Preparation of agricultural laws on the removal of dependent relationships

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Preparation of agricultural laws on the removal of dependent relationships

Adigozalov K.M.

Guba branch of Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University

Abstract

agrarian legislative act village

This article, based on numerous reliable sources and materials collected from historiographical literature, discusses issues related to the preparation of various agrarian legislative acts on the elimination of dependent relations both in state-owned and privately owned villages. The materials cited prove that Russian tsarism, right up to its last days, sought to preserve the dominant role of the imperial treasury for as long as possible in managing both the rural population and collecting various incomes from state-owned and privately owned villages.

The project, which had been prepared for a long time and went through a long path of various discussions in the Caucasian and central departments, finally received legal force on December 20, 1912. This law applied to the Baku, Elizavetpol and Irevan provinces of the South Caucasus, as well as to part of the Tiflis province. The law did not apply to Dagestan and the Zakatala district. It was soon expected that a separate law on the abolition of dependent relations would be developed in Dagestan and the Zakatala district. To do this, at the beginning of1908, by order of the governor Vorontsov-Dashkov, a special commission was appointed to the Zakatala district. This commission was entrusted with the study of the relationship between the beks and dependent peasants.

Consequently, the projects developed with the adoption during the discussions of all the amendments of the Council of the Viceroy and the appeal to a number of less important issues were submitted to the IV State Duma on February 9, 1913. However, one of the drafts - the draft law “On land provision for the peasants of Dagestan and the Zakatala district” - got stuck in the Duma and was not approved. And the second, after a series of discussions, was at last approved by Nicholas II.

Consequently, the projects developed with the adoption during the discussions of all the amendments of the Council of the Viceroy and the appeal to a number of less important issues were submitted to the IV State Duma on February 9, 1913. However, one of the drafts - the draft law “On land provision for the peasants of Dagestan and the Zakatala district” - got stuck in the Duma and was not approved. And the second, after a series of discussions, was finally approved by Nicholas II.

Thus, the preparation of laws on the abolition of temporary service and dependent relations of peasants can be regarded as an innovation in the field of agrarian legislation of tsarism. The government intended to achieve some peace in the countryside by disseminating information about the preparation of bills in the agrarian area. During the period of turbulent political events, tsarism was more interested in stabilizing the political than economic situation. It was this political situation and the rapid development of commodity-capitalist relations that prompted him to take these steps.

Nevertheless, under the pressure of the rapid development of a market economy, the tsarist government was forced to some extent to weaken supervision over state-owned peasants and at the end of 1912 recognize the right of privately owned peasants to become owners of their allotment lands.

Key words: Azerbaijan, Russia, Caucasus, law, agriculture, peasants, treasury.

Адігозалов К.М.

Підготовка аграрних законів про скасування залежних відносин

Анотація

У цій статті на основі численних достовірних джерел та матеріалів, зібраних з історіографічної літератури, розглядаються питання, пов'язані з підготовкою різних аграрних законодавчих актів, присвячені ліквідації залежних відносин як у казенних, так і в приватновласницьких селах. Наведені матеріали доводять, що російський царизм аж до останніх днів прагнув якомога довше зберегти панівну роль імперської скарбниці у справі управління як сільським населенням, і зборів різних доходів з казенних і приватновласницьких селищ.

Проект протягом довгого часу був підготовлений і пройшов тривалий шлях різних обговорень у кавказьких і центральних відомствах, нарешті отримав юридичну силу 20 грудня 1912 року. Цей закон поширювався на Бакинську, Єлизаветпольську та Іреванську губернії Південного Кавказу, а також частину Тифліської губернії. Закон не поширювався на Дагестан та Закатальський округ. Незабаром очікувалося, що в Дагестані та Закатальському окрузі буде розроблено окремий закон про відміну залежних відносин. Для цього на початку 1908 р. за наказом намісника Воронцова-Дашкова до Закатальського округу було призначено спеціальну комісію. На цю комісію було покладено вивчення взаємин між беками та залежними селянами.

Отже, проекти, вироблені з прийняттям під час обговорень всіх поправок Ради намісника і зверненням до низки менш важливих питань, було представлено IV Державну думу 9 лютого 1913 року. Однак один із проектів - законопроект «Про земельне забезпечення селян Дагестану та Закатальського округу» - застряг у Думі і не був схвалений. А другий після низки обговорень нарешті було затверджено Миколою ІІ.

Таким чином, підготовку законів про відміну тимчасової повинності та залежних відносин селян можна розглядати як новацію в галузі аграрного законодавства царату. Уряд мав намір домогтися деякого спокою на селі шляхом поширення інформації про підготовку законопроектів в аграрній галузі. У період бурхливих політичних подій царизм більше був зацікавлений у стабілізації політичної, ніж економічної ситуації. Саме ця політична ситуація та швидкий розвиток товарно-капіталістичних відносин спонукали його зробити ці кроки.

Тим не менш, під натиском швидкого розвитку ринкової економіки царський уряд змушений був якоюсь мірою послабити нагляд над казенними селянами і наприкінці 1912 року визнати право приватновласницьких селян стати власниками своїх надільних земель.

Ключові слова: Азербайджан, Росія, Кавказ, закон, сільське господарство, селяни, скарбниця.

Introduction

This article, based on numerous reliable sources and materials collected from historiographical literature, discusses issues related to the preparation of various agrarian legislative acts on the elimination of dependent relations in both state-owned and privately owned villages. The materials cited prove that Russian tsarism, right up to its last days, sought to preserve the dominant role of the imperial treasury for as long as possible in managing both the rural population and collecting various incomes from state-owned and privately owned villages. Nevertheless, under the pressure of the rapid development of a market economy, the tsarist government was forced to some extent to weaken supervision over state-owned peasants and at the end of 1912 recognize the right of privately owned peasants to become owners of their allotment lands.

Presentation of the main research material

The preparation of laws on the abolition of dependent relations began in the 80s of the XIX century. In 1884, the considered proposals on the replacement of natural taxes with cash and on the redemption of allotment lands, prepared in the Council, which acted under the Chief of the civil part in the Caucasus on July 30, 1885, were sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and, when discussing this issue at one of the meetings of the ministry, again surfaced temporary duties and relations of dependence of the landlord peasants. Finally, a number of projects were developed, providing for the start of payment transactions in the field, primarily in the Tiflis province. In these projects, following the mentioned province, the question of the complete cessation of dependent relations of peasants in other provinces of the South Caucasus was taken as a basis. The Commission for Peasant Affairs of the Tiflis Governorate was the first in this direction in the South Caucasus, and on January 1, 1894, it also prepared a project for the complete cessation of temporary duties on the territory of the province [1, p. 59]. Despite a number of its limited aspects - immaturity in terms of technical calculations, incomplete preparation and other limited aspects, in any case, this project as a whole should be assessed as a real step towards the complete elimination of peasant-dependent relations in the South Caucasus. However, the project was rejected at the discussions in the Council under the Chief of Civil Affairs of the Caucasus region as untimely. In a letter to Adjutant General Sheremetev, Chief of the Civil Unit in the Caucasus, sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire on January 20, 1895, it was indicated that resolving the issue in this form would deal a big blow to the interests of the local privileged classes and lead to dissatisfaction with the landowners in the region. On the other hand, the lack of interest of the landlord peasants in the redemption of land allotments was also specially emphasized in the letter [2, p. 112].

Presentation of the main research material. In decrees and notices of the Imperial Ministry of the Interior, proposals and comments on the abolition of dependent peasant relations, on the transfer of peasants from taxation in kind to monetary taxation, and on the forced purchase of allotment lands were increasingly heard. Finally, the project was returned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to Prince Golitsyn, the head of the Caucasian Civil Chancellery, along with the reviews of the Ministries of Finance and State Property [1, p. 23].

This project soon became the main subject of discussion for the local peasant committees set up in the South Caucasian provinces. In the course of their activities, these committees noted that relations between the owner of the land and its user in the landowner villages had deteriorated, and saw a way out of this in introducing changes to existing laws. During the discussions, the need to abolish temporary dependent relationships was recognized [3, p. 13]. Emphasizing the impossibility of abolishing dependence on landowners by forcibly redeeming land in the near future, the local committee of the Irevan province stated that the landlord peasants would not be able to redeem their plots even after a long time (for 30 years out of 79,896 acres of land in Irevan province only 41 acres were redeemed) well understood and insisted on the need for financial assistance from the state [1, p. 15]. Speakers at meetings of the local committee of the Baku province pointed out that relations between landlords and peasants living and working on their land became so aggravated that in the event of the slightest setback or conflict, the peasants left their places and moved to other places, or rented allotment land to someone, then they left for the cities. A member of the local committee for the Elizavetpol province, K.V. Kleshchinsky, pointed out that peasants who do not have a livelihood, under various pretexts, refuse to bear their duties. He put forward a proposal to give the land to the peasants through its redemption and considered it important to implement it on certain conditions [4, p. 26].

A new bill on the abolition of temporary duties and dependent relations of peasants in the South Caucasian provinces, prepared by various institutions under Prince Golitsyn in 1904, with the addition of materials from the South Caucasian provincial committees, was repeatedly discussed in a short time. In preparing this project, the provisions of the law announced by Golitsyn on December 28, 1881 in the central provinces of Russia were taken as a basis [see: 5, p. 372-374].

According to Golitsyn's project, peasants living on landowners' lands in the South Caucasian provinces were included in the category of private owners through the forced purchase of allotment plots with “state financial assistance”. Peasants released from duties had to pay money to the treasury every year for the redemption of land [4, p. 26]. The project, discussed at the council of the chief civilian commander of the Caucasus, was returned back to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In turn, the Ministry of Internal Affairs handed over the project to the newly formed Caucasian vicegerency with numerous comments reflecting its shortcomings [1, p. 23].

It is known that against the backdrop of very serious political processes in February 1905, the viceroyal method of government was again introduced in the Caucasus. I.I. Vorontsov-Dashkov, who was close to the emperor and had extensive managerial experience, was entrusted with the position of governor. The governor I.I. Vorontsov-Dashkov was given serious and very broad powers, such as civil and military police administration. In the South Caucasus, the solution of issues requiring the participation of the supreme power was carried out by decision of the governor.

Arriving in Tiflis on May 5, 1905, I.I. Vorontsov-Dashkov focused on solving agrarian issues. His main goal, he considered the elimination of duty relations. In his report submitted to the tsar on October 12, 1905, I.I. Vorontsov-Dashkov explained the unstable situation in the South Caucasus by the incompetence of high-ranking officials who had previously ruled the region. On the other hand, the viceroy, who stated that the reason for the agrarian unrest, which turned into political movements, was the contradiction between the decree of December 12, 1904 and the manifesto of October 17, 1905, spoke out as a supporter of the “quick abolition of temporary duties, the eradication of all dependent relations” [1, p. 20].

According to the viceroy, “the issuance of loans to peasants for the purchase of allotment lands was not a possible issue,” since the lands that were in the use of the peasants of the Irevan, Elizavetpol, Baku provinces, as well as part of the Tiflis province, Zakatala district, including Dagestan, were regulated by a rescript from On December 6, 1846, according to the state, they actually belonged to the landowners, therefore, the one paid to the Agalars and Beks is not a toiju, but this is a state tax paid by the peasants to the Agalars and Beks for the performance of their administrative and police duties. I.I. Vorontsov-Dashkov, who considered it necessary to immediately carry out the redemption of peasant duties, wrote: “From the point of view of the South Caucasian peasants, since they paid taxes to the landlord, then the allotments for the peasants should have been bought out by them” [1, p. 25].

I.I. Vorontsov-Dashkov saw the source of land scarcity and landlessness among the peasants, poverty, which caused their discontent, in the temporary duties of the peasants. Therefore, on November 22, 1905, he submitted to the Council of Ministers a draft law drafted by him “On the Settlement of the Peasant Question in the Caucasus”, which considered the issues of providing land plots free of charge to peasants with compensation to landowners from the state treasury [6, p. 41].

According to the governor's bill “On the Settlement of the Peasant Question in the Caucasus”, firstly, the temporarily obligated peasants of Tiflis, Kutaisi, Irevan, Elizavetpol and Baku provinces were granted the right to own land plots in their use; secondly, they retained the right of servitude use of forests and pastures; thirdly, from January 1, 1906, the land tax in the South Caucasus was reduced by half, and from January 1, 1907, the collection of this tax was discontinued; fourthly, from January 1, 1906, the poll tax levied on the peasants was reduced by half, and this tax was canceled from January 1, 1907, which gave the peasants the right to own land; fifthly, on January 1, 1906, the South Caucasian State Peasant Bank was opened on a general basis; sixth, from January 1, 1906, landlords and landowners received the right to receive an advance payment of 5 percent per annum [7, p. 32-35]. Even 27.4 million rubles were allocated for these purposes for the provinces of the South Caucasus. [1, p. 26].

Having carefully considered the decisions of the Council of Ministers of the Empire during the discussion of this bill, including the notes of the governor, the governor in a telegram to Petersburg dated August 5, 1906 reported that “the issue is being considered within the framework of the law on the abolition of hostile landowner-peasant relations, with the aim of crushing the foundations of socialist propaganda. Although on August 15 of the same year, the Council of Ministers, having again considered the issue of abolishing the temporary charity of peasants in the South Caucasus, adopted the governor's opinion on the advisability of replacing the tax in kind with cash, a number of provisions of this proposal were not approved, and the project was returned to I.I. Vorontsov-Dashkov for revision [7, p. 59]. The main reason why the “viceroy's notes” were not accepted was that the amount payable to the landowners for the redemption of allotment lands was considered unacceptable for payment by the state bank [7, p. 34].

The emperor highly appreciated this step of the Council of Ministers and shortly thereafter gave the task to accelerate the legal abolition of dependent peasant relations in the South Caucasus. In the new version of this bill, somewhat improved by the governor or in a future law, the provisions on the preservation of the rules for the use of servitudes by peasant landowners, as well as on the gratuitous transfer of ownership of uncultivated land plots of peasants, to a certain extent met the interests of local peasants in comparison with other provisions [8, With. 208].

As a result, the tax and land policies of tsarism were so mixed up in the privately owned village that it was impossible to separate them from each other. During this period, the main goal of the agrarian policy of tsarism throughout the South Caucasus, including Northern Azerbaijan, was the destruction of rural communities and the creation of a support for itself in the person of the rural bourgeoisie - the golchomags.

Stolypin's statement on the land issue once again inspired the supporters of Stolypin's agrarian policy in the South Caucasus; The highest Caucasian authorities and the local bourgeoisie saw the only solution to the land issue in the application of Stolypin's agrarian policy. The tsarist official I.L. Segal, speaking of the fact that Stolypin's agrarian policy had a great influence on the provinces of the South Caucasus, wrote: “With this change, by changing from communal land use to private ownership of land, private ownership of land can be created. This can create conditions for the transition of peasants to farming in the near future” [7, p. 67]. In addition to І.L. Segal, such tsarist officials as N.D.Peterson and Orest-Semin also considered it necessary to apply the Stolypin agrarian policy to the South Caucasian provinces [4, p. 31]. Despite the efforts of supporters of the application of Stolypin's agrarian policy in the South Caucasus, including in Northern Azerbaijan, their desire was not realized.

On December 15, 1908, a draft of a new law signed by 34 deputies of the left wing was submitted for discussion in the III State Duma. The deputies pointed out that “in the Caucasus ... the reform pursues a goal that has nothing to do with either the well-being of the peasants, which they never had, or their freedom” [1, ss. 34-35]. However, this project was not successful either.

At the beginning of 1909, at the very height of the implementation of the Stolypin agrarian policy, the draft law drawn up by Vorontsov-Dashkov for the South Caucasus provided only peasants living on landowners' lands with the right to rent their land and join the group of private owners, and landlords for allotment land, which passed into the private ownership of peasants, provided for the payment of 5 percent of the total payment per year by the state treasury. The money given by the state to the landowners, the peasants had to return to the treasury with interest for 28, 41 and 56 years.

When discussing the project, the main department of the governorship rejected the issue of measuring allotment lands. The vicegerency tried to justify itself by saying that measuring the land was unnecessary, referring to the fact that surveying would take a long time. They attributed this to the presence of land statutes. The governor's administration intended to keep the question of water use for the peasants, including control over the operation of ditches, in favor of the landowners, as it was before.

Vorontsov-Dashkov also wanted to know the proposals of the landowners before approving the project. Of interest are the opinions expressed by Azerbaijani entrepreneurs in their letters to the governor's office. For example, Farrukh-bek Vezirov, a representative of the landowners of the Elizavetpol province, objected to setting the price of land at the prices of the 60s and 70s of the XIX century [9, p. 60]. He pointed out that there was a big difference between Russian landowners and Muslim landowners in the matter of land relations. Thus, the Russian landowners lived quietly, receiving 5 percent of the total amount of redemption money accrued on allotment land transferred to the private ownership of the peasants. And in the South Caucasus, the landowners were still forced to be content with incomes that did not change [4, p. 35].

However, the governor's administration did not want to take into account anyone's comments and suggestions. The Viceroy of the Caucasus, Vorontsov-Dashkov, tried to reassure the landlords in resolving the issue of easement, referring to the fact that the issue had not been worked out clearly. The governor always got out of the situation by deceiving Azerbaijani businessmen with various false promises. The viceroy was able to assure that none of the issues raised by Azerbaijani entrepreneurs would be left without attention and that the preparation of a new project in the near future would be one of the key provisions [4, p. 36].

After a series of discussions, the administration of the viceroy made minor changes to this bill and on May 22, 1910 submitted it for revision to the interdepartmental meeting under the Ministry of Internal Affairs [10, p. 36]. It should also be noted that even Baku governor Nakashidze, Iravan governor Tuzenhausen, Kutaisi governor-general Smyakin opposed this issue [4, p. 36].

The project, which was discussed several times in the Council of Ministers, was approved on March 17, 1911. The bill, along with a number of explanatory notes prepared by the governor, was submitted to the III State Duma on September 24, 1911. Discussions of the project here did not last long. The Duma did not want the complete elimination of landowner ownership of land. Representatives of the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie demanded that Article 9 of the draft be revised. This article pointed out that swamps, ravines and other places belonging to the landlords, but left unused, should be given to the peasants free of charge.

Representatives of all the South Caucasian landowners and others demanded that the payment be made in favor of private entrepreneurs, who even considered it unacceptable to provide peasants with lands unsuitable for cultivation for free.

During discussions in the Duma, it was pointed out that the remnants of dependent relations hamper economic and cultural development, “help preserve and strengthen the most uniform forms of peasant exploitation, keep the entire people in poverty, ignorance and lawlessness”. It was noted that although the local peasants of the South Caucasus, including Northern Azerbaijan, have two to three times less allotment land than the peasants of the internal provinces of Russia, but there are three to four times more duties on them. Forcing the peasants to pay would be an additional and unbearable burden on their already depleted budgets, would undermine their economic situation, this “step is unfair and clearly against the interests of the people and the state”.

During discussions in the Duma, it was pointed out that the remnants of dependent relations hamper economic and cultural development, “help preserve and strengthen the most uniform forms of peasant exploitation, keep the entire people in poverty, ignorance and lawlessness”. It was noted that although the local peasants of the South Caucasus, including Northern Azerbaijan, have two to three times less allotment land than the peasants of the internal provinces of Russia, but there are three to four times more duties on them. Forcing the peasants to pay would be an additional and unbearable burden on their already depleted budgets, would undermine their economic situation, this “step is unfair and clearly against the interests of the people and the state”.

Finally, the project received legal force on December 20, 1912. This law applied to the Baku, Elizavetpol and Irevan provinces of the South Caucasus, as well as to part of the Tiflis province. The law did not apply to Dagestan and the Zakatala district. It was soon expected that a separate law on the abolition of dependent relations would be developed in Dagestan and the Zakatala district. To do this, at the beginning of 1908, by order of the governor Vorontsov-Dashkov, a special commission was appointed to the Zakatalsky district [1, p. 117]. This commission was entrusted with the study of the relationship between the beks and dependent peasants.

The results obtained by the commission on establishing and evaluating the number of feudal duties paid by the peasants in favor of the landowners were of great importance in completing the work carried out towards the abolition of temporary duties and dependence relations. On the basis of the materials received by the commission, draft laws “On the abolition of the dependence of the peasants of Dagestan and the Zakatala district on the beks and keshkels” and “On the provision of land to the peasants of Dagestan and the Zakatala district” were prepared and discussed at a meeting of parliament. The last time the projects were discussed was at a meeting of the Council of the Viceroy, held on February 24, 1912. During the discussion, the military governor of the Dagestan region, S.V. Volsky, made numerous remarks. Both the Council of the Viceroy and S.V. Volsky, believing that the time had come to abolish dependent relations in these areas and that this was reasonable, at the same time pointed out the importance of firm rules that ensure the early abolition of peasant duties in favor of the beks. The governor asked to pay special attention to the conservatism of the local population. The governor explained this by the fact that the local population did not like the innovation, and so on. [1, pp. 126-127].

Consequently, the projects developed with the adoption during the discussions of all the amendments of the Council of the Viceroy and the appeal to a number of less important issues were submitted to the IV State Duma on February 9, 1913. However, one of the drafts - the draft law “On land provision for the peasants of Dagestan and the Zakatala district” - got stuck in the Duma and was not approved. And the second one, after a series of discussions, was finally approved by Nicholas II [11, p. 270].

Conclusions

Thus, the preparation of laws on the abolition of temporary service and dependent relations of peasants can be regarded as an innovation in the field of agrarian legislation of tsarism. The government intended to achieve some peace in the countryside by disseminating information about the preparation of bills in the agrarian area. During the period of turbulent political events, tsarism was more interested in stabilizing the political than economic situation. It was this political situation and the rapid development of commodity-capitalist relations that prompted him to take these steps.

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