GERMAN COLONIES ON THE VOLGA DURING THE AGRARIAN REFORM OF P.A. STOLYPIN (1906–1917)

Abstract

The article is intended to form a positive attitude towards various ethnic groups in Russia by studying the historical experience of the development of private economic initiative among representatives of the non-indigenous population within the framework of the agrarian reform of P.A. Stolypin. The article highlights problems of the agrarian sector of the Volga region, which existed at the beginning of the reform. The main emphasis is placed on the progress and results of the reform for the German colonies. Certain attention is paid to the role of the Peasant Land Bank and land management commissions in its implementation. The attitude of the inhabitants of the German colonies to the new course is considered. The archival data revealing the financial policy of the state in relation to the German colonies, as well as differences in the attitude to the reform of the German and Russian peasantry are analyzed. The practical significance of the work lies in the attempt to recreate an objective picture of the agrarian reform among the German colonists on the Volga, particularly in the Saratov province, which is important from a historical point of view and for understanding the characteristics of various ethnic groups of multinational Russia.