac Aaronovich)
History
The Economics of the Russian Village
Hourwich, Isaac A. (Isaac Aaronovich)
Agricultural laborers -- Russia; Land tenure -- Russia; Mir; Peasants; Thesis (Ph. D.)
+-----------------------+------------+------------+---------+
| | Number of | Rented |Land, per|
|Party to the agreement.|communities.|dessiatines.| cent. |
+-----------------------+------------+------------+---------+
| _Ranenburg._ | | | |
|Community | 25 | 2195 | 12.0 |
|Partnerships | 2 | 143 | 0.8 |
|Individuals | 265[56] | 16009[56]| 87.2 |
| +------------+------------+---------+
| Total | 290 | 18347[57]| 100 |
| | | | |
| _Dankoff._ | | | |
|Community | 23 | 2240 | 16.2 |
|Partnerships | 3 | 42 | 0.3 |
|Individuals | 230[56] | 11561[56]| 83.5 |
| +------------+------------+---------+
| Total | 256 | 13843[57]| 100 |
+-----------------------+------------+------------+---------+
As appears from this table, in so far as peasant farming has survived
on the landlord’s estate, agrarian communism has been almost entirely
superseded by individual tenancy.
Should not, however, the few cases of communal tenure be considered,
on the contrary, as signs of a budding agrarian communism? Is it not a
fact that peasant tenancy has sprung into existence from nothing within
recent times, and that in 48 villages agrarian communism has acquired
a foothold even in that tenancy which was always considered as being
essentially an individualistic form of landholding?
Such was the argument of an optimistic school of peasantists, which
gained much credit in Russia in a few years ago.[58] In reality,
however, nothing like a growth of communism can be seen in the recent
rise of communal tenancy. As a matter of fact the latter is restricted
solely to communities of former serfs.[59] Consequently it is but
the title of possession that has changed, and that from tenure in
perpetuity into tenancy at will, for periods of from 3 to 12 years.
On the other hand, the land which had been before the emancipation
occupied by the village community of the serfs, is now held by the
individual tenant.
Let us compare the area of land held by the tenants in 1882 with the
tracts carved out of the peasants’ possession in 1861.[60]
_Carved out _Rented
in 1861._ in 1882._
Ranenburg 3710 3274
Dankoff 5179 4327
Really worth thinking over is the question; why could not communal
tenure stand the competition of individual peasant tenancy?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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